When you send out a permissions request form, you are asking someone else for permission to incorporate some part of his or her material in your work. To obtain this permission, you need to contact the original publisher and formally request permission to use the other's work. The actual requesting of permission is very simple. Finding the right person to contact can take time, and waiting for a reply can take even longer. If you need to get permission to use materials, give yourself plenty of time to get the job done. Major textbook publishers allow themselves a year to get all the necessary permissions for text, graphics, and so on. It is also a good idea to send out multiple requests at one time. By multiple requests, I mean that you should send out all the requests to one publisher in one lot. But what happens if you have this great quote ready to use and you do not get permission to use the quote by your deadline? You cannot risk using the quote without permission - what if permission is denied and you have already inserted the text? To cover all bases, send out permission requests for your second choices at the same time you send out the first choice requests. After all, getting permission to use material does not mean you must use it. It just means you have permission to use the work if you need it. If you are requesting permission through a publishing house, the publisher will normally contact the author directly. Sometimes, publishers ask authors for blanket authorization to grant permissions requests. But you do not know if it will take weeks or months to get an answer to your request. Most of the major publishing houses have permissions contact information posted on their websites. Whenever possible, I send permissions requests by e-mail. If you have sent a request and you have heard nothing after three weeks, follow-up with another letter, e-mail, or phone call. It's not likely you are being ignored - editors are usually swamped with paperwork and your request may just be buried in the in-basket. It also helps to give respondents a deadline. Editors are used to deadlines! But make the deadline a few weeks before your own actual deadline. Sometimes, but not always, publishers will require payment of a permissions fee. These fees normally range from $25 to $150; the amount is often determined by the type of material you want to use, how you are using the material, and how many copies of the material are being produced. Another caveat - on your permissions request, leave space for the respondent to indicate the exact wording for the permissions. I have been surprised several times when replies come back with unknown names or marks of ownership. In fact, I've learned to write out what I think is the proper format on my permissions request. Then, if the reply comes back with different information, I can identify where the permission belongs. Okay, you've sent out your permissions request. (You only needed one!) It came back. Nothing to it. Now what do you do? If you are self-publishing, it would be wise to leave room at the end of your book for a bibliography. It doesn't matter if you have one entry or three dozen entries. A bibliography is a bibliography and lends credence to your work. Besides, there are times when you will be told you can use a quote as long as the source is properly identified. (If you do not know the correct formatting for a bibliography entry or a footnote, check out a good college text that gives examples. I refer to The Little Brown Handbook for proper bibliography and footnote formats; there are university websites that give the format for Internet-related material.) Now that everything is neatly tied-up, what do you do with the signed permissions request? Don't throw it away! Copyright law is federal law, so play it safe and file the documents away safely for at least seven to ten years. You can file the signed permissions request with the draft copies of your material, you can start a separate filing system for permissions request - whatever system works for you. Just be sure to use a system so you can find the permissions request for your lawyer in case it is ever needed. Permission requests are legal documents.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a lawyer and a lawyer has not reviewed this essay. The information in this essay is based on situations I have encountered while working for various clients. What applies to my projects may or may not apply to your project. The purpose of posting this essay is to give you ideas.

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© 1999 Anne Wallingford

Friday, August 10, 2007