These self publishing guidelines for avoiding legal issues are particularly important to read if you are writing a memoir, expose or quoting extensively from other articles or books.

When Do I Need to Get Permissions? | Bookstand Publishing Read this if you quoting other books or articles in your book manuscript.

Guidelines on Using Photos in Your Self Published Book | Bookstand Publishing

 

Read this if you are using photographs or images in your self published book.

A Writer’s Guide to Defamation and Invasion of Privacy | WritersDigest.com

Good article from Writers Digest on avoiding defamation and invasion of privacy in a memoir.

Copyright in General (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office

General answers to questions about Copyright. Please note that you do NOT need to have your book registered by the US Copyright Office to be protected by copyright law.

Defamation – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Definition of Defamation so you be sure you haven’t committed it in your book.

The ‘Fair Use’ Rule: When Use of Copyrighted Material is Acceptable | Nolo.com

Good article on Fair Use which sometimes allows you to make limited use of another copyrighted work without asking permission.

The First Amendment Handbook | Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Guidelines on the web for writers on avoiding libel, defamation, privacy infringement and more.

If you are in the midst of writing your book and you wonder how you’ll even push to 65,000+ words then the idea of shortening you book may seem amusing. The fact is I’m finding a large percentage of new writers who are writing books well over 100,000 words over the last year or so. Even if your book is half that length you may need to shorten [or tighten] your book considerably.

Unfortunately, teaching you how to shorten isn’t as easy to talk about in a blog. That is because many times you are just being WAAAYYYY too wordy and you need someone to look at it and cut it down. Here are a couple of things to help you:

1.  Could see/Could hear/Could smell=saw, heard, smelled. This is a huge one. I’m not sure why people think they need to use the word “could” all the time but AHHHHH!!!! Just do a search on this word and you’ll be amazed at how often you find it. The other issue here is you may be TELLING and writing in deep point of view will fix it. Let me show you what I mean:

He could see his young daughter, Sarah, running over the hill toward him, her pony tails were bouncing. She loved him so much and he loved her even more.

Oh, there is so much we can do to tighten this. Do you see it?

He could see his young daughter, Sarah, running ran over the hill toward him, her pony tails were bouncing. She loved him so much and he loved her even more.

The first thing to do is cut most of the beginning. If we are in this person’s POV then we are seeing it through his eyes. All of my clients are screaming, “Amen! Tiff nails  us on this all the time.” When you look at something you don’t say, “I can see…”. You simply see it. We’ve already killed 6 useless words and taken the reader deeper in to the character. That takes us to the next tip…

2.  Show don’t tell. How can you show motion? In the example above Sarah “Ran over the hill toward him”. This is where we’re going to add some words in order to subtract others. How could we SHOW that she was running to him as well as show how she feels? I’m assuming this is a happy scene. We talk about love. How can we convey love while still letting us see what is happening? How about this:

…two little feet racing down the hill, two pony tails bouncing, two arms reaching toward him. His chest ached with love.

Can the reader understand she is on a hill? Can they tell she is coming toward him? How do we know there is affection? We leave things implied which cuts some words and allows us to add only necessary words. To be honest, I’m not thrilled with “His chest ached with love.” I think I’ll cut it more.

BEFORE: He could see his young daughter, Sarah, running over the hill toward him, her pony tails were bouncing. She loved him so much and he loved her even more.

After: Sarah ran over the hill…two little feet racing, two pony tails bouncing, two arms reaching for him. His chest ached.

This went from 29 words to 20. In the second, do you have a better sense of this girls age, her feelings, and the POV character’s feelings for/relationship with her? And we did it while cutting 9 words.

Hopefully, you also see now why it is so hard to give a blanket answer on how to cut. You have to look at one sentence at a time. You need to identify that subtle telling. You need to examine the motivation [in our example, Sarah’s motivation is running to her loving daddy.

I also want to show you the power of tightening like this. You feel a deeper sense of emotion. You feel more a part of this. Do you want proof? Read the sentence again:

Sarah ran over the hill…two little feet racing, two pony tails bouncing, two arms reaching for him. His chest ached.

Now, add this as the next sentence:

The words your mommy is gone catching in his mind. How would he voice them to her?

OUCH! Is your heart breaking? [Mine is. I don’t like writing that sentence.] You built up the emotion with tight writing so we feel we ARE these people.

