1. Determine the copyright holder. The copyright holder for Billy Joel's songs is Sony Music Publishing.
2. Send a written request to the copyright holder. Your request should include the following information:
* Your name and contact information
* The title of your novel
* The lyrics you would like to use
* The context in which you would like to use the lyrics
* The number of copies of your novel you plan to print
3. Wait for a response. The copyright holder may take several weeks to respond to your request. If you do not hear back after a month, you can try contacting them again.
4. Negotiate a license agreement. If the copyright holder agrees to let you use the lyrics, they will likely require you to pay a licensing fee. The fee will vary depending on the number of lyrics you want to use and the context in which you will be using them.
5. Sign the license agreement. Once you have agreed to the terms of the license agreement, you will need to sign it and return it to the copyright holder.
If you are unable to get permission from Sony Music Publishing to use Billy Joel's song lyrics in your novel, you may want to consider using lyrics from a different artist.
In your case, you have already tried emailing Columbia Sony, but they were too busy to help you. You can try contacting them again, or you can try reaching out to Sony Music Publishing directly. You can find their contact information online.