Acquiring Permissions
by Andrea
We make extensive use of illustrations and photos in the publications we prepare, and we rely heavily on equipment manufacturers and trade associations as sources. But, we can’t use this material without written permission. We permissions editors spend a lot of time visiting websites to obtain the photos and other illustrations for our books. Many websites seem to put up roadblocks that prevent us from reaching individuals within the company. The companies don’t know what we want, but they do want to reduce spam or other unwanted solicitations. If we can ferret out the name of a person we need to contact, we try to reach them by email by looking for a pattern in a company’s email addresses. But sometimes we do have to resort to the old-fashioned method of picking up the telephone and calling the company switchboard. If we can state our case to someone in marketing or marketing communications, we can often get the images we need. People who work in these areas are smart and forward-thinking and know that we offer a way to get their products some free exposure.