Writing & Publishing how to find copyright status on quotes

carolinamtne

carolinamtne

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One of the characters in my Escape to Montana book likes to throw out horse quotations at appropriate (or not) times. How do I find the copyright status of such quotes. Is it safe to use "anonymous" quotes? How do I know if they really are?

I remember reading a long time ago about a site that helped with this.
 
This is to give some context. Does it work?


Cherry looked down at her feet, then back up at Sami. “Mind if I ask you kind of a personal question?”

Sami’s hand flew to her chest. “How personal? … No, go ahead, ask away.”

“What’s it feel like to watch one of your horses leave to a new home?”

“You’re thinking about Happy?”

Well, it’s not like I’ve been with her for months or years, but …”

“Understood. The first time I did it, Helen said it’s a lot like sending your kids off to college or having them get married and leave.” She looked up at Cherry. “But I haven’t done that, have you?”

Helen laughed. Cherry shook her head.

Sami continued. “I’m glad they’re starting a new life, and I hope they do well. So that’s the good part. The other … well, I know I’m going to miss them, like losing a friend.” She offered another quote. “The love for a horse is just as complicated as the love for another human being… if you never love a horse, you will never understand.”

Helen and Cherry nodded. “That’s very true,” Helen said.

Sami continued answering Cherry’s question. “And sometimes it hurts, but I know I did the best I could to prepare them for a new life.”

Helen looked over at Happy. “You’re giving her a chance to have a good life with people who will take good care of her. And that’s what she needs. … And wants.”

Cherry’s eyes followed Helen’s. “I know.”

Helen put a hand on Cherry’s shoulder. “But you’ve lost a lot in the last while.”

“Yeah.”
 
Thank you both, SW and Lynn.

There are some other quotes I would love to "borrow," but Churchill and a couple others are probably unquotable.
 
I used a Churchill quote in one of my books (right at the beginning). I attributed it to him, which was an important aspect of using the quote to begin with.

Since it was a short quote from a publicly made statement, at the very least it would be covered under "fair use" provision of the copyright law.
 
This is a timely question, as I too have been pondering about the legal use of quotes, or even references to other things.

For instance, is it OK in my book to say:

"Are you OK?" John asked Jenny.

Jenny answered with a brief "I'm Fine."

"Fine? You mean Freaked out, Insecure, Necrotic and Emotional?"

Jenny smiled as she remembered the last date they had been on, and the reference to the movie they watched, "The Italian Job", which was now her favorite movie.


Or, would it be OK to have the same but instead of saying "The Italian Job", just to say "The last movie they watched, which was now her favorite movie", thus leaving the quote, but removing the name of another story/book or movie?
 
I "borrowed" a quote credited to Pat Parelli, "A horse doesn't care how much you know until he knows how much you care." The character told who said it. And I have a couple Anon Y Mous quotes, which doesn't worry me."

From what I read, it's OK to take longer quotes as long as they don't refer to the meat of what the person wrote.
 
lynnmosher said:
Umm...why do you have each word capitalized? And I'm guessing you don't use the Oxford comma. ;)
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Because I'm a very poor writer. I didn't mention that I'm an "accidental novelist" when I first joined. I never planned on writing a novel, it just kind of happened. ;) If you think that's bad, you should talk to poor @suspensewriter in regards to what he's seen from me. :eek::D

As for oxford comma's, do you mean in regards to having a comma before the 'and'? If so - what's the correct thing. I think I used to do this, but ProWritingAid or something suggested I remove them (from my novel).

As for capitals, yeah - ever since things like eMail and iPhone, etc came out years ago, I've lost the little I understood about when to use them. 😏
 
LOL Yeah, those words confuse things, don't they? ;)

I'm one of those nuts who stands atop the tower of Oxford, yelling, "Comma! Comma! Comma!" LOL I never understand the reason for not using it. Brings about some really weird sentences sometimes. 😅
 
lynnmosher said:
LOL Yeah, those words confuse things, don't they? ;)

I'm one of those nuts who stands atop the tower of Oxford, yelling, "Comma! Comma! Comma!" LOL I never understand the reason for not using it. Brings about some really weird sentences sometimes. 😅
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Normally I stand out on my own convictions very strongly. However when it comes to novel writing, I know my weakness and am lead by what is popular the most. I have already exchanged my native English to American English, because it seems American English is far more accepted for novel writing (unless I want to restrict my story to Australia, in which a story based on US Navy Ops isn't really going to work well)

I've also bowed down and submitted to most recommendations from suggestions such as ProWritingAid. The only ones I really stood my ground on are those where I knew with certainty that the terminology for certain environments greatly differs from normal terminology that AI like ProWritingAid understands.

In regards to the oxford comma, do you think I should go back to using it? Is it acceptable and normal enough. My personal preference was to use it, but as per above - knowing that I know nothing about this industry, I am easily swayed by autocorrect/gramma suggestions, etc.

As for the capital in the words - yeah, that's poor on my form. It's a bad habit I've gotten into with emails when there's certain items that need to stand out for users, I tend to capitalize them so they're not missed as easy. Something I definitely Need To Work On. ;)
 
Hopping on the conversation about the Oxford comma as an editor trained in both UK and US styles.

To use or not to use it, that is the question. And the answer depends on the style you are following.

The Chicago Manual of Style is used in most general publications (fiction and nonfiction) in the US. Its guideline is to use the Oxford comma but to also be aware that it might occasionally create ambiguity (e.g., "I was inspired to write by my mentor, J. R. R. Tolkien, and George Elliot"—using the Oxford comma here makes it sound like my mentor is J. R. R. Tolkien, which is not true).

New Hart's Rules are a part of the New Oxford Style Manual, which is used for UK style, and while they acknowledge the usefulness of the Oxford comma, they don't prescribe it in the same way the Chicago Manual of Style does. In fact, a typical sign of a book being published in the UK is that it does not use the Oxford comma. (Yes, the name "Oxford comma" is one of the biggest misnomers of the English language.)

Just to make things somewhat more complex, individual publishing houses may have their own preference regarding the Oxford comma regardless of where they are located or which style they are following. Independently published authors have the unique privilege of being the publisher and so able to set their "house style." So an indie author could follow the Chicago Manual of Style in all respects but have a rather powerful dislike of the Oxford comma. They are able to instruct the editors they hire to not use it.

Personally, I like the Oxford comma, but I've learned not to set my proverbial flag on a hill when dealing with the English language unless something is definitely wrong. Which is a fancy way of saying it's not a hill I'm going to die on, either as a writer or an editor ;).
 
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