Can I use song lyrics as part of dialogue in my book?

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Question:

So!.!.!.I'm working on a VERY rough draft of a YA novel!. As I'm writing, though, I sometimes listen to music!. The story isn't really "inspired" by the music, but it's kind of in the back of my head as I write!.

Anyway, as I'm outlining/brainstorming scenes, I usually "hear" the characters talking or I'll get little bits of "conversation" from them (I know, it's a little weird)!.

What I just "heard" one of my main characters say is actually VERY close to a lyric from one of my favorite bands!.

The lyric is: "I am too weak to be your cure!."
My character says, "I'm too weak to be your cure/cured" (I'm not exactly sure about the usage, yet)!.

So!.!.!.on the off chance that I, by some miracle, get this book published, would I need have permission from the band(s)!?

The above was just an example, but there will probably be two or three more times where I'll be "inspired" to want to pull directly from lyrics!.

Any ideas how that should be handled!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

There are really specific rules for using song lyrics, but I wouldn't worry too much about it in a first draft of an unsold book!. Keep a list of the lyrics you actually use, and the song and artist they come from!. Then, when you sell your book, you can have the publisher's lawyers figure out the legalities before it goes to the printer!.

Instead of paying for rights, you might just have to attribute the lyrics by crediting whoever holds the rights on the colophon page!.

The other way to handle it is to make sure the reader knows what you are quoting, if you can find a way to do it that's not clumsy!.

You can also change the lyric a lot!. For example, "I'm not strong enough to cure you," though I understand completely why you'd rather use the original lyric!.

Anyway, the main point is that there rules, but you don't have to worry about them at this stage!. Just get the writing done and have fun! Good luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com

If you are going to reproduce a significant portion of intellectual property (copyrighted material), I would recommend getting written permission from the author/publisher!.!.!. however in this specific case, I don't think this counts as a significant portion!.
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