Negotiation for Artists
AKA: Get paid what you deserve
So let’s say a client wants to hire you for an illustration, and slides into your emails with a project proposal. It could be for a picture book, it could be a cover for a magazine, whatever, it doesn’t matter.
The client lets you know what the budget is, and they also send over the contract with a bunch of details, including when the deadline is and who owns the rights to the work, and for how long.
You look at the budget, and you look at the contract and you think;
“Well, golly this doesn’t feel very fair to me, the artist. The deadline seems really rushed, and the pay is lower than I would’ve liked. But I still wanna work on this project, and it’s not like I can say anything about these terms, so I guess I’ll just sign the contract... I mean, that’s my only option as the artist, right?”
WRONG!
Now you might be thinking,
“Anoosha, I’m an artist, when am I ever going to need negotiation skills? That sounds boring and I don’t like it”
Well, you know what, it is boring, but it’s important so shut up and take notes.
As a freelancer illustrator, you’re an artist but unfortunately you’re also a self-employed business person, which is why it’s important to educate yourself on all the boring bits of the job, things like finance, taxes, time management, contracts and communication.
In my last video, I made a super long guide on how to price your work fairly as an artist, because unfortunately there will always be clients out there who will try to pay you as little as they can. One thing I didn’t get to talk about in that video is what to do when the client's budget is lower than expected or you don’t agree with some of their contract terms.
Now, I’ve been a professional illustrator for seven years now, but for most of my career, I assumed that if you got an offer for a project, you had to accept whatever the client offered you; That the budget was non-negotiable, and the terms they presented couldn’t be altered whatsoever.
Only after getting a literary agent did I realize that as an artist, I actually have the power to negotiate. Because at the end of the day, I am an expert with a skill that the client needs, not the other way around, and I do have power as an artist.
So today I’m going to cover Negotiation for Artists, and tips that you can use to communicate with your client and make sure you are being paid what you’re worth, as well as getting a fair contract.
Now the cool thing is, for the research of this post, I got the help of two, VERY awesome people who I couldn’t have done this video without. The first is my literary agent, Taylor Martindale-Kean; as an agent, she is a negotiation wizard, it’s literally her job to manage my deals with my clients. She shared with me her thought process that goes into managing deals and how she makes sure her clients are paid and protected. And secondly, Mallory Grigg, who is the art director at Macmillian Publishers. She offered to help give a different perspective on negotiation, to the mind of the client. I know as an artist, I’m always so curious to know what is going on in my clients head, and Mallory was so helpful in offering a different point of view. So, in this video, you’ll get the perspective of all sides of a deal; from the artist, to the agent, to the client. So, a big thank you to both of these awesome ladies!
This post will assume that you already know how much your work should cost, and I’ll only focus on negotiation tactics to help you reach your pricing goals. In case you want to learn more about pricing your work, I already made an in-depth guide.
Anyway, let’s get started!
✸NEGOTIATION BASICS✸
Let’s say a client finds your work online and emails you for a new project that they think you’d be a perfect fit for.
The Art Director will introduce themselves, give a description of the project, and sometimes will let you know immediately what their budget is. In publishing projects it’s pretty standard that they would tell you how much the advance in their introduction email, but of course that isn’t the case in every illustration industry.
Great! You have an inquiry and maybe a possible project... But what now?
Maybe the budget they sent over is lower than you expected, and you don’t know how to ask for a better offer. Or maybe they haven’t told you what the budget is, and you don’t know how much they’re willing to pay you.
As I said before, you have the right to negotiate. Like Mallory says,
“It is always okay to negotiate with your client. They will either give you what you ask for, they will say no, or they will meet you in the middle—and you can decide what you want to do with their answer. I've never known a publisher to walk away from someone who wanted to negotiate.
If someone doesn't respond openly to a question about a contract they may not be the best client to take on.”
Unfortunately, there is always the chance when negotiating with a client, that they'll get scared off and ghost you. I think those cases are pretty rare, and usually when that happens the client isn’t a professional, to begin with and you dodged a bullet. However, I don’t want to mess with anyone's livelihood, so just make sure before you start that you’re willing to take that risk.
