Q. I am a writer and occasionally quote material from my own works, some that have been published and some that are not published but are available as working papers. Should I handle these quotations the same as I would those of other authors? What about paraphrased material—do I need to reference that? Does it make a difference if the material is published or unpublished, and if I hold the copyright or the publisher holds the copyright?
A. Many scholars use their own material, but instead of quoting themselves, they put a note somewhere that portions of the work were previously published, and they give full references to the original publications. If the amount of recycled material is significant, rather than what amounts to fair use, you may indeed need permission, regardless of who owns the copyright, and you should let the permissions office of your publisher see a draft so they can tell you whether this is the case.