My book about Irene Mawer has been written for some time. The book is finished. So why isn’t it published?
The reason is complicatedly simple – copyright.
I always knew that I would need to deal with copyright, but I had innocently assumed it would be straight forward, and mainly free of charge. I want to quote from old newspapers and I assumed this would be straight forward and free.
Out of courtesy, I have been tracking down the current owners of old, defunct, English newspapers – and I wish I hadn’t bothered. Not only has it been a horrible job to track down the current rights holders, it seems that in addition to any copyright fees, I also have to buy licences. So, even if there isn’t a copyright fee, apparently I still have to pay to quote from the newspaper.
Surely this can’t be right? Does anyone know? I would be so grateful if there is someone who understands these issues who could guide me through it please!
Yours sadly, confusedly and dejectedly,
Janet.