I cannot stand this pain. I need to rewrite this. Okay, let’s look at our original sentence again:

Sarah ran over the hill…two little feet racing, two pony tails bouncing, two arms reaching for him. His chest ached.

Now, add this as the next sentence:

He was finally here to stay.

Okay, a bit sappy for this Suspense writer, but it makes me much happier. I didn’t want that little girl, Sarah, sad.

I’ll talk about this another time, but try using these few tips I gave you here to tighten your writing and deepen your POV. You’ll get in to word count range for your target publisher AND you’ll have more powerful writing.

If these tips are helpful then I suggest you get, “Wisdom from Writing Career Coach”. In it I have the tips I’ve shared with dozens of clients over the years. You can get it as a digital download for only $2.50 here.

If you’d like a print copy it is $8.95 + $5 priority mail shipping. Use this payment link.  Allow 6 business days for other orders.

__________________________________________

Tiffany Colter is the Writing Career Coach at www.WritingCareerCoach.com and one of the hosts of  The Road LESS Published on Blog Talk Radio.  She can be reached at Tiffany@WritingCareerCoach.com

Books are generally divided into three parts: The frontmatter, the body of the book, and the backmatter.

Keep in mind that there is no book that has all of these parts. Use this list instead to make sure you have the right content in the right category, and that elements of your book appear in the sequence in which they are expected.

Normally, unless otherwise noted, each of these items should start on a right hand page.

Frontmatter

The Frontmatter are the pages at the beginning of a book before the body of the book. These pages are traditionally numbered with lowercase roman numerals.

Half title Page—Sometimes called the Bastard Title.  This page contains only the title of the book and is the first page you see when opening the cover.

Title Page—Contains the title, subtitle, author and publisher of the book.

Copyright Page—Is on the reverse of the Title Page, and contains the copyright notice, publisher information, the ISBN number, Library of Congress number, and printing information (usually “Printed in the United States of America”). Legal notices, credits for illustrations or cover design are also commonly listed on the page.

Dedication—Not every book carries a dedication but, for those that do, it is opposite the copyright page.  A dedication is always personal. Professional acknowledgements go on the Acknowledgements page or in the Preface.

Foreword—An introductory essay written by someone other than the author.  The Foreword is always signed, usually with the Foreword author’s name, and title.  Please note that the Foreword (literally meaning “the word before”) should never be spelled as Forward.

Preface—An introductory essay written by the author that tells how the book came into being, followed by thanks and acknowledgments to people who were helpful to the author during the time of writing.  The Preface is usually signed with the author name, place and date. .

Acknowledgments—The author expresses their gratitude for help in the creation of the book.  The acknowledgement page should not be more than 1 page.  If you have a Preface page that includes acknowledgements, then you do not need a separate Acknowledgements page.

Introduction—Here the author introduces the material that is covered in the work.  Typically, an author tells the reader what will be revealed in greater detail if they continue reading.

Table of Contents—Also known as the Contents page, this page lists all the major divisions of the book including parts and chapters and their page numbers. Depending on the length of the book, a greater level of detail may be provided to help the reader navigate the book.

Please note, you should include all your Front Matter in your Table of Contents (with the exception of the Title and Copyright Pages), even though they come before the Table of Contents.

A Table of Contents should start on a right hand page, unless it requires the use of two pages, in which case it should start on the left hand side.

Prologue—In a work of fiction, the Prologue sets the scene for the story and is told in the voice of a character from the book, not the author’s voice.

Body

The Body is the main portion or body of the book.  These pages are traditionally numbered with Arabic numerals with page 1 beginning with the first text of the main body (which means page 1 is usually the first page of the first chapter).

Parts—Both fiction and nonfiction books are often divided into parts when there is a large conceptual, historical or structural logic that suggests these divisions.

Chapters—Most fiction and almost all nonfiction books are divided into chapters for the sake of organizing the material.

Backmatter

The Backmatter are the pages after the body of the work.

Epilogue or Epilog—A short essay, in the voice of the author, that brings closure to the work.

Afterword—An Afterword either covers how the book was created (in which case you would not have a Preface) or it is written by someone other than the author, seeking to put work in some wider context (often done if the work is being reissued after many years)

Postscript— The postscript is a final “PS” note at the end of a book, providing additional information that doesn’t fit as part of the story or main point of the book.

Appendix —A supplement to the main work. An Appendix typically includes referenced documents cited in the text, or articles peripherally related to the subject of the book.

