Does my book need to be ready for publishing to get an ISBN?

Hey there, everyone. Just letting you know (if you didn't already see it) that this Thursday at 12:00 MST I will be holding a live FREE webinar that will be about how to build your publishing dream team. I will be going over when and how to hire professionals and outsource help on your publishing journey. I will also be warning you about some red flags. There will be a valuable handout that includes what to look for in contracts and a long checklist to help you ask the right questions when you hire pros. You can register here: https://learning.printtopro.com/p2p-power-session-june-session/ I hope to see you there.

Our latest podcast drops tomorrow at 7:00 am Mountain time. When you're preparing your first book or managing a growing backlist, understanding how deadlines affect every member of your publishing team can save you time, money, and a whole lot of unnecessary stress. Check out the latest episode

Related to my previous question. The first iteration of my novel had chapters start with quotes from songs and the lyricist's name attributed the next line down. What are the mechanics of that? Do I seek permission from the source or is an attribution enough? I removed them until I found out the legality of it.

I found a painting perfect for my first book cover. It's currently is in a gallery in the midwest but many images exist online. How would I approach them to ask to use it and would it require payment?