Before you agree to take on a project, first we’ll start to do some preparation:
YOU ARE AN EXPERT
I think it’s easy for new freelancers to feel intimidated by their client, or believe that the client is the one who holds all the cards because they are the ones who decide whether or not you get a job. And if you think like that, then you might believe that you don’t have the right to negotiate, and that you should be happy with whatever you get. But this mindset is totally wrong, because as an artist, you hold an extreme amount of power.
The most important thing to remember is that you are an expert being contacted specifically for a skill that the client does not possess. Even if the client is considering other artists for the gig, they contacted you for a reason. Your expertise is your leverage, as well as the value you will bring to your client.
There will be clients you’ll come across that’ll try to undervalue your work, and try to question why you are charging this much, or push you for a discount. But think of it this way; you’d never try to question the fees of an accountant, or a doctor, because you’d automatically understand they are charging based on their worth and experience, and those prices are going to be firm.
Sometimes the problem isn’t that the client is maliciously undervaluing you, but more that they don’t really understand what the value of your work is; that apart from the final product, you’re also going to factoring in time, your expertise, your creative input, any additional materials and tools, maintaining a studio space, and more.
Because of this, one of the main strategies we’re going to use is that we are trying to convince the client that our artwork is going to bring them value. Of course, your artwork should be convincing enough, but another thing that helps is your overall attitude and professionalism.
Confidence is key, and while some clients might be intimidating, it’s important to stand up for yourself and your work. It’s ok if you’re nervous; literally, all you have to do is fake it, and it’s much easier to do over email where you can get your friends to double-check your responses before you send it out.
I try to be as formal as I can in initial conversations; it’s fine if later on in the job I get more and more casual but at the beginning, you want to appear professional like you know what you’re doing, and more importantly, set boundaries. You’re not friends; this is a business arrangement, even if it’s for a casual assignment. When you don’t have those boundaries set up, it’s easy to get swayed and pressured into taking on bad deals.
I know I have a hard time getting out of my people-pleaser mode; my emails are full of exclamation marks, and apologies and all these permission words like saying ‘i just think that maybe’ or undermining myself by saying ‘I’m not an expert but..’. It’s especially difficult for women because society expects us to behave a certain way; you know, meek and overly friendly, otherwise people think you’re bossy and difficult to work with. It’s hard to unlearn, but when writing your emails, try to be a bit more assertive in your language and don’t apologize for yourself.
ASK QUESTIONS
Before we even discuss contracts and money, you need to get as much information as you can.
Sometimes you’ll get a client emailing you asking
“Hey I’m interested in an illustration for my bakery business, how much would it be?”
There’s no way to answer this question right now because there’s simply not enough information.
How complex is the design?
How long are you using it for?
Is it just for your website or will it be used for product branding?
As I mentioned in my pricing video, it’s difficult to come up with a flat fee for a project because so many factors will determine your price. You need way more information than just ‘it’s an illustration for my bakery’.
“Could I get a range, or an estimate?”
Without knowing all the details of the project, you could end up giving the wrong estimate. If you give the client an estimate at the beginning, later on, once you’ve gotten more information and properly calculated how much the illustration should cost, the client will get frustrated that it’s higher than you originally stated.
I also would avoid giving a range, like “$200-$500” because the client will only hear the lowest number and aim for that.
Because of this, we don’t want to rush into giving the final price until we know the full scope of the project and get as much information as we possibly can.
Here are some questions you can ask your client to get a better understanding of the project and determine how much value you’re bringing to the client:
The full project description - who is it for, why, target audience, complexity, etc
What are the clients’ goals and what are they trying to achieve with this project
What effect will the project have on the company
What are the deliverables for the project
What is the overall schedule like and the deadline
What are the usage and reproduction rights (How does the client want to use the artwork, where, and for how long)
What expenses are involved, (travel, supplies, equipment) and who pays for them?
Apart from using this information to calculate your value, you can also use it for negotiation because sometimes the client knows what they want, but not what they NEED. Using your research, you can figure out solutions for the client.
For example, the bakery owner client might ask for art for their branding but the client’s budget of $300 isn’t meeting your fee goals, you normally expect $600. Through your questions, you learn that the baker initially wanted to use that illustration on all their cake boxes, but now the client is worried about their full-color printing costs.
Remember, in a lot of cases the client isn’t the expert on art; YOU ARE and this is where your expertise will come in handy.
You suggest that you could illustrate a black and white drawing instead which is worth $300 but is much simpler for you; this way the client will lower printing costs on their cake boxes, and you’ll be paid fairly. It’s a win/win and you’ve provided more value to the client.