Notes—If your main text requires notes to amplify or document certain passages throughout the text, please arrange the notes by chapter in a notes section.Glossary—An alphabetical list of terms and their definitions, helpful in understanding the terms referenced frequently in the book. 

Bibliography—The bibliography section lists the sources for works used in your book. Be sure to arrange the sources alphabetically by the author’s last name.

Index—An alphabetical listing of people, places, events, and subjects cited along with page numbers.  This is typically done for a scholarly, non-fiction book.

About the Author—A brief biography, nor more than 1 page, about the author.  This is typically the last page of a book and is on the left hand side.  The author biography should either be on the last page of the book, or on the cover of the book (but not both).

A self published book can be a great way to get new prospects for your business, add value to your services and increase your revenue.   Here are just a few ways self publishing a book can help your business:

A book is the new business card

Nobody cares about your business card.  They will likely throw it away after they meet you.  A book on the other hand, seldom gets thrown away.    A business card just means you have access to a print shop.  A book differentiates you from your competitors (who are still passing out business cards).

A book gives you instant credibility

A book makes you an expert.  If you are consultant or someone who makes their money by selling their expertise, a book is about the best took you can have to establish your credentials and make you stand out among all the other consultants, counselors, and experts.

Speaking engagements, talk and radio show appearances and publicity are much more likely to happen if you have a book.  In our society being a published author equals being an expert.

A book is a lead generation tool

A book is an excellent way to generate leads and to make leads into likely customers.

If you are consultant, don’t just put a lead form on your website and wait for people to contact you.  Tell them if they register on your site, you will send them a free book with information of interest to them.  This will generate a lot more potential leads then no offer.

If you teach classes or offer a consultation service, give prospects a free book with the view that those that read the book will be more likely to pay the tuition for your classes.  You won’t make money on book sales if you give away your books, of course, but if doing so increases your sales conversions to your main business, then a book giveaway can still be a money maker for you.

Books can also be used in businesses we usually don’t associate with books.  For example, if you have a wine shop and you make your money from selling fine wines, you may want to consider offering a free book on evaluating fine wines.  An educated wine consumer is much more likely to spend money on a fine wine than someone who doesn’t know their Chardonnays from their Merlots.

A book can help educate your prospects and an educated prospect is more likely to see the value in what you offer.

A book offers added value 

Giving away a book in association with your service or class can add perceived value to your business services.

For example, you can require your clients to purchase your book as a part of the service you offer. For example, Bookstand Publishing had a doctor author who offered a weight loss service, who required all his clients to purchase his print on demand weight loss book (and he charged a lot for weight loss service too).

In another case, a consultant who published a print on demand book began including the book as a part of his speaker’s package so clients would receive something tangible when they attended his paid seminar (and, of course the book included his contact information and list of services so class participants could contact him again in the future).

A book is an additional revenue stream

Often speakers who speak for “free” or who charge a low dollar amount for their seminars take a different approach and sell books in the back of the classroom.  This is an excellent way to sell books, as customers are most likely to buy your book after having been inspired by your speaking.   Almost every big name speaker sells books in the back of the room (or offers a book as a part of their speaking package)

As another example, if you offer counseling sessions, and your book is relevant to that field, put your book on a bookstand with pricing and ordering information so that all of your counseling clients see it.  You can even offer a book signing at your place of business.  The fact is that your existing clients are the best prospects to purchase your book.

Retail sales of your book on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com and other online sites, can happen for your book as well, if you smart about how your market and promote your book.  And being smart about how you market and promote your book will usually also help you in marketing and promoting your business as well.

In honor of National Poetry Month, I thought I would publish this list of great poets who self published their books.   This is but a very small list, as thousands of famous poets have self-published.

American poet Walt Whitman self-published many editions of his collected poems, Leaves of Grass (first edition published on July 4, 1855). Leaves of Grass continues to sell thousands of copies each year — almost 120 years after his death!

T.S. Eliot, author of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and The Waste Land, paid for the publication of his first book.

British poet Alexander Pope, author of the satirical mock-epic poems The Rape of the Lock and The Dunciad, paid for the publication of his first book.

American poet and short story writer Edgar Allen Poe, author of the poem The Raven and short stories such as The Tell-Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher, self-published some of his writings.

English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, author of Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, Adonais, and Prometheus Unbound, paid for the publication of his first book.

