Ok, so my question for you guys is can I use names of songs and other works as the chapter titles? In specifically, I wanted to use “Jar of Hearts” as a title for one chapter, because I love the song, and it fits well with my theme, and then I wanted to used “Fall of the house of Usher” as another chapter title, because one of my characters last names is Usher, and it would fit well with the evens in that chapter while paying homage to another literary work I love. Like, I know I can’t use “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” for a chapter name, and I can’t see why anyone would want to either….. But anyways, I just wanted to ask because I didn’t know if it would be acceptable, or frowned upon. Thanks for your help!
titles can not be copyrighted, so using them in any way is ok and the authors don't even need to be cited... but using well known ones that include the character's name such as the 'harry potter' series could bring the legal wrath of jkr down on your head, so you'd certainly be wise to avoid those titles... go to the source and study up on what you can and can't do: www.copyright.gov that said, why use chapter titles in the first place?... unless your book is for the YA crowd, it's not a good idea, as adult fiction doesn't usually have titles, just numbers...
I like chapter titles... duno why..... Well, I do.... it's because I see them and think, "What on earth is that about?", and it gets me excited to get there and find out. Oh, and my story is probably for the YA crowd....