Getting information is important because you don’t want to assume anything, it can easily lead to misunderstandings later on. The more you communicate the better, and this is true even beyond the negotiation process.
When I was starting out I was so nervous about asking questions because I thought it made me seem like I didn’t know what I was doing. But then there would be misunderstandings and I’d deliver work that was totally wrong and completely waste both my time and the clients.
It's also okay to ask questions if you're unsure about anything in the contract or the process. You will NOT be fired because you are doing something for the first time. A client would much rather work with a brand new illustrator that asks questions when they need guidance rather than an experienced illustrator that thinks they know everything and makes mistakes that could have been avoided if they just asked.
WHY DO YOU WANT THIS JOB?
I actually think it’s important to reflect and understand why you want to take on this particular project, to list out what your priorities are and what’s important to you. Because eventually, it’ll help you figure out how much it’s worth fighting for, or worth giving up.
Money is probably going to be the biggest factor, but there are other selling points that might be drawing you in. For example:
It’s a high-profile project with a huge audience
The schedule is relaxed
Maybe there are perks, like travel, events or gifts.
The client is really cool
They are giving you full creative control
It’s a stepping stone; maybe a small project that would lead to doing bigger work for them in the future
The workload is minimal and could be a quick assignment you squeeze between your other projects
It’s for a client you want to keep a good relationship with
It’s for a cause you support
The project itself is just really really cool and fulfilling
Sometimes the only reason you want to take on a project is because of how much they are paying you. But sometimes you just want to work on a project because it’s really cool and you still think it’s worth it, even if the pay isn’t great. I know I’ve definitely taken on projects in the past lower than my usual rate, because it’s with a dream client or there are other perks like high royalties.
Like my agent, Taylor says:
I’d recommend looking at the deal as a package, rather than focusing on just one element. The best thing I aim for when negotiating is improving the overall package of the deal, not simply getting more money or higher royalties, etc. We look at the deal for the long-term benefits it will bring to the artist, not only one element. The conversation I have with my artists is about prioritizing what's the most important for a particular project -- editor, house, money, etc. Maybe the schedule isn't ideal, but the advance is high enough that it's a project worth taking (as long as you can still reasonably deliver, of course). Or maybe the advance isn't exactly what you'd like, but they're offering strong royalties, and so on.
If your main goal is money, then definitely negotiate that as high as you can. But if there are other factors you’re interested in, you’ll have a bit more to work with in terms of negotiation. Things like paid travel, company swag, and promotion; these are things you can ask for, and you are more likely to get if your client thinks that they’ll save money.
However, unless you’re financially set, I’ve already mentioned in my pricing video that you shouldn’t work for free. Even if it is a dream project I would hope that you are still being paid at least minimum wage. So now that we know your priorities, it’s time we figure out the minimum you’d be willing to work for, before you walk away from the project.
Apart from what you want in a project, you should also figure out your deal-breakers. Maybe work-for-hire and losing the rights to the artwork is your deal breaker, or not having credit in the final project. Keep this in mind, as well as your MAR. This leads us to:
THREE BIG NUMBERS
Let’s say you’re being considered for an illustration project, and with the information collected you calculate that it should cost around $700; remember I have a Pricing video in the description box below you can use to calculate your rates.
However, you’re not going to immediately share your initial calculated price.
Before I discuss money with the client, I try to figure out my three big numbers.
Your dream price, your goal price, and your Minimum Acceptable Rate or MAR.
Your dream price is the amount of money you’d ideally love to make. You want to aim high first, in fact, shoot for higher than what you’d be okay to work for. The client might take the bait and agree to that number, or at least you can agree on something lower that works for both of you. Remember, you can always negotiate down from the initial fee you mention, but it’s much harder to negotiate up from that. And when the client haggles you down to your goal number, they’ll also feel like they gained something and gotten a good deal and it’s more of a win/win.
I know it can make some artists nervous to start with a high number since you might be worried about scaring off the client. I think it’s pretty unlikely for a client to immediately shoot you down when you propose your dream rate, unless you went ridiculously high. If you suggested a dream rate that’s 15% higher than your goal rate and the client straight up rejects you, honestly that also means they wouldn’t have accepted your goal rate either, and you just dodged a bullet.
