Pricing for a new Author

I know a lot of questions have been asked about pricing but I could not find one that answered my question so here it is

I had a lady look at my sight, and then sent me an email asking if I would take her pictures she said she is an author, and would like a few pictures for promotional purposes and one to put in her book. Now I don’t know if she has ever sold any books or even if a publishing company has picked her book up. I have done some research and I figured 1000 was a decent price for licensing, but what if it’s her first book and there is no publishing company involved is she going to spend that much money on pictures. So how do I price the project do I make a contract that states I get so much for each book sold? I just was wandering if any one had any experience in this area.

Thanks

ask her what her budget is and go from there

If she is an aspiring author, price it as you would an ordinary portrait session, with a provision for a negotiated license if she ever actually gets published. If she is self publishing there isnt much of a well of cash there so keep your expectations reasonable.

Thanks for the input that was kind of the direction I was going in so that just lockes the plan in place

pbisfun wrote in post #13397357
.... Now I don’t know if she has ever sold any books or even if a publishing company has picked her book up. I have done some research and I figured 1000 was a decent price for licensing, but .....

You certainly aren't as lost as you think because you have already identified the information you need in order to work out a fair price. Now you just need to get that information.

Image prices (for books/magazines) often factor in the intended print run and are adjust accordingly. It is perfectly acceptable to ask what the intended print run is and if this is self-published or signed to a commercial publisher. Once you have that info you can better decide on the right price and can even include an escalating payment system for if the book sales go above the initial estimate or the book later gets picked up by a publisher. In this way you give a struggling author a good deal with a slightly lower price but don't lose out from potential future benefits if the book goes on to sell really well.