Being accused of libel might be a writer’s worst nightmare. It can cost you your reputation and a ton of money. Even if you write fiction, or you’re scrupulous in telling the truth, you may be sued. This is not to frighten you into not writing or publishing, but to urge caution and encourage you to remember the old adage, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

To best illustrate my point, I’ll tell a story about how I was almost sued for libel, even though I did nothing wrong.

First, let’s define libel. It’s a published false statement that damages a person's reputation.

Breaking that down, for someone to win a libel suit against you, 1) your writing has to be published. But the definition of published is broad. Even an email can be considered published, and certainly a self-published story or book is. 2) The statement has to be false. You can be sued even if what you write is true, but most libel cases occur over falsehoods. 3) The statement has to damage a person’s reputation. Unfortunately, although you may not believe your writing damages someone’s reputation, he or she might think so.

Here’s my story. I was a newspaper editor in a resort area with many foreign visitors. There had been a small issue on our beaches—tourists from countries where beach apparel was more relaxed were wearing the same attire as they did back home. Their state of undress offended some locals and was a minor violation of the law. So I sent a reporter to see how big the problem was and what lifeguards and police were doing about it.

The reporter wrote a good story but went a bit further than I asked. In addition to reporting on the beach, he went to a nearby hotel to see if there was any problem there. There wasn't, but the reporter wrote something like, "Police also monitor the bikini contests at the hotel."

Now, that was perfectly true—police did monitor the contests. (And truth is the first defense against libel.) But when we published the story the resort owner called me, madder than a mother bear protecting her cubs. He believed we tarnished his business reputation by implying improper activity took place there.

Fortunately, I calmed him down and suggested that we publish a clarification. He was fine with that and the situation was defused.

The incident shows that even publishing the truth won't always keep you from being accused of libel.

Two more points: 1) Although the potentially libeled person has to be identifiable, you won't get off the libel hook by not identifying a person or organization by name. If a typical reader can figure out who you're referring to, you could still be accused of libel. 2) Remember that even if you win a libel suit, there's still the hassle and expense of going to court.

Writers have an adage about using facts they're not sure about—"when in doubt, leave it out." Never is that more valuable advice than when considering information that could be libelous.