: Re: Quote at the beginning of a chapter, is it advisable for fiction novels? I have read a few non-fiction works (mostly scientific) where there is a quote at the beginning of each new chapter.

@YK4692630

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There are some practical problems to consider:

1) Attribution. I don't know who Christiana Baldwin is, but I think that quotation is from Byron, English Bards and Scots Reviewers.

2) Royalties. You might find that you need to pay for your quotations if still in copyright (which of course Byron isn't, but if you go searching for suitable quotations online then you'll find plenty that are). Since you aren't writing about the material you're quoting, you will not find a broad fair use exemption.

3) Permission. A living author, or the literary estate of a dead author still in copyright, of course can decline your request for permission to use their work. Or just not reply to email. Someone needs to actually do this rights-checking before you can professionally publish, and you may need to replace or remove quotations. Not that making those changes needs to be particularly painful, especially if you're prepared all along for the possibility.

4) Context. It's all very well taking a quotation that seems applicable, but Byron here is talking about Joan of Arc:

First in the ranks see Joan of Arc advance,
The scourge of England, and the boast of France!
Though burnt by wicked BEDFORD for a witch,
Behold her statue placed in glory’s niche;
Her fetters burst, and just released from prison,
A virgin Phoenix from her ashes risen.

Is that the reference you really want to make -- to literal permanent death and recovery only in posthumous glory? Maybe it is and maybe it isn't, but generally you should use quotations with which you are at least somewhat familiar (or make yourself familiar), so that you know what they'll mean to a reader who recognises it or looks it up (like I just did).

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