For this reason, even though we are aiming for $700, we’re going to propose $900 in our initial quote.
Next is your goal price, which we’ve already established is $700. After you tell the client that your quote is $900, they might respond by saying that it’s a little out of their budget and counter with $600. At this point, you both will communicate back and forth until you reach a number that makes everyone happy, and hopefully reach your goal price or even a little higher!
Finally, we have your Minimum Acceptable Rate or MAR. This is going to be the lowest number you’d be willing to work for, your dealbreaker. If the client goes lower than that, keep your dignity and leave.
You can calculate your MAR in a couple of different ways. It could be minimum wage in your area, it could be the minimum you need to earn to sustain your freelance business and support you and your family. It could be the lowest end of the range you see in your industry.
For our example, we’ll say it’s $500. If the client insists on paying you below this number, then you know it’s time to walk away.
It’s important to have this number in mind before you start negotiation because it’s really easy to become convinced to go below your MAR. A client might actually try to intimidate you or question your value, but most of the time it’s a bit more subtle than that. I’ll cover these intimidation tactics towards the end.
But for now, after all that preparation, it’s time to actually negotiate!
MONEY FIRST
While some people prefer to leave money talk at the end after you’ve established a stronger relationship with the client, I actually think it better to get it done as early as you can. Right after you have all the information you need to know what this project is worth, it’s best to get right into the financials. My reasoning is that you really don’t want to waste your time or the clients, if it turns out you guys are not on the same page.
You could spend weeks discussing details and schedule and whatnot with a new client, and then when you finally talk about money, you both realize you had completely different expectations on what this project would cost. It could be totally out of budget for the client and it’s not their fault. All that time could end up being a waste, especially if it means that you missed out on other projects during that time.
WHAT’S YOUR BUDGET?
Ideally, the client will approach you with their proposed budget in mind for the project. But as I mentioned in my Pricing video, no one wants to be the first person to set the price because that establishes the baseline.
While in publishing projects the Art Director will normally introduce themselves with their initial offer, a lot of clients will ask for a quote instead of outright saying their budget. This can be because they actually have no idea what this should cost, or because they hope your quote will be much lower than their budget and they’ll save some money, or because they actually want to pay you fairly and just want to know your usual rate.
Whatever the reason, it can be helpful to try to get the client to tell us their budget first. Sometimes a client will say a price that's higher than what you were thinking of charging them, which is great because it's very common for artists to not know standard pricing rates and end up undercharging themselves! If the client’s quote is close to your estimated rate, it makes it super easy to negotiate. And if the client’s budget is much lower than your rate, you’ll know that this project might not work out.
Remember that when they tell you their budget, you have the right to try and negotiate that; usually when a client presents their initial budget, they’ve already prepared that you might move up on the fee. Sometimes the client is able to find more money in the budget; in publishing this usually means they decide to cut special effects or are limited to what they can do with the rest of the package. But sometimes their budget is absolutely fixed, so you shouldn’t push it.
If you try to ask for their budget but they insist on a quote from you, it’s not the end of the world. Now that the ball is in your court, you can position yourself as the expert and decide your rates for them, using your dream price. While it would’ve been nice to know how much the client would be willing to pay, you know what your art is worth and you can start negotiating from there.
WIN/WIN
The ideal scenario for any negotiation is a win/win, where both you and the client agree on the project and are left mostly happy. However, it’s important to remember that both sides of a negotiation are always going to be looking out for themselves first, and if you go into talks with the mindset of win/win you might give more than you get. While it’s good to try to make the client happy, don’t forget to protect yourself and the rights to your work.
There’s definitely a balance to this; protect yourself and try to reach your wage goals, but don’t burn bridges in the process. If you’re squeezing out every last cent from your client and overall being really aggressive, while you might ‘win’ this battle, in the long run your relationship with this client won’t last long.
Ideally, you want to continue working with this client in the future, which brings me to:
IT’S NOT A FIGHT
So when I think of negotiation, I think of lawyers on tv yelling and fighting and being overly dramatic. It makes good tv, but it’s not that practical in freelance life.
If you go into the mindset of having a really aggressive negotiation, where you’re rude and combative and ruthless, maybe you end up with what you want, but remember when all that negotiation is done you’re still gonna have to work with the client on that project, and you might not get hired again.
Remember that your clients are people too, and they want this deal to go well just as much as you do. They came to you because they want to hire you.