English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, author of Sonnets from the Portuguese, paid for the publication of her first book.

American poet E. E. Cummings self-published No Thanks, a volume of poetry financed by his mother. On the half-title page, he listed the 13 publishers that had rejected the book, which became one of his classics.

Carl Sandburg self-published poems and essays with the financial assistance of his college professor. His work came to public notice when he began selling to Poetry magazine.

Oscar Wilde self-published a book of poetry in 1881.

If you are thinking about self-publishing your poetry, you’re in good company. If you want to add your name to this list of self-published poets, you should check out Bookstand Publishing’s affordable Paperback Book Publishing Packages.

• Be sure your book is in ONE electronic file.
• Set up your page size. The Directions below are for MS Word 7 and 10
• The most common and most economical trim sizes is 5.25 inches wide x 8.25 inches tall. To format to our other sizes, please change the “PAPER SIZE” per the following instructions. All other adjustments stay the same.
• In MICROSOFT WORD, open a NEW Document and click on PAGE SETUP under PAGE LAYOUT.

• Set your PAPER SIZE to Custom 5.25” x 8.25”.

• Set your MARGINS to Mirror Margins with the Inside Margins being .75″ and the outside margins being .5″. This creates space for the binding of the book. We recommend .7” for the top and bottom margins.

• Format your PARAGRAPHS to FULL Justified and Single Spaced. Indent the first sentence of the paragraph using the SPECIAL box and FIRST LINE by 0.5” as shown below. No spaces between paragraphs.

• You are now ready to put your book into this format. Close your existing book file. With the above described blank document open in Microsoft Word, go to the top Tool Bar; and the INSERT tab. Click OBJECT and then Text From File. Select your book and click INSERT. You have now put your book in the correct basic format.

• If your book is in separate files, for example each chapter in its own file, you must INSERT Chapter One, then place the cursor at the END of Chapter One and INSERT Chapter Two, and so on, into the main book file.

• Once the file has been inserted, view the page size on your as TWO PAGES. This will make the chapter location and the page numbering easier to visualize.

• Body Text should be set to 10 to 12 point Times New Roman text font. Actually, you may use any font you want; however, it is best to use an easy-to-read font. Also, keep the font and the font size consistent for a professional-looking book.
• Page Numbers should be positioned “Bottom of page (Footer)” On an even numbered page, the Page Number should be on the Outside Left. On an odd numbered page, the Page Number should be on the Outside Right.
• To begin page numbering you must first insert a SECTION BREAK on the last page prior to where you want page ONE to begin. In most cases page one is also the first page of Chapter One.
• You want page ONE and all other ODD-NUMBERED pages to be right-hand pages. Page ONE is always an ODD-NUMBERED and RIGHT-HAND page.  When working in Microsoft Word, this can be a bit confusing. A right-hand FACING page may appear on the left side of your screen when you are viewing the document as TWO PAGES. This will become clearer if you put page numbers on the OUTSIDE. Page ONE will then have the page number on the right side of the page, making it a right-hand page. If page ONE is a left-hand page, simply insert a PAGE BREAK before the SECTION BREAK. Remember, you are creating a book, so think as though you had the book lying open in front of you on the table.
• Here is how to set the Page Numbers in MS Word 7 and 10:
  • Go to Insert
  • Go to PAGE NUMBER
  • Go to Bottom of Page
  • Choose a Left Hand Page Number for an Even Numbered Page (For example Plain Number 1)
  • Choose a Right Hand Page Number for an Odd Numbered Page (For example Plain Number 3)

  

• Each chapter should begin on its own RIGHT-HAND page. This often requires adding a blank page at the end of a chapter in order to make the next chapter begin on a RIGHT-HAND page. If you choose not to adhere to the right-hand Chapter starts, however, that is acceptable to us.

For more information on formatting your manuscript for publication you can request a FREE copy of Professional Self Publishing Made Easy published by Bookstand Publishing.  Registering will also give you access to our preformatted MS Word Templates that you can download to your computer.   To register, please go to www.bookstandpublishing.com and fill out your name and email address on our home page.

Ten years ago, if you could not interest a traditional publisher in your book, you could spend tens of thousands of dollars preparing your book and thousands of dollars more with a custom printer to fill your garage with boxes of books. Thanks to digital printing technology, however, it is now possible to obtain a professional quality copy of your book for under $1,500. With Bookstand Publishing, you normally receive 48 copies of your book in the initial printing. The initial printing is included in the publishing package price. Visit our web site at www.bookstandpublishing.com for a list of all the benefits of publishing with Bookstand Publishing.

