(no subject)

[smg01]

Here's a little tip for anyone who may ever have need to write to a publisher to request permission to reprint material from one of said publisher's books:

If the person me attempting to process a permission request has to devote a significant amount of time just trying to figure out exactly what it is that you want to use, she is I am likely to become increasingly cranky about the request altogether.

Vague requests are really hard to evaluate. The more precise you are, the quicker the response will be. And the less likely you'll be to receive a letter from me with the most polite version of "huh? could you clarify just what are you asking for?" that I can come up with.