Fact-checking and permissions for nonfiction authors

Fact-checking your own book

The Editorial Freelancers Association defines a fact-checker's job as confirming "the veracity of each statement that is claimed as an assertion of fact." That is a useful standard for your own pass. Most of it you can do yourself, if you are systematic.

1. Build a source log

   A spreadsheet with one row per checkable claim: the claim as written, chapter and page, the source with a link or full citation, the date you checked it, and a status (confirmed, changed, cut). Start it while drafting if you can. It is also what an editor or fact-checker will ask for.

2. Find every checkable claim

   Read each chapter looking only for: numbers and percentages, dates, names and titles, quotations, descriptions of research ("studies show"), claims about companies, and anything you remember rather than know. Each goes in the log.

3. Go to the original source

   Not the article that quoted the study: the study. Not the website that listed the quote: the book or speech it came from. Check the exact figure, what was measured, the sample and the year. A number that was true of US managers in one survey is not true of "people."

4. Check quotes word for word

   Famous lines are often paraphrased, shortened or attributed to the wrong person. If you cannot find the original, either cut the quote or present it honestly ("a line often attributed to...").

5. Check names, titles and spellings

   Every person and company, against an official source. Job titles change; write "then CEO" where needed.

6. Check your own stories

   Memory is a source too, and not a perfect one. Check dates, sequences and numbers in your own stories against emails, calendars and records, and with the other people who were there.

7. Remove "studies show"

   Either name the study and cite it, or rephrase as your own view from experience. Unnamed studies make careful readers suspicious.

If you cannot find a source for a claim, you have three honest options: find one, soften the claim to what you can support, or cut it.

Quoting other works and fair use

In the United States, fair use is the legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission in some circumstances. The US Copyright Office's Fair Use Index explains that Section 107 of the Copyright Act lists uses such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research as examples of activities that may qualify, and sets out four factors courts weigh:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether it is commercial. "Transformative" uses, which add something new and do not substitute for the original, are more likely to be fair. A business book is commercial, but quoting a passage in order to comment on it is different from reproducing it to save yourself writing.
2. The nature of the work. Using a creative work, such as a novel, film or song, is less likely to be fair than using a factual one, and using an unpublished work is less likely to be fair.
3. The amount and substantiality used. Less is generally safer, but the Office notes that even a small amount can fail if it is the "heart" of the work.
4. The effect on the market for the original. A quote that could replace buying the original is a problem.

Two points from the Copyright Office's FAQ on using someone else's work are worth knowing by heart. First, "there are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words," notes or percentage of a work; the "300 words" or "10 percent" rules you may have heard are not law. Second, in cases of doubt, the Office recommends that permission be obtained. It also notes that it cannot give individuals legal advice about fair use.

Practical habits for quoting in a nonfiction book:

• Quote only what you need to make or support your point, and then comment on it.
• Always credit the author and work, in the text or a note.
• Prefer paraphrase, with credit, for ideas. Quote when the exact words matter.
• Be most careful with epigraphs (a quote at the start of a chapter with no commentary), with creative works, and with anything long.
• Mark every quotation in your source log with its length and source, so you or your editor can review them together.

Permissions for lyrics, poems and images

Lyrics and poems. Songs and poems are creative and often short, so a single line can be a large share of the whole. Both points weigh against fair use under the factors above, which makes lyrics and poetry the quotations most worth clearing. Titles are a different matter: the Copyright Office says copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans or short phrases, so mentioning a song by name is not a copyright issue. If a lyric is not essential, paraphrase what the song means to you instead.

Images, charts and screenshots. A photo you took is yours. Almost anything else, including images found online, charts from reports and screenshots of other people's content, belongs to someone. You need a license or permission, or a good reason it is not needed. Stock images come with licenses; read them, because some exclude print books, book covers or print runs above a certain size. A chart you redraw from someone else's data still needs a credit, and may need permission.

How to ask. The Copyright Office's answer to "how do I get permission?" is simple: ask the owner. For songs, the rights are often held by a music publisher rather than the performer; for book excerpts, the publisher's permissions department; for photos, the photographer or agency. If you are not sure who owns something, the Copyright Office can search its records for you, for a fee. A request should say:

• Exactly what you want to use, with the full text or image.
• Your book's title, author, publisher and expected publication date.
• Formats (print, ebook, audiobook) and territories (US only, or worldwide).
• Expected print run or edition size, if relevant.
• How you will credit it.

Get the answer in writing, keep it with your source log, and budget for a fee. Allow time: permissions requests can be slow, so start early and have a fallback for each.

For more depth, The Chicago Manual of Style has a full chapter on rights, permissions and copyright administration (chapter 4 of the 18th edition, per its table of contents).

Writing about real people and clients

Client stories are often the best part of a business book. They are also where authors most often create problems for themselves. Some habits that help:

• Get written permission from anyone a reader, a colleague or the person themselves could identify. Show them the passage, not just a summary, and keep their written approval.
• Or anonymize properly. Changing a name is rarely enough if the industry, city, company size and story make the person obvious to people who know them. Change identifying details too, and make sure the change does not alter the point of the story.
• Be open about composites. If you combine several clients into one illustrative person, say so in an author's note.
• Check your obligations. Confidentiality agreements you have signed, and the rules of licensed professions such as medicine, therapy, law and financial advice, may limit what you can share even with names removed. Check with your licensing body or a lawyer.
• Be fair to the people you criticize. Stick to what you can document, separate what happened from your opinion of it, and think twice before naming anyone in a negative story. This is where a lawyer's read is most worth paying for.
• Remember the people who are not clients. Former employers, business partners and family members in your stories deserve the same care.

When to get professional help

• A fact-checker, if your book makes many claims about real people, companies, research or health. The EFA's 2026 Rate Chart gives a median of $50 to $60 an hour.
• A permissions editor, if you have many quotations or images to clear. The EFA describes permissions editors as verifying copyright status and ownership and either advising you or obtaining permissions for you; its rate chart lists a median of $50 an hour.
• A publishing lawyer, for any story that criticizes a named or identifiable person or company, any confidential material, and any permission you are unsure about.

All of this belongs before the copyedit, so the text your copyeditor works on is the text you will publish. It is pass 5 of the self-editing checklist.