Nonfiction Ink

In the last post I provided resources for locating an expert for your nonfiction book.  Here are a few tips for successfully approaching them.

THE INITIAL CONTACT:

Don’t Feel Intimidated
Most experts  – professors, historians, scientists – are often eager to share their expertise and many are used to granting interviews and fielding questions from the media.  Remember, you have something to offer as well, your publication will help boost their cause, organization, university or business.

Be Professional
If approached professionally, most people will be happy to grant an interview.  It’s appropriate to address a source by his/her formal title (Mr., Professor, Dr.) until you are given permission to be more casual.  Give a brief overview of your project: provide your name and your background (if pertinent), describe your book topic, why you wish to speak to the expert, and the expected length of the interview.  Be transparent – provide the name of your publisher or self-publishing company, if you are emailing your interview request include links to your website or blog for the expert to see you are legitimate.  Let the expert know you will work around their schedule and preferred interview method (email, telephone, or in-person, if feasible) and suggest a few dates and times for the interview (keeping your research deadline in mind.)

Be Prepared
Do your homework: know the expert’s background and area of expertise, as well as the topic you will be discussing.  Be prepared for the interview to take place right then-and-there.  Many times I’ve contacted an expert to set up an interview and received the response, “Let’s do it now”.  Don’t take the chance of losing the interview.  Prior to the initial call, know what you want to ask and prepare a list of questions.

Squash Their Fears
Many experts fear being misquoted.  Assuage their fears by explaining that you record telephone interviews to ensure accuracy.  Give them the option of emailing their answers to your questions, which allows them more time to consider and formulate their words.  NEVER EVER NEVER promise to allow an expert to approve your written copy.  Never ever – did you get that?  Good.

Now get out there and contact those experts!

When editing manuscripts, I often come across passages where the author has included sections taken from another writer’s book (wherein the author is using the other writer’s material to support or clarify his or her own position), or inserts of photos and letters from a well-known figure the author is writing about, or famous and not-so-famous quotes printed at the beginning of a chapter, or even song lyrics or lines from films used to set a tone or evoke a time-period.

Reprinting copyrighted material usually requires permission from the copyright holder unless it falls under the Fair Use provision.

WHAT IS CONSIDERED FAIR USE?
The Fair Use copyright statute states that “fair use of copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research, is not an infringement of copyright.”  If your work does not fall into any of the above categories, then using copyrighted material in your work is probably not considered Fair Use.  You can view the full statute by visiting http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107

MATERIAL IN THE PUBLIC-DOMAIN
Material and works that are in the public-domain do not require permission to use.  A work may fall into the  public-domain once its copyright has expired (such as Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, Pachelbel’s Canon symphony,  da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting, and anything written by Shakespeare) or was never protected by copyright – such as in the case of material created by officers or employees of the U.S. government as part of a government job (for example a handbook on buying a new home). The U.S. copyright office provides the pamphlet How To Investigate The Copyright Status of a Work at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf

USING SHORT ATTRIBUTED QUOTES
Quotations of copyrighted works, which are only a few sentences in length, are usually allowable under the Fair Use statute as long as the work is attributed to the original writer.

CHECKLIST TO DETERMINE FAIR USE
If you check more than two of the items below regarding your use of copyrighted material, your intended use is probably not considered Fair Use and you need to receive Permission to use the copyrighted material.

– The material you create using the copyrighted work is to be used for commercial use, advertising use, or profit.
– The copyrighted material is a creative work or unpublished work.
– Credit for the copyrighted material will not be given to the author.
– The portion of the copyrighted material to be used, in relation to the copyrighted material as a whole, is 15%, more than 15%, or is a substantial portion.
– Use of the copyrighted material will significantly impair the market for the copyrighted work.
– Use of the copyrighted material could replace a sale of the copyrighted work.
– Use of the copyrighted material will diminish the market for the copyrighted work.
– Use of the copyrighted material will significantly increase exposure of the copyrighted work.
– Permission to use the copyrighted work is readily available.