It's About Time! ...a heads-up to other writers                 

         Just a brief note today to say hello and thanks for stopping by. While my blog has been getting little or no attention from me of late, I hope to remedy that very soon.          

         Over the past months, I committed myself to forcing my protagonist, Detective Ray Schiller, into harrowing new situations in Shadow Tag, the second book of the series. Of course that means I was also committed to devising resolutions to the precarious situations thrust upon him by yours truly.

http://amzn.to/JQqo5y

       Ray charged out of the starting blocks in Dear Crossing in April of 2012. My self-imposed deadline for the release of Shadow Tag was this past winter. (Yes, the one that officially ended only days ago.)  Am I disappointed? You bet!

      Still, I'm not too far behind schedule at this point. The writing has been completed, but much of what happens now is in the hands of someone else. That, my friends, is the subject of the "heads-up" portion of this blog.

       What's the hold-up? It's this: I chose to use a few lines of lyrics from an old song. In order to do that, an author needs permission. To get that "print license", you must furnish the necessary information: the exact title, composer/arranger/author name(s) and product code number, the complete copyright notice, your name, the number of copies, and a brief description of your intended use of the song.


Simple, right? Not exactly. After doing the necessary research, I contacted EMI, who sent me to Universal, who sent me to Hal Leonard--all music publishers. Hal Leonard sent me back to Universal, who sent me back to Hal Leonard. Nice folks...every last one who dealt with my request! I really mean that. They couldn't have been nicer.

As things stand now, though, I'm only several days into what could be up to a three-week waiting period. The cost, at this point, has been $100, and that doesn't guarantee permission. (Sigh) Am I sorry I chose to use the lyrics in my novel? Nope! For my purposes, they're perfect. I hope I get to use them.

The moral of the story is this: if you want to use lyrics, be prepared to spend some money, do the research, and have the patience of Jobe. Most of all, tackle the "permission" end of things early on.

With any luck, next time I hope to have the book cover of Shadow Tag to show you.

Later!