Here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself:

1. What is your motivation and purpose for publishing your book?

Writing a book is a lot of work. Publishing one is even more work. Is your purpose clear and sufficiently well conceived to sustain you through the experience? If profit is a motive, then the venture must be treated as a business. Typically, from start to finish, a writer will spend 10% of his or her time writing the book, 15% publishing it, and 75% marketing and promoting the finished book. Keep your purpose clear!

2. Is your book written for a specific market niche or group of people?

It is more expensive to promote a book to a wide general audience. Marketing costs are less when the target audience is specific, definable, and accessible.

3. Do you have a way to sell books direct?

Selling books direct (at retail price to your target audience) is the most profitable way to recover your initial self-publishing investment. The standard heavy discounts to wholesalers and bookstores can be costly for slow-moving books. In fact, without a solid marketing plan, selling books to bookstores can be the least profitable way to distribute your book. Think of alternative ways to distribute your book: Organizations, associations, corporations, conventions, fundraisers, and back-of-the-room sales after lectures or workshops, to name but a few. These are known as special sales markets. 

4. Are you willing to go out and promote your book?

A general rule for authors: A book stops selling when the author does. No matter who publishes your book, you are responsible for creating the demand for it. A book will not sell well sitting on a bookstore’s shelf, unless interest is generated for your book. Don’t forget: Writing a book is about 10% of the effort, publishing it is about 15%, and marketing it is 75%!

5. How many copies do you think you will sell?

Beyond your friends and family, who will be interested in your book? Knowing your market and how to reach those people are important questions to answer before you invest in self-publishing. The fact is that 95% of all books published sell fewer than 7,500 copies. With Bookstand Publishing’s print-on-demand services, though, you will not incur the added expense of printing thousands of copies of your book, only to stockpile them in your garage.

6.  What is Print-on-Demand (POD)?

At its simplest, print-on-demand (POD) publishing means that whenever a book is demanded (ordered, bought, requested), a copy of the book is printed to fill that specific demand.

This article is excerpted from The Self-Publishing Checklist by Andy Baldwin.  You can request a FREE copy of this book be sent to you here: http://www.bookstandpublishing.com/pod4/

WHY EDITURZ ARR KNEADED

By Rick Helley, Guest Blogger and Senior Editor at Bookstand Publishing

I came across this rather amusing item on page 12 of the May 7, 2010, issue of The Week magazine:

An Australian publisher has destroyed 7,000 copies of a cookbook after a recipe called for “salt and freshly ground black people.” The recipe, for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto, was meant to call for black pepper, but a typo led a computer spell-checker program to insert the erroneous word.

During my years as a copy editor in the corporate world, some gaffes approaching that one crossed my desk, such as the following:

•  A report discussing diesel emissions from ferryboats in San Francisco Bay included the line, “emissions from the San Francisco fairies.”
• A report on boiler emissions noted, “After eating lunch, the boiler exploded.”
• A company abstract about pollution control touted the firm’s “Population Abatement Systems” — to which I responded, via a note to the author, “Project Manager, Josef Mengele?”

 In addition, about twenty years ago, a newspaper in my city included a recipe for seafood salad calling for shrimp and, among other ingredients, “Crap.”

And, in 2002, the City of Lauderhill, Florida, decided to honor actor James Earl Jones with a commemorative plaque. Someone, however, failed to proofread the plaque, which ended up with the inscription:

Thank You
James Earl Ray
for Keeping the Dream Alive
City of Lauderhill
January 19, 2002

 The lesson here is that grammar checkers and spell checkers, as convenient as they may be at times, are no replacement for human editors and proofreaders.

Avoid a bad self publishing experience. Follow these rules!

Here are 7 rules for any author shopping for a good self publishing company:

1.  You want to keep 100% of your rights

Any self publishing company that does not allow you to keep 100% of your author rights is not a legitimate company, in my opinion, and you should avoid them at all costs

2.  You want a non-exclusive contract

You don’t want to work with a company that restricts your rights and who you can work with.  You want someone who is trying to help you, not restrict you.

