May I Quote You?

Most of the writers I know collect quotes. One must be careful to give full attribution to any quote that isn’t in the public domain. I read a post just this week which suggested that even that may be illegal in some instances.

Our pastor used a quote in his sermon this past week. It was by Timothy Keller, a well-known-modern-day-American pastor, theologian, and Christian apologist. I did a search for quotes by him and came up with a lot of lists. Some had his ten best quotes, while others claimed they had twenty-five or more.

I printed these then wondered if I could ever use them in my work. Do I need his permission? Is it okay to do this if I give him credit?

From whom else would I need to ask permission? Does it ever end?

THE MEME THAT WASN’T A MEME

A few years ago, I created a meme with a quote by Sir Frances Drake. (Mmy boys tell me this isn’t a meme, but I explain—in my writing world, it is, indeed, a meme). When we lived in Birmingham and were members of the church choir there (Independent Presbyterian Church if you’d like to check out their YouTube channel), we sang an anthem which used a famous quote by him. You may not remember, but Sir Frances Drake was alive during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

I was cautioned by a friend in the know that I shouldn’t do that.

Seriously? He’s been dead since 1596. His quotes aren’t in public domain?

Apparently, even though some are considered public domain, licensing issues may deem them to be unquotable.

JUST GIVE ME THE TITLE, PLEASE

One may use titles.  But take heed, you may not use lyrics. If you wish to use a song’s lyrics in your work, you must go through the work of finding who has the license for it and contact them for permission to use the lyrics. A lot of work. In my debut novel, Grave Consequences, A Charlotte Graves Mystery, in one scene, Charlotte is lost in the woods at night. I had her singing an old Sunday School song. I had to remove the lyrics and simply say she began to sing This Little Light of Mine.

Bottom line is, check out not only public domain but do a licensing search. I’ve never done this, but I know people who have done it. Just be careful.

The name of the anthem mentioned above is There Must Be a Beginning. Now, go search for that very lovely quote by Drake. It is mightily applicable to writers, or to anyone who has a big task ahead of them. That’s why I created the meme. (Sorry boys, it’s still a meme to Mama).

Blessings, y’all!

 

 

You know I look for a song to accompany the words I write. This isn’t about famous quotes, but it is from one of the most famous pieces of music ever written, Handel’s Messiah.  This is The Lord Gave the Word. See what I did there? How blessed are we as writers, Christian writers, that we get to quote from God’s Word without worries? Be sure to cite the version you use. Follow CMOS guidelines for the type of work you are writing. I’ve been blessed to have sung the entire work many times in my lifetime. This is one of the shortest choruses in it, but one of the most fun to sing. It just makes your heart happy. Search for the words if you can’t understand them here since, you know, we can’t quote song lyrics. I’m not sure about one this old, but I’m not taking that chance. By the way when I was expecting our first child, I was a soprano soloist in the choir (IPC) mentioned in this post. We sang Randall Thompson’s The Peaceable Kingdom at King’s College, Cambridge. Such an honor. I could find no recording of the anthem mentioned in this post. That is why it isn’t here. Enjoy this lovely, lively piece of gorgeous music.