Permissions: Step 2

After I read many kinds of advice and asked knowledgeable people on the subject of what the permission request form should contain, I settled on the following:

PERMISSION REQUEST FORM

DATE: May 1, 2006

FROM: Karren LaLonde Alenier
Street
City, State, zip

TO: Person you want permission from
Street
City, State, zip


Request permission to reprint the following selections(s):

[Here you can either put a short passage of text or saying something like this:]
See the attached interview.

Selections(s) will appear in the following publication:
Title: The Steiny Road to Operadom: The Making of American Operas
Author: Karren LaLonde Alenier

I am requesting worldwide rights for all editions in perpetuity free of fee.

-------------------------------------------------
This request is approved on the conditions specified below and on the understanding that full credit will be given to the source.


Approved by: _________________________________

Date: _________________________________

Credit line in the bibliography:

Author’s Interviews
Name of Person from whom you quoted, date, by what method (in person, by phone, by email)

With this permission form, I included a cover letter.

Karren L. Alenier
Street
City, State, zip
May 1, 2006

Joe Smith
Street
City, State, zip

Dear Joe,

As you know, I am developing a book based on my essays and interviews published on Scene4.com and would appreciate if you would grant me permission to use the interview I did with you in 2005.

My purpose in trying to get this book published is to share my experience as poet-librettist in learning about contemporary American opera. I appreciate the part you played in helping me understand the theater of Gertrude Stein. Given the state of publishing today, there is little to no money to be made and so I hope you will understand that I am a struggling writer trying to support an art form I have grown to love.

The permission form is enclosed in duplicate. Please send back one signed and dated copy in the stamped envelope provided.

Thank you,

This letter and form are what I used for most of the permissions I needed, but when you deal with well known writers, and possibly deceased authors, you might have to rethink how much you quote. Permission fees may be too costly for your budget. I'll talk about this in the next post.

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein