MSI Press Blog

  Authors, especially first-time authors of non-fiction books, must and should rely on available, already published information. The question is how to handle the use of it in your own work. Yes, of course, there are guides on how to cite something (APA Manual, Chicago Manual of Style, etc.), but what you can cite is something else. How do you avoid violating copyright law and finding yourself in a big unhealthy pile of muck and perhaps even having to take your book off the shelf? Here are some basic guidelines. 1. Lyrics & Poetry Even a single line of song lyrics or poetry is usually protected. Publishers almost always require permission and payment for reproduction. Safer route: paraphrase the sentiment or describe the effect instead of quoting. 2. Books & Prose Short quotations (a few lines) may fall under fair use , especially for commentary, criticism, or scholarship. Extended excerpts (e.g., 100+ lines) almost always require permission . Rule of thumb: i...

    It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's post looks at copyright infringement from the point of view of authors who might accidentally infringe upon the copyright of authors. (This is Part 1 of two posts, the second post being about others' violation of authors' copyright.) What constitutes copyright infringement? For text:  Copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is used without the permission of the copyright owner. This can include: Reproducing the work. Distributing copies of the work. Performing the work publicly. Displaying the work publicly. Creating derivative works based on the original. Essentially, any unauthorized use of a copyrighted ...