Asked by: Nicole Pearson

Publishers send advance reading copies of books to other authors asking for their quotes. They’re generally happy to provide favourable quotes, having benefitted from this practice themselves. No money changes hands.

Do authors have control over book covers?

It’s true that authors almost never contractually have approval over their covers, though they do sometimes have something called “consult” or “consultation” (often negotiated into the contract by an agent).

Do you have to pay to use quotes in a book?

Shorter quotes, references and paraphrasing is usually ok without permission. Copying large amounts of a story or study, however, may require permission from the writer or publisher.

Can I use someones quote in my book?

If you’re going to quote someone’s words, even if you appropriately attribute the quote to the rightful owner, you should have their permission. Many commonly cited authors don’t mind having their famous lines reused, but some do, so tread carefully. Always get legal advice, or if in doubt, leave it out.

What percentage of royalties money for the rights to use your book do authors typically get from each sale of traditionally published books?

A traditionally published author makes 5–20% royalties on print books, usually 25% on ebooks (though can be less), and 10–25% on audiobooks.

Are book cover designs copyrighted?

Book covers, album covers, and movie covers are copyrightable. However, fair use, a provision of U.S. copyright law, gives users the right to use copyrighted material without permission under certain circumstances. If a use is fair, the user need not notify or seek permission from the copyright holder.

Why do authors change book covers?

Even though the titles stay the same, American and British publishers often create new covers for the same texts. The simple reason is that market tastes differ. Often, British covers defer to darker colors or more negative space, while American covers tend to be flashier.

Are quotes subject to copyright?

According to US copyright law, the legal rights to a quote belong by default to its author (or speaker). Quotes are considered intellectual property, which is protected under the law.

Are quotes fair use?

Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports.

How do you know if a quote is public domain?

Go to the official website of the United States Copyright Office to use its online “Public Catalog Search” for works copyrighted after 1978. Use the “Keyword” search field for phrases in copyright records. Surround the phrase with double quotation marks to search for the precise phrase.

Can I publish a book of quotes?

According to federal law, quotes are protected as intellectual property. According to this rule, people who do not own the original quote and you would like something else with it to sell without saying so must be sure it’s true.

Can you sell famous quotes?

YES. You can legally use quotes in small business that are in the public domain. Generally, quotes said before 1923 are in public domain because the protection on them is now expired.

How many words can you quote without permission?

The American Psychological Association allows authors to cite 400 words in single- text extracts, or 800 words in a series of text extracts, without permission (American Psychological Association, 2010).

Do you need copyright permission for quotes?

Only the use of the whole, or a “substantial part” of a literary work requires permission. The biggest difficulty is that a “substantial part” is not determined solely by the length of the quote, but also by whether you are using the distinctive or essential part of the original work.

Is quoting someone copyright infringement?

However, extensive quoting of text from a copyrighted source can constitute copyright infringement, whether the appropriated text is properly enclosed in quotation marks or correctly paraphrased, even if a citation is provided according to established scholarly conventions.

How long can a quote be without violating copyright?

Written permission is required for the following: 300 or more words from a single prose work in book form—fewer than 300 words is considered fair use. (This is a subjective standard that has not been fully defined by the court. Check with your publisher to find out where their threshold is.)

What are the 4 fair use exceptions to copyright?

Since copyright law favors encouraging scholarship, research, education, and commentary, a judge is more likely to make a determination of fair use if the defendant’s use is noncommercial, educational, scientific, or historical.

What are examples of fair use?

Examples of fair use in United States copyright law include commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, and scholarship. Fair use provides for the legal, unlicensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author’s work under a four-factor test.

Can I use a quote from another article?

Citing a source that you found in another source is known as using a secondary source. You should always try to read and cite the original work (the primary source). If it is not possible to do this, you have to cite the original as contained in the secondary source.

How do you cite a quote from someone other than the author?

When making reference to the spoken words of someone other than the author recorded in a text, cite the name of the person and the name of the author, date and page reference of the work in which the quote or reference appears.

Can you quote a quote from a book?

Quoting a Quote

In American English, use double quotes for the outside quote and single quotes for the inside quote. In British English, do the opposite. Let’s say you need to quote a book for an essay, and the passage you have in mind contains a quote from some other source.

How do I cite a quote from a book?

In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. “Here’s a direct quote” (Smith 8). If the author’s name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title. Follow the same formatting that was used in the works cited list, such as quotation marks.

How do you properly quote someone?

Definition: Quotation marks (“) are used to show that an author is using someone else’s exact words—they may be the words of a person, a character, or a written source. Use quotation marks only when quoting someone’s exact words, either spoken or written. This is called a direct quotation.

What is an example of a direct quote?

A direct quote is a word- for-word report of what someone else said or wrote. You use the exact words and punctuation of the original. Harriet Jacobs writes, “She sat down, quivering in every limb” (61). This example is a direct quotation from Jacobs’ book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.