It won’t work out well for an illustrator who approaches a negotiation like a battle and sees the client as an enemy, rather than someone to collaborate with.
I’m going to make a separate video on Etiquette for Artists in the future, but the main thing to remember is that being good at art isn’t the most important factor that gets you work consistently, it’s actually being good to work with. And I don’t mean being a pushover and sucking up to the client; I mean just being a professional. This is true for most jobs; even if you’re the best artist, if you have a rude attitude, submit work late, don’t work well with your team and are just generally unprofessional, your clients will remember that and won’t hire you in the future.
Both when working on the project and also before the project begins, you want to be professional and maintain a good relationship with your client. With a good relationship, your clients will keep coming back for more business, recommend you to their colleagues and praise you highly. If you treat your client like the enemy, that’s not gonna happen.
So when you’re negotiating with the client, be open to communication and don’t force anything. If you ask for something and get a firm "no", don’t push it. The answer is not going to change and it's best to leave that point alone or decide to walk away from the project.
If you and your client decide that there isn't a middle ground to meet on—it's okay! Wish them well and know that it might work sometime in the future. Unless I had a horrible experience with a potential client, I never burn any bridges. Maybe it didn’t work out on this particular project, but you never know what the future brings. That client might have another project with a better package down the line, or transfer to a different company with larger budgets.
Mallory sums it up really nicely;
“The thing to keep in mind is that this isn't the only project that the AD has on their list, and even if this project isn't a good fit for you the next one might be, so do your best to not burn any bridges. If I have a bad experience with an illustrator, I'm not going to hire them again. Likewise, illustrators that are communicative, creative, collaborative (and who never miss a deadline) are illustrators that I want to work with again and I'll look for ways to hire them—or recommend them to my friends and colleagues who need illustrators.
Ultimately, I hope people realize that the client is not the enemy. I personally try to keep my illustrator's best interests at heart (while still trying to help my publisher stay alive long enough to keep making more books). The relationship with the art director can be a more valuable commodity than the fee on the first contract. If I find an artist that I love working with, I want to keep working with them and often look for more projects they'd be a good fit for. Publishing doesn't pay a lot, but it can be a consistent source of income if people are considerate about their relationships.”
KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING
The concept of negotiation feels intimidating but honestly, it’s just a conversation between you and the client, trying to reach an agreement that works for both of you. This is why it’s important to try to keep the conversation going; anything that stops that flow stops you from reaching that agreement.
There are generally two tactics in negotiation.
The first is when you know exactly how much something should cost. There are no ‘three big numbers’; you have a fixed fee of $10,000, take it or leave it, and you’ve got the full upper hand. You know your worth and you’re fine if they walk away. But this is more common for established illustrators, who have the reputation to back up their rates and are financially secure enough to turn down work if they can’t meet your demands.
For tactic two, you have to be a bit more flexible which is where negotiation comes into play and you have to communicate with the client to find something that works for both of you. You know what you’re worth, but there’s a bit of wiggle room.
Here’s an example:
A client gives you the details for a project and asks for a quote. You have a number in mind, but you’re flexible so you say something like
“For a book cover illustration of this complexity, my usual rate is $3000. However, depending on your budget I am open to negotiating something we can both agree on, let me know!”
This makes it clear what your expectations are, while still being open to counter-offers. And remember, you can set this number as your dream price so that if they try to negotiate down, you can still aim for your goal price.
I also like to use ‘my standard rate is xxx’ or ‘I typically see xxx’, or even ‘at my last job I saw xxx’, just because it shows the client that there is an established precedent to this number, and again, positions you as the expert.
Using questions is also a great tactic because it makes sure the conversation keeps moving forward. If you're worried that saying, "My fee for this book cover is $3000," will scare them off, just approach it differently to start out.
You could say something like,
"Are you able to improve this advance level? I typically see $3000 for this type of project, so I'd be looking to see a higher advance here."
You want to keep it going as a conversation, rather than cutting it short, especially if you're not talking about a dealbreaker. If there is a dealbreaker, it’s better to be upfront about that right away! Just like with your MAR you want to keep your dealbreakers in mind before any conversation and stick to it.
For that you could say something like;
"With my current commitments, I couldn't take this on for less than $2000." or "With my current schedule, I wouldn't be able to deliver final art until September."
