Want to use a cartoon in your book? You’ll need a license, and getting one is straightforward. At CartoonStock we license cartoons to authors of every kind of book, from first-time self-publishers to academics and nonfiction writers. This guide brings together everything we cover on cartoon licensing for authors, in the order you’ll need it, with a link to the full post on each step.
Why Every Cartoon in Your Book Needs Permission
A cartoon belongs to the cartoonist who drew it, or to their estate. Putting it in your book is a use of their work, so it needs permission, whatever the print run and however you found the image. A cartoon online with no watermark or credit still belongs to someone.
A license is how you get that permission. It covers your specific use, pays the cartoonist, and gives you paperwork to show your publisher. Without it, the cartoonist goes unpaid and you have nothing to show when someone asks what you cleared.
Do I need permission to use a cartoon in my book, and what happens if I don’t? (coming soon) covers this in full, including what to do if a cartoon is already in your book without a license.
Who Holds the License
Before anyone buys, decide who is licensing: you, your publisher or a picture researcher. Our licenses are non-transferable, so a license bought by one party can’t be handed to another later. Agreeing this early stops you paying twice, or finding that nobody paid at all.
Your publishing contract usually settles it. Who handles image permissions, the author or the publisher? (coming soon) walks through each arrangement and what we need from whoever is licensing.
How a Book License Works
A standard publication license covers one book, at one print run band, in one territory. The cartoon runs inside the book at less than half a page. The license has no expiry date and pays the cartoonist every time.
Print run. Licenses come in five bands, from 1–5,000 copies up to 1,000,001 and above. Count printed copies and ebook downloads together, over the life of the edition. If you don’t know your print run yet, choose the band your best realistic estimate falls into. If you sell more, you move up and pay only the difference. Which license size to choose when you don’t know your print run (coming soon) explains how to estimate.
Territory. Choose worldwide, or everywhere outside the US and Canada. If the book will sell in the US or Canada at any point, including through an online store, choose worldwide.
Formats. Your print license covers the ebook when it carries the same content in the same context. A new edition needs a new license. A reprint that stays inside your band doesn’t.
Changes. You can change the caption font to fit your layout. Anything else needs our written agreement first.
Licensing for Your Kind of Book
Cartoon licensing for authors works the same way for every book. What changes is which parts need the most thought.
Self-published authors make every decision themselves, from counting print-on-demand copies to choosing a territory for online sales. Using cartoons in a self-published book (coming soon) takes each decision in turn.
Academic authors often use cartoons as evidence, clear their own permissions and publish in small print runs. Trade authors tend to have larger runs and more interest in covers and marketing. Licensing cartoons for trade and academic books (coming soon) covers both.
Covers, Credits and Promotion
Three uses sit at the edges of a standard license, and each has its own guide.
Covers. A cartoon on the cover needs a custom license, quoted for your book. Talk to us before the design is final, since cropping or placing the title over a cartoon needs our agreement. See using a cartoon on a book cover (coming soon).
Credits. Every licensed cartoon needs the credit www.CartoonStock.com in the immediate vicinity of the cartoon, in print and in the ebook. You can add the cartoonist’s name and style the credit to suit your design. How to credit a licensed cartoon in a book (coming soon) has examples.
Promotion. Social posts, websites, newsletters and adverts are separate uses from the book, so they need their own license. Can I use the cartoon when promoting my book? (coming soon) explains the options.
Keeping Your Paperwork Right
The last step in cartoon licensing for authors is the paperwork. At checkout you receive a PDF listing the cartoon ID and every specification of the license: the use, the print run band, the territory and the term. That PDF answers most of what a publisher’s permissions log asks. Keep a copy even if your publisher bought the license, because the author stays with the book through every edition.
Filling in your publisher’s permissions log (coming soon) goes through the log column by column.
Before You License a Cartoon
Nine questions set every license: who is licensing, how many copies, where the book sells, which formats, where the cartoon sits, whether anything changes, whether there’s a translation or new edition, how you’ll credit it and whether you’ll use it to promote the book. Answer them first and you’ll license the right cartoon at the right size. Questions to ask before licensing a cartoon (coming soon) turns them into a checklist.
The Bottom Line
Cartoon licensing for authors comes down to a few decisions: who holds the license, how many copies to cover, where the book sells, and where the cartoon appears. Get those right and the rest follows. CartoonStock licenses cartoons for books from more than 750,000 cartoons by over 1,000 cartoonists, and every license pays the cartoonist.
Licensing cartoons for publishing · Ask us about your book
Q&A: Cartoon Licensing for Authors
Q: I’ve never licensed an image before. Where do I start?
A: Find the cartoon on our site, note its ID, and work through the questions above. If your book doesn’t fit neatly into a category, email us and we’ll help.
Q: Can I license a cartoon before the book is finished?
A: Yes. License on your best estimate of the print run and tell us if it changes. For covers or any change to the cartoon, ask us before you license.
Q: Can you help me find a cartoon on my subject?
A: Yes. Email us with the point the cartoon has to make in your book. The emphasis of the joke usually matters more than what appears in the drawing.
Q: My book will be translated. Does that change anything?
A: A translated caption needs our approval before it’s printed, and your license needs to cover the translated edition’s territory.
Keep Reading
Licensing cartoons for publishing: a guide for rights and permissions teams (coming soon)
Related Posts
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- Territory rights for publishing (coming soon)
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- Relicensing images for a new edition or reprint (coming soon)
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- Licensing cartoons for translations and co-editions (coming soon)