Topic: unpaid publishing? - worth it?

[formica]

so i've been approached to have some of my instax photos used in a book here in taiwan on polaroid/instax film. the only problem is there'll be no pay aside from a copy of the book.  i'm not sure what to do in this case. on one hand the exposure(especially locally) would be good, but on the other hand i do feel that artists should be compensated in cases like this.  i'm not sure what to do.  i haven't looked at what images they want to use yet, but it may very well be work that i don't have high plans for(like i have huge plans for most of my work..) - any advice out there?

                     william

ps. out of curiousity did the show susan is curating send out any emails aside to the winners? i didn't receive a rejection email nor an email letting me know they'd recieved the scans i emailed.  i'm not sure if i was an exception or if that was just how it worked for the show.  what's going into the show looks great though.

[moominsean]

i would find out if the people creating the book are profiting and to what degree. i've been asked to include stuff in books for free that others are selling. why would i help them make money? if it went to charity or something, sure... but if they plan on making money, then so should you.

[Nigel]

Personally I think it would depend whether I were selling a lot of my work otherwise. I'm not, so for me it would be interesting to be involved in a project like that and see my work in print. Yes the publishers are going to be making money out of it, but it wouldn't be costing me anything. Look at the positives, your work is obviously good or they wouldn't be asking.

Which is a long way of saying, are you going to get pleasure/a buzz out of doing it? If the answer is yes then why not!

[formica]

thanks for the input so far. the publisher is owned by one of the bigger websites here on computer technology. but the books are under the wing of a photography magazine called "digi photo".  yes, a magazine about digital photography plans to put out books on film cameras. whether they'll really make much money off the books i've no idea. there's only 23 million people on the island and the percentage that will actually sell is probably a very small fraction of that number.  i'm still trying to come to a decision. hmm.

                  william

[david b]

Be sure to have - in writing - that you retain the copyright, and the terms on which you're allowing them to use your image.

[Andrea.]

thanks for the input so far. the publisher is owned by one of the bigger websites here on computer technology. but the books are under the wing of a photography magazine called "digi photo".  yes, a magazine about digital photography plans to put out books on film cameras. whether they'll really make much money off the books i've no idea. there's only 23 million people on the island and the percentage that will actually sell is probably a very small fraction of that number.  i'm still trying to come to a decision. hmm.

                  william

Hard to imagine living on an island with so few people :-)

[db]

the publisher is owned by one of the bigger websites here on computer technology.  whether they'll really make much money off the books i've no idea.

I doubt they are publishing it as a public service so you have every right to be paid. Whether they make money or not is their business decision and not for you to worry about.

But perhaps ask yourself how you would feel if asking for payment led to them rejecting you and picking some other sucker er photographer who does give away their work for nothing?

Personally I'd start with a phone call to suss out why they chose your work, finding out how important you are to them, and whether they value their contributors or whether you are being treated as disposable ''filler''.

[formica]

I doubt they are publishing it as a public service so you have every right to be paid. Whether they make money or not is their business decision and not for you to worry about.

But perhaps ask yourself how you would feel if asking for payment led to them rejecting you and picking some other sucker er photographer who does give away their work for nothing?

  i was told all they can only afford to give a book as payment. the editor was very nice and said she'd fully understand if i didn't want to contribute due to this matter.

Personally I'd start with a phone call to suss out why they chose your work, finding out how important you are to them, and whether they value their contributors or whether you are being treated as disposable ''filler''.

  i know most of this already actually. the editor found me by googling "instax 200". she then looked at some of my work on flickr. she told me they have plans in the works for a holga book, a toy camera book and even a book on cyanotypes. whether those will really come to pass i have no idea.  if the book was tied to some sort of exhibition possibility i'd be less concerned about it. i've since seen the instax shots they are interested in. they are work that i'm less likely to do anything with myself.   i'm still waiting for some clarification on rights issues though.

              william

[moominsean]

yeah i would just see what they are all about, etc. i'd probably say yes if it were an 'honest company' and no if it were just one person trying to put out a toy camera book to make some cash. at least they aren't asking you to pay to have your photo included.

[formica]

it appears to be a pretty big company. i mean i know the magazine is distributed around the island, but this is the book wing of it which i believe is just starting out.  i'm still amused that a company that publishes a digital photography magazine will be putting out books on film photography.

            william

[db]

One last idea for a deal

Find out how many copies they are printing. It's likely a small run, so offer them a free first run, on condition you receive a fee or royalty if it does fly and they re-print.

anyway, goodluck with whatever you decide

[Francois]

The price of a picture depends mainly on the edition size and the size of the printed image...

I know there is a program to calculate this... but sadly they only cover American magazines...

(program is Fotoquote pro)

[eddie]

Michael Kenna  gave the following advice  when asked a similar question in an interview  "refuse nothing"