Alongside questions, I might also try to give solutions or multiple options. If the client isn’t able to reach your goal price, you can offer up some other solutions that would work for everyone. Remember, the client wants to work with you.
So for a lower fee, you could offer a less complex illustration. Or fewer revisions, a more relaxed schedule, or any of the other factors we discussed earlier. For example;
“Unfortunately, $2000 is lower than I would normally expect to see for a book cover design. However, I would love to still make this project work; would you be open to $2000 with only one character on the cover instead of two? Or we could skip the character design stage to stay within your budget?
Alternatively, if you are able to increase your budget to $3000, I could provide a back cover illustration as well.”
With all these options, hopefully, the client is able to find something that works for them; either you get paid a little less but the workload is decreased too, or maybe you get your goal price and the client gets some additional illustration out of it. Win/win!
DON’T GIVE DISCOUNTS
So in my last example, I gave the client a couple of cheaper alternatives and gave one option where the client got a little more than they initially asked. I want to make it clear that I am not giving discounts!
When giving options to your client, you’re not cutting them a deal and losing in the process. I offered a lower rate, but also reduced the workload so it still has equivalent value. And while I did offer a back cover illustration, I would provide something simple so the overall payment still matches the workload.
I know some people like to give out discounts, and sometimes it can be handy. Like for a recurring client or giving a freebie as part of an overall big package deal. But try not to make it a habit since your clients, and their referrals, will keep expecting that from you. And it’s also a form of undercutting other artists in the industry, which makes it harder for everyone else to get paid fairly.
EXPAND AND EXPLAIN
One other tactic I really like to use is to expand and explain.
Whenever I’m asking for something from the client, I find that it goes a lot smoother if I explain why I need it and give some context. This is especially useful for clients who aren’t really aware of what standards are like for your industry. When I work with publishers, they know exactly what they’re dealing with and I don’t really need to explain myself when I negotiate my rates.
But with small business owners and clients who might not normally work with illustrators, it’s not that they’re intentionally underpaying you. Sometimes these clients just aren’t aware of the value we bring and what is considered standard, and all we need to do is a bit of educating.
For example, a client is looking for some full-color character design work for six characters, and I can kind of tell that they don’t have a clear idea of what something like this should cost, or that they give me an initial budget but it isn’t really close to what is normal for character design.
I could just give them my quote, and say “I estimate that this would cost $2000” and the client might be taken aback by the price and be reluctant to move forward. But if I give some more context to my quote, it’ll make it clear that I'm an expert, I know what I’m talking about, and not just pulling a number out of thin air.
So maybe I’d say;
“Normally for character design I work in pages, with three designs of each character per page.
One sheet in full color would be $400; for five characters this would equal to $2000.”
However, depending on your budget and what your character design needs are, we could do black/white sketches instead. My character design sheets (three designs per page) in black/white are $200, which would equal to $1000). Let me know what you think”
Whew. that was long. It’s a lot of math but this way I provide context into why it costs this much, and more importantly, give options for the client. By breaking it down, the client can then decide if they want to stick with their original deal, or if they want to lower the cost, they could ask for fewer character designs, or work entirely in black and white.
Breaking down the price provides a lot of clarity, especially if you have a lot of hidden costs like materials and printing that maybe the client wasn’t aware of before.
BEYOND THE ADVANCE
As I said before, there are other deal terms to consider apart from the main fee. I asked Taylor what an artist might forget to ask for when negotiating for publishing projects and this is what she said:
I'd probably say royalties. I think unagented artists get a lot of flat fee offers, and we always like to see a royalties schedule included with a project. Flat fee projects are common in work-for-hire projects, so it does depend on the type of offer you're getting. But if we're talking about a traditional picture book deal, we expect to see standard royalties -- and you can ask for royalty escalators too. (An escalator is when the royalty will bump up after a certain number of copies sold. For example, 5% for hardcover to 50,000 copies, 6.5% thereafter).
A few other things:
- Confirm that you'll be retaining copyright, and will receive credit on the cover and title page
- Complimentary copies of the published book
- Retaining subrights like film/TV, commercial, and merchandising
- Approval when possible, or consultation if you can't get approval, on the cover, interior design, color accuracy. Publishers will almost always include artists on this automatically but it's good to ask and get it in writing!
