Authors and Their Books: Using real organizations in fiction

[Niki Norman]

Can you use real organizations like the red cross or girl scouts without getting permission?

[Nancy]

I write real estate mysteries and reference The National Association of Realtors and the Santa Cruz Association of Realtors. For the national organization, no. For local groups, can't hurt to ask. I have also asked permission to use a ghost hunters group and a website. The manager of the Watsonville airport and the president of our local Woodies club were thrilled to be asked questions and be used in a couple of my books.

[Iscah]

Niki, the answer is yes but tread carefully.

Size of the organization has little to do with it. It's a matter of trademarks and brand names. (Though bigger organizations can probably afford better lawyers.)

You want to be careful to avoid anything that could be construed as libel (false and damaging statements about a company or non-profit).

If it's as simple as "Joe grabbed a Coke and a sandwich before hitting the road" you're probably safe. However if you want your murder mystery to be set in a Coke processing plant, I'd get permission first or invent a company name. Particularly if you want the corpse to be hidden in a vat of soda and discovered due to a funny taste, probably better to invent a company.

I've heard some talk about it as a chance to sell add space. "Hey soda company, Joe in my novel is going to drink a soda. For $50, I will insert your brand name as the soda he drinks." This is fairly common in film/television.

I've never tried it because I tend to write speculative stories and avoid real brands, but if you're looking for some modern flavor, it's okay to use them.

Just be respectful and remember that using brand names can date your story. Also remember that not every reader will know the same brands and have the same opinion about them that you do.

You might think it says something about your character to have them drive a Prius, but you can't assume the reader will pick up on whatever you think it means. Honestly aside from knowing it's a car, I couldn't even tell you what a Prius looks like...I've just heard a lot of jokes about it over the past couple of years. So don't use brands as a way to skip writing important descriptive material.

If all your wanting is for your narrator to say is "I felt great. I had donated blood to the Red Cross and rewarded myself with a box of Girl Scout cookies." it should be fine. If you want the volunteer taking blood to turn out to be a homicidal maniac with a type O obsession, avoid using a real organization since that could cast them in a negative light.

[Niki Norman]

Is there a website that I can use to find out if specifics in my book have already been used? Like the characters names or main plot?

[Lance]

Niki wrote: "Is there a website that I can use to find out if specifics in my book have already been used? Like the characters names or main plot?"

You can Google your character names to see what you find. It's unlikely you'll come up with a name that doesn't belong to multiple real people (unless you're writing fantasy and all your character names have only vowels or something). However, this can help you avoid naming a character after a famous real person or a famous film or literary character, which can be awkward.

As for vetting your plot: it's said there are only 4/6/12 (depending on your source) plots in all of literature. It's almost certain your plot has been used before by multiple other authors. The thing to avoid is duplicating the details. Your best defense here is to be aware of your genre and what others have done.

[Wally]

I wouldn't worry about those details. Write from inside and the heart and your characters will tell a different story every time.