Matt Knight is a San Francisco-based writer and intellectual property lawyer. His writing crosses two genres: near-future fiction that explores the misuse of modern technology, and women’s fiction focused on love, crisis, and personal growth. He holds a BS in pre-med from Pfeiffer University, an MS in biochemistry from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and a JD from the University of Houston Law School. Various careers seasoned his life in North Carolina and Texas – chemist for the EPA, researcher of urinary bladder cancer, editor of the Houston Law Review, and clerk for the Civil District Court of Texas – before culminating in a fifteen-year career in California as a biotech patent litigator specializing in genetic engineering. His publications have appeared in the New York Times, Independent Book Publisher Association Magazine,  Houston Law Review, and San Diego Union-Tribune. Matt’s GPS coördinates are split between San Francisco and Maui. When he finds snippets of spare time, you can pinpoint him swimming laps, surfing waves, painting a canvas, or unleashing his inner Julia Child.
Read more about his books at www.mattknightbooks.com.
Todd from Utah is revising a manuscript involving a character with multiple arrest warrants in different states. His character is arrested and charged in New York for insider trading, then flees to Oklahoma where he is …
Multiple Arrest Warrants – What is a character to do? Read More
The nucleus of any publishing contract is the “Grant of Rights” clause. This provision defines what rights under copyright the author transfers to the publisher to commercially exploit in exchange for payment. For most writers, when …
Publishing Contracts — Ten Tips for Negotiating the Grant of Rights Clause Read More
Every book contract, whether traditionally published or self-published through Amazon, contains warranty and indemnity clauses. The demands made in these provisions tend to be seen by authors as grossly unfair and unreasonable. And for good …
Reduce the Sting of Warranty and Indemnity Clauses in Publishing Contracts Read More
Sarah from San Diego asked about the rules and procedures for capital punishment. The plot in her current manuscript centers on a lawyer’s attempt to free her husband who has been charged with the brutal rape and …
Capital Punishment – Procedures And Appeals For Death Penalty Cases Read More
The question of whether writers should form a business entity for their publishing work generated lengthy conversation during the ThrillerFest tax panel I moderated in July (see my post last week for take-home tax tips …
Writers Wanting To Incorporate – What Is The Right Option For You? Read More
In my writing circles over the years, I often heard advice encouraging writers to steal a plot, use a phrase, or mimic someone’s prose. And every time, that taboo I learned in high school and …
