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Hello, I'm on the verge of self-publishing a novel about travel and spirituality, inspired by my own nomadic life. It's a work of fiction but some places (beaches, cities, restaurants or clubs that the protagonist frequents) are real. I only used the real names of locales if I had anything good to say about them. I changed the names and characteristics of places if I talked about them negatively. Also, the protagonist goes through a spiritual transformation and some real-life New Age authors and publications are mentioned (not as characters participating in the story but as something the protagonist reads and learns from). So there are some real names in otherwise completely imaginary world. All the characters are invented. Below, follows the disclaimer. Please, let me know if it makes sense and should I even mention those real-life authors and locales. Thank you so much!

This is a work of fiction. As a novel about travel, it does feature some real-life locales used in an entirely fictitious manner and as a backdrop to imaginary events. Apart from certain well-known authors and publications mentioned, all characters, dialogues, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Leman wrote: "Hello, I'm on the verge of self-publishing a novel about travel and spirituality, inspired by my own nomadic life. It's a work of fiction but some places (beaches, cities, restaurants or clubs that..."

That's probably sufficient. The main thing when referencing real-life businesses and is to avoid saying anything that could be taken as negative. If you wanted to point out the real places, etc., you could, but it's not strictly necessary.

In my novels and short stories, I've occasionally mentioned a real business establishment, but I've only ever used them as a setting element and never say anything bad about them. I don't bother to include disclaimers about such references.

Dale wrote: "Leman wrote: "Hello, I'm on the verge of self-publishing a novel about travel and spirituality, inspired by my own nomadic life. It's a work of fiction but some places (beaches, cities, restaurants..."

Thank you, Dale! I've noticed that the disclaimers often say "All names, places, etc. are fictitious," which confused me because there are some real-life names and businesses mentioned in my book, so the disclaimer wouldn't be entirely true. That's why I over-explained it a bit.

Leman wrote: "Thank you, Dale! I've noticed that the disclaimers often say "All names, places, etc. are fictitious," which confused me because there are some real-life names and businesses mentioned in my book, so the disclaimer wouldn't be entirely true. That's why I over-explained it a bit."

I think most of the time the only references are to characters, but one could use that if all the place names are fictitious. Obviously if they aren't, you don't want to say they are. ;-)