Do you personalize the standard parts of your book?
It was a real eye-opener for me when I discovered that you can personalize even a book’s most standard sections: the disclaimer, the colophon, even the copyright page! You can give them a personal touch in your unique tone of voice.

Creative disclaimer
Take the disclaimer, for example. Normally it’s standard and boring like this one: “The publisher is not responsible”, “The author assumes no liability”, blah blah blah. Have you ever considered writing your own disclaimer, in your own tone, and making it part of your book? It can make your book even more interesting. Your disclaimer may even make people want to read your book!
The ’10 percent rule’
My book, Have you found your Mr. Wrong yet? is a very personal story about my relationship with a playboy, a real person. I chose to change the name of the book’s main character, both to protect his privacy and to claim that not everything in the book is real.
The disclaimer states that around 90 percent of my story is accurate, and the remaining 10 percent is ‘poetic license’. This is an excellent option for almost any book that is based on a real person or story. It tells the reader that while the story is true, you’ve changed some details. If you get any pushback such as, “I didn’t say it that way”, or “That didn’t happen exactly like that”, you can reply, “that’s the 10 percent poetic license I mentioned in the disclaimer.”
Disclaimer ‘Have you found your Mr.Wrong yet?’
The love story with Martin highlighted in this book is based on my own personal experience. Let me be clear that my role in this isn’t going to win me any awards. It’s not uncommon for Mr. Wrong to string along several women at one time. You may not have all the information (or even the right information) at first, but you can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right. Despite all of that, I chose to play the game.
There’s no such thing as black and white. There’s a bad boy/girl inside each and every one of us. Sometimes we allow that side to harm others or cause them pain. While it was never my intention to hurt anyone, I take full responsibility for my actions and offer my apologies once again to those I mistreated.
To protect those involved, names have been changed, the order of events has been altered and as many details as possible have been omitted. Let’s just say that about 90 percent of my story is accurate and the remaining 10 percent is poetic license. I’ll let you decide for yourself which is which. But this isn’t about what did or did not happen. It’s about how I changed because of this experience and what I learned from it. That what I’m here to share.
Whether the people in this book bear resemblance to real persons or the Caribbean island in question brings Curacao to mind, I leave that entirely up to you, the reader.
The last sentence is partly a joke, but it also refers to that ‘10% clause’. Also, give people something to think about for your book, let them use their imagination.
Make sure the tone of your disclaimer really matches your book. This is one of the many, many tips I give in my book ‘Reverse Writing’. Did you know that you can completely customize the colophon and the ‘copyright’ section in this way? I hope you enjoy personalizing the standard parts of your book!
Are you serious about writing your book?
Don’t reinvent the wheel, like I did. As the author and co-author of more than 30 books, writing coach for hundreds of people and organizer of 30 writing retreats, I have finally found the best system for writing a good book: the ‘Reverse Writing’ method. If you begin at the end and create a good structure before you start writing, you will be able to follow your energy, instead of the page numbers.
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The book ‘Reverse Writing’
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Original ideas and proven formats for your next bestseller
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