Copy Writing Services

How to Get Permission to Quote Someone in Your Book

Note: the following information was collected by posting many questions on forums for small publishers; in many cases it represents opinions and should not be taken as competent legal advice.

As a compiler of a book of quotations, I sometimes get questions like, "How do I get permission to quote someone in a book?" or "What do the copyright laws say about quoting someone?"

Here are a few things I learned while researching the subject for myself.

To start, if you want to quote someone, you need to get permission from the author or publisher. Consider it to be a necessary step in writing your book.

How do you go about doing it? I sometimes had success with sending the author/publisher a faxed agreement and having them fax back a signed copy. Other times they preferred to just send a quick email saying it's ok, as long as I agreed to provide a "by-line" in the back of the book.

Let me say this: it is hard getting "permissions". If you only have 1 or 2 to go after, it isn't too tough. But in my case, with a book of quotes, wow...it was difficult.

Copyright law in this area is called "Fair Use". Fair Use says that you can copy someone without permission if it's for educational purposes or if they've been dead for over 50 years. Keep in mind that these two points aren't exactly 100% fool-proof. You can still get in trouble.

In my case, at a late stage in the publishing process, I decided to re-compile my whole book using quotes from people all dead over 50 years. This was a bummer, since I had my heart set on a few really good quotations. Why did I re-compile the whole book? Because it just became way too hard to track down so many "live" authors.

Some people gave me permission to quote them, but other people flat-out said "NO!"

Before you can ask for permission to quote someone, first you need to find out who they are! How do you find out when they lived? When did they pass away? Google is great for this...especially if you type their names in quotes: ex. "John Doe".

If you have a lot of people to track down, there are services that can do it...but I never found anyone who offered such a service. I called a few BIG publishers who said they have small departments that do this job. It's tricky, so they themselves like to stick to long-dead people to quote.

Apparently, a lot of people do quote other people without permission. Will the copyright owners find out? Will they care? Will they be honored to be included in your work? Will they look at it as promotion or damage?

What if you can't locate the owner and you really "need" to use that quote? When/if the copyright owners find out, will they take legal action against you for a small quote? And, what if you provide a generous "by-line" in the "Resources" section at the back of your book? Under Fair Use laws, they have to prove that your quote caused them financial damage. If it appears to have actually helped them, by referring people to their book/company/service/website, is that damaging? You decide.

Also, it appears that the courts will take into consideration how big your quote is in relation to the work as a whole. If it's a small quote in a big book, some people say you're "safer".

If you can't get permission, maybe you can find another similar quote, or perhaps you could reproduce/re-write the idea into your own words...without blatantly plagiarizing. Your last line of defense would be writers/publishers insurance...which can or can't be expensive. Shop around. Spannet.org has some specials if you join their association.

As one last thing to think about: please don't take my words as "Gospel" or competent legal advice. Check out publaw.com and ivanhoffman.com for some very good information on copyright law. by Shawn Bremner

Imagine; you spend thousands of dollars designing your website and no one comes. Why? It could be that you forgot about the content or you didn't invest enough in the message. Good website content delivers the right message in the right way.

Tip #1 -The most important rule to remember is that writing for the web is not like writing for print.

Tip #2 - Brochures contain a tremendous amount of information in a small amount of space. You can't successfully post the wording from a brochure on your website - that is too much text.

Tip #3 - As a rule, cut print copy 50 percent before posting it on your website. If all the information is necessary, reformat it. Keep the content short and simple. People tend to scan websites, seldom reading through long blocks of text.

Tip #4 - Headings are an effective tool in letting people see your message as they scan through your website. To break up copy, consider using subheadings. Make it easy for your visitor to jump around your website and get key information. Additionally, as search engines often use headings to find your page, use keywords.

Tip #5 - Get used to counting words. Headings should be under eight words. Sentences should range from 15 to 20 words and paragraphs from 40 to 70 words.

Tip #6 - Bullets are an excellent way to quickly present information to someone scanning your website. Consider using bulleted information as links to more detailed descriptions, rather than trying to put all the information on one page.

For instance, if you are writing Web content for a restaurant and want to offer potential customers suggestions on dining occasions, you might try:

The Lost in The 60's Restaurant is a fun place to celebrate: *Birthdays *Anniversaries *Group Events *Corporate Events and Parties *Company Parties

Now all the information is only a click away. And it's easy to search, thereby saving patrons time and you a cluttered Web space.

Tip #7 - Another rule of thumb is to avoid industry jargon. Be considerate of your website visitor and don't assume they know what you know. Using unfamiliar words could confuse visitors and influence them to leave your site. Also, make sure your phrasing is easy-to-understand. Consider asking someone outside your industry to review your writing.

Tip #8 - Remember, people use the Internet to find information. You need to be direct and to the point to attract attention immediately. Always begin paragraphs with the most important information and then provide other relevant details.

Tip #9 - Use a conversational style. Write as though you were speaking with someone, not at them.

In a face-to-face encounter, a salesperson tries to immediately establish a rapport with a customer. It is much easier to make a sale if someone feels comfortable and trusts you. With the Internet, you have to establish that same rapport with words.

Tip #10 - The best way to converse with your reader is to write from their point of view, not yours. Don't simply write, "The XY2 Widget is the best product on the market." Rather, explain the benefits of the XY2 Widget; " By purchasing the XY2 Widget you will save time and money." Then, illustrate how the widget saves time and money.

Tip #11 - Finally, show some enthusiasm in your writing! People want to be entertained. Corporate-speak is not going to do it. Have some personality and create a voice for your company that people recognize. It truly is OK to entertain and inform on the Web.

by Not John