How should I approach this deal?

[AnonymousJohnson]

I've never sold a photo professionally but I have a website showcasing some of the stuff I've shot over the past few years. I recently got contacted by somebody who wants to use one of my photos on the cover of a college textbook. Having recently graduated college, I can remember very well how expensive those books are. So...

How much do I ask for?

But not only that... I don't even know how to structure the deal. Do I sell it for a flat fee, or do I work some sort of "royalty" deal where I make a small amount each time the book sells? (and textbooks sell a lot of copies, I think)

Do I need to create some sort of "legalese" form to outline the details of whatever method I choose to go with? Any templates anywhere for this? Again, I have no idea where to start... ???

Thanks!

[vwpilot]

You need to find out how many they expect to print. Is it a really popular book that every freshman entering college will need to buy or is it a specialized textbook that only is going to be used for some rare graduate class that hardly any will be printed of.

Find out how many they expect to print then you can give them a rate for the usage. You do NOT want to do a royalty thing, more trouble than its worth and they likely wont want to deal with that and giving out their profits in order to figure out your fees.

Flat rate for usage based on number of copies printed.

In your invoice you need to outline the usage you are selling, make sure its specific and clear. Make sure you put that the usage is non-transferable. You need to state that usage is granted only AFTER payment is received and that by paying they agree to the usages stated on the invoice.

To give you an idea of pricing, it can go anywhere from $600 on the LOW side of a print run less than 10k, all the way up to $2400 on the HIGH side of a print run greater than 500k.

Find out where your print run lies then I suggest buying a copy of FotoQuote, www.fotoquote.com to help you narrow down your exact pricing. This one sale will more than pay for the program and you'll have it to use in the future.

[gradstudent]

as a current student all i can say is that your prices will have little or no impact on the cost of the textbook itself. In my opinion they are heavily overpriced as it is.

[TeeJay]

Totally agree with what Jim has said, ALSO, just for your future reference, there's generally a sliding scale based on the size of the printed image in relation to the page size (i.e. 1/2 page, 1/4 page, 1/8 page and so on...) so as this is going on the front cover there may be some further leverage for a premium there.

Good luck!

TJ

[TeeJay]

BTW - WELCOME TO THE FORUM!