GET IT IN WRITING
Speaking of getting it in writing; As a freelancer, most likely all your clients are going to be communicating with you via email. But, there are times when you or the client will ask to hop onto the phone to discuss something. There are pros and cons to both.
Sometimes, you just need to talk to someone directly; either in person, on a video call, or on the phone. I actually love talking on the phone with my clients. I’m super shy but sometimes you really need it just so you can get as much info as you can. Emails can be really slow because you have to keep waiting for responses, but with a quick call, you discuss everything without a bunch of back and forth, and get an immediate answer. Phone calls are also so much more personal than an emotionless email, and you’re really able to connect with your client and develop your relationship. You’ll also know exactly how a client is feeling; when you send over a counteroffer and read their reply in an email, it’s so hard to tell what the client is thinking behind the screen, but on a call you’ll have a better idea of their thoughts.
If you’re talking on the phone, you should definitely prepare beforehand. Write down all your questions and topics you want to discuss so that you don’t miss anything. If you’re really nervous, you could even write out a little script for yourself to help you out. And as you’re talking, don’t forget to write down notes that you can refer to later.
Emails are great because you’re not put on the spot. You can take your time to research and write and rewrite until you have your perfect response. While it’s less personal, it’s also less intimidating and you can fake your confidence.
But the most important pro of emails is that you have a paper trail. Whenever you do any negotiation, it’s incredibly important to have your discussion down in writing. This is important for several reasons:
It avoids any misunderstandings later on if you and the client are remembering different details of the agreement, like if the client later sends over a contract for three illustrations but you specifically remember them saying it was only two illustrations.
It provides evidence if the client claims you didn’t fulfill your agreement.
Clients might require a written record for their team. Publishers frequently need to get approvals for things they’re requesting, so email is easier.
So generally I do prefer communicating through email, but phone and video calls definitely still have their place. If you ever have a phone call, make sure you take notes and then follow up with an email, summarizing the call. Saying something like
“Hey, that was a great call. Just wanted to confirm the points we talked about for future reference, thanks!”
And then include all those details you just discussed so they can confirm it’s all good and you have a written record.
DON’T RUSH YOURSELF
One disadvantage with phone calls is that you might feel like you’re put on the spot and have to reply to a question immediately or accept their proposal right that second. This can also happen in emails, but it’s incredibly important to remember that you shouldn’t rush yourself.
For example, a client might want to hire you for a project and they tell you their budget, but they say that they need a response URGENTLY, like literally in two hours. But you’re not sure if the fee is fair and you wanted to do some research first, and now you feel like there isn’t enough time and you have to just accept the deal.
Don’t get rushed into an offer if they give you an immediate deadline you need to answer by; nothing is so urgent that you can’t think over the offer overnight, instead of being rushed into making panicky decisions. Be confident and let the client know that you need some time to think it over before you can make a decision.
Similarly, if you’re on the phone with a client, they might ask you for a quote. As I said earlier, you shouldn’t give any estimates or ranges until you have all the details and also do some research into what standard rates are like. However, maybe the client pushes you further and insists on a general quote, putting you on the spot. It’s tough, but you have to try to stand your ground.
You could say:
“I’m sorry but I can’t give an accurate estimate right now without a full understanding of the scope of the project. But if you’re able to send over the project details after the call, I’ll send over a quote some time this evening.”
Just take your time to think everything over before you make any big decisions.
KNOW WHEN TO WALK AWAY
While you can negotiate all the terms in an agreement, there are things that are just non-negotiable for the client. There’s no point in pushing further and it’s up to you to decide whether it is a dealbreaker. In publishing, it’s usually work-for-hire projects -- typically when the artist is giving up copyright, and generally for a flat fee advance. In that situation, you just have to decide whether the advance is good enough to accept those terms.
Even with all that negotiation, sometimes you both realize the deal just can’t work out and that’s ok. Maybe their budget falls below your Minimum Acceptable Rate, or there’s a dealbreaker in the negotiations, from either you or the client. Or you just have a bad feeling about the project.
While it’s frustrating to lose a potential job, remember that it’s ok to walk away, there’s a sense of power in knowing when it’s time to leave, either to protect yourself or because the terms just aren’t favorable for you right now.