3.  You want a company with a good reputation

Only deal with self publishing companies with a good rating with the Better Business Bureau.  In addition, do an online search of complaints regarding the company.  A lot of big self publishing companies have gotten themselves a bad reputation because they use very aggressive sales techniques, they don’t or won’t resolve problems when they arise and their staff is not well trained to answer questions about sales and distribution.  Avoid them.

4.  You must have these essential services

Your self publishing company must provide you with:

• ISBN number
• Bowkers Books in Print Registration
• Distribution on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com
• Distribution through the wholesaler Ingram and/or Baker & Taylor
• Print on Demand order fulfillment

If you are looking at a company that doesn’t offer these basic services, then they are not a publishing company, they are a printing company.  They are going to print books for you, but no online or offline bookstore will make them available for sale

5.  Decide if you need Full Service or Self Service

There are two types of Self Publishing companies, Full Service and Self Service.  Full Service self publishing companies will help you lay out your manuscript, help you with your cover, give you advice, provide you with electronic proofs of your book before it goes to press and much more.  Self Service companies, on the other hand,  expect you to come to them with everything formatted and complete and if there are problems they are your problems.  Most authors new to publishing should use a Full Service self publishing company to start

6.  Compare publishing packages

Publishing packages come with a variety of services.  When comparing publishing packages between companies be sure you are comparing apples to apples.  In particular compare:

• The number of books that come with each package
• The price to purchase additional books
• EBook services such as Kindle, Nook and iPad editions
• Any additional fees such as shipping costs

7.  Consider other services you may need

In evaluating self publishing companies, you need to consider what other services you may need beside the basic publishing services.  You may want to consider:

• Editing services
• Cover design services
• Illustration services
• Marketing services

For example, if you want to aggressively market your book you will need to be sure that the publishing company you choose offers a variety of marketing services for your book.

Photographs and images in your book can help you tell your story and add interest, clarity and excitement to your book. A powerful image on the cover of your book, can do a lot to help sell your book.

However, the laws and regulations for when you can and can’t use a photograph in your book can be confusing and, if you aren’t careful, can get you in trouble.   Here are some simple guidelines to help end the confusion and keep you out of trouble.

Permissions

As a rule, if you didn’t take the picture yourself, you have to have written permission from the copyright holder to use the image in your book. The two exceptions to this are:

• Public Domain:   Under United States copyright law, all images published before January 1, 1923 in the United States are now in the public domain.    Just because something is posted on the World Wide Web does NOT mean it is under public domain.  In fact, most images on the World Wide Web are copyright protected and cannot be used without permission.
• Fair use:  Fair use of a copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.   You can read more about Fair Use here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use   Please keep in mind that if you intend to profit from the sale of your book, the images you use in your book will probably NOT be covered by Fair Use.

Getting Permission

If you have a specific image you want to use, you will need to write a letter or send an email to the person who holds the copyright of the image and ask permission to use the image.  In some cases, the copyright owner of the image will allow you to use the image for free, but in many cases they may request you pay a fee for the right to use it.

There are a number of stock photo sites that will sell you images and the right to use the image in your book for a nominal fee.  My favorite image sites are:

• www.istockphoto.com
• www.Shutterstock.com
• www.Fotosearch.com

This is a FREE stock photo site with over 350,000 images:

• http://www.sxc.hu/

Wikepedia offers a list of image resources for public domain images:

•  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.php?curid=63057

Wikepedia is a good spot to search for images as the copyright restrictions on images are clearly labeled and many have been released into the public domain or are available for restricted use.

Images of People

If you took a picture of a group of individuals you may or may not need to get their permission to use the image in your book.

If you are using the image for editorial purposes, it’s usually okay to use them without permission.

If you are using photos with people in them for advertising, you need their permission.  People have the right to profit from their photograph or likeness and this right continues after death and is given to their heirs

Usually, using an image on the cover of your book would be considered an image for advertising purposes (since your cover is used to promote and sell your book) and using an image inside your book would be considered for editorial purposes.  For example, If you have pictures inside your book showing people white water rafting down a river, you will probably not need their permission. If you put that same picture on the cover of your book, however, you should get their permission.

Logos and Brand Names

Be wary of using logos, symbols, brand names, company names, and trademarks in an image.  Even using very old images of a brand name or trademark still in use, can get you in trouble.

Please note that I am not a lawyer and I am not engaged in rendering legal services.  When working with legal issues, or if you have any questions on using a photo in your book, you should always seek experienced, professional counsel.