I’ve had to turn down a lot of work in the past, stuff that I really wanted to do, because their budget wasn’t high enough, or they wanted full rights to the artwork, or our schedules didn’t line up. I actually get pretty sad and even struggle to say no for a bit, but I remind myself that it’s for the best, and there will always be more work in the future. It’s important to remember that illustration careers aren’t created and built on one project and if you don’t get it “you’ve missed your shot”. In actuality, it’s built on multiple projects, over time, and if you miss one, it’s ok, you’ll get it next time.
And remember to end things amicably with your client, maybe it didn’t work this time around but you never know what the future brings!
CONTRACTS!
If you and the client manage to reach an agreement, congrats! At this point, make sure you get everything down in writing in a contract. Ideally, you would supply your own contract, but most big companies will likely have their own contract in place. Remember that if a client supplies their own contract, it’ll be in their favour and protect the client as much as possible. Read over the file carefully, and know that you have the option to try to negotiate the contract as well! A contract is a working document and should protect you and the client.
Make sure you don’t do any work until the contract is complete. In some cases, you might have to start working before the contracts are fully signed, but absolutely don’t submit final work until it’s signed because you can’t be paid. You can even use the final art as leverage to make sure the contracts get completed.
For more information on Contracts, you can check out my video (link at the end)
DEALING WITH MESSY CLIENTS
While most clients are great to work with, unfortunately sometimes you’ll run into some shady ones. I’m going to lay out some sneaky tactics to watch out for, and how to protect yourself.
Since this post is getting crazy long now, I'm actually going to keep this section really short. But if you’d like to learn more on how to protect yourself from these gross tactics, let me know I’ll make a separate video for it in the future!
YOUR CLIENTS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS
This is a professional business arrangement, and while it’s ok to be friendly, you want to set boundaries otherwise you can be easily taken advantage of. You could get trapped into accepting a low rate because you don’t want to hurt their feelings or because “they’re just really nice, I didn’t want to say no”.
INTIMIDATION
If a client is overtly rude, or questioning your skills and your rates, don’t let it get to your head. Your art is worth your quote. No matter what they say, don’t be intimidated out of your expertise. Remember that you are the expert, and they came to you specifically for a skill that they don’t have.
“WE CAN’T AFFORD YOU!”
If the client’s budget doesn’t match your need, it’s literally not your problem. You are not responsible for a client’s limited budget; if they ask you to lower their fee because they don’t have the money, that’s their problem, not yours. If they can’t afford you, they can’t afford you, and that’s ok. But asking you to lower your value for them is disrespectful and either they can try to increase their budget or understand that they can’t afford you at this time.
AGENTS AND NEGOTIATION
One last thing to note; It can be pretty intimidating negotiating on your own but if you have an agent, they can handle it all for you so you won’t have to.
Literary and illustration agents work on behalf of an illustrator, representing them and their work. I like to say that they basically take care of all the boring stuff so you can focus on creating art. This includes business aspects like the finances and communications with the client. They’ll also help find new work for you.
Since agents have a better understanding of the industry and what standard rates are like, your agent can fight for a higher fee using their knowledge and past experience working with so many previous clients.
Another thing to note, is that in publishing, an unagented artist is going to receive the publisher's basic boilerplate contract, which is their standard company contract. A basic boiler from a publisher is aiming to control of as many rights as possible in the project, so you often see artists giving up a lot of control to the publisher. Because agents have an established relationship with publishers, they would have years of negotiated boilerplate and precedent, things they’ve improved and negotiated over multiple projects for multiple artists.
I definitely know that with my current agent I am getting paid more than what I would have on my own, like I can literally look at a list of all the projects I’ve worked on and seen a huge jump in the fees before and after. And again, it’s not just the overall advance, but other contract terms, like royalties, schedule and rights.
Of course, not everyone needs an agent. And actually, my agent only deals with publishing related projects, for all my general illustration projects I’m on my own so I still have to deal with negotiation now and then.
If you’d like to learn more about agents and how to get one, I created two whole videos on this topic, which I’ll include links to below.
And that’s it! A basic guide to Negotiation for Artists! I want to stress that this is just what personally works for me, but I hope it helps you guys out too! I’m sure there are books and videos out there that are WAY better at explaining negotiation, because it’s something I’m still learning, and I’m not an expert on it at all. But I just wanted to create a little something specifically for my artist friends who are as clueless as I was when I was starting out.
LINKS
✸How Do I Get an Agent?
✸ Agents 101
✸ Contracts for Illustrators