value

Sitting here amongst the boxes of belongings and contents of draws packed away, to distract myself I made a few lists. Just to help me, to stop me thinking that this is the end. To help me think of this as a new beginning. I did what I’ve always done, made a list, drew a drawing, created a series.

Our little studios rent has doubled and it is with a very heavy heart that I and my studio buddies are disbanding and will be leaving the Nicholas Building before the end of February.

To me it seems like an own goal on the owners part, once any potential new buyer does a due diligence check they will see all the liabilities of the space. Whether that is the fault of the agents marketing the property or the owners themselves or a combination of both, I will never know. Melbourne is about to have a generational shift in the artist community. During the last 30 years the Nicholas Building has been a haven for people who run creative businesses. And I don’t mean nice clean hot desk creative space, I mean dirty, splashy, rusty, carving, trimming, sewing, painting, moulding, shouting, singing, playing MAKER spaces.

The city won’t know what it’s lost until the last of us are out. Will it become a nice neat and tidy, cream and grey “with a bit of wood trim for warmth” set of spaces that is unaffordable for those starting out and testing their capabilities, learning their craft or fall into further disrepair and become derelict?

In my own little universe, the loss is devastating. When I first walked into the space I sit in right now typing all this out, I knew I was in the right spot, I could make something of this hodgepodge career I began so long ago. The other people in the studio were lovely and welcoming, I felt like I belonged. Yes, there was no heating or cooling, the window pains were cracked and they didn’t open or close properly, but I had an affordable space. I had a space. Just for me. To learn, experiment, try, fail… and I achieved so much here. Even during the darkest days of the pandemic lock downs here in Melbourne, it was a salvation.

I illustrated my first book, I had more freelance jobs than before, I met some amazing people, I began learning to paint. I grew.

It’s sad that the value this building was to me can’t be saved and can’t be shared by others.

I think the extraordinarily wealthy people who own this building don’t actually understand it’s value at all.

quote quoting unquote

Quoting work has become a thing. I don’t have an agent (which I’m open to if you’re keen...) so I’m learning from each one I do, especially what to do better. I am cautious and like to tick off the mostly small, but sometimes large, red flags that come through my inbox. 

When the query comes through my email the very first thing I do is research the business and person it comes from. This is usually a quick Google, an interrogation of the website for the business and maybe LinkedIn. 

I do this to ensure that I’m talking to a real person, doing a real thing, and to gauge the possible scope of the project they are doing.

Then I construct my reply and engage with the client.

Hopefully a good brief comes through, but if not I try to construct it in the quote I send through, reiterating the parameters and outlining what I can do for the budget.  

There are a couple of things I’ve worked out that I will share as a lonely freelancer who has almost no support and has to do their own admin. 

Up front, I don’t do kill fees. I know, CONTROVERSY!

I make the first payment 50% of the agreed fee and it is a non-refundable deposit, AND I don’t start until that is in my account. 

This tells me they are serious, it tells them I’m serious.

After construcing the quote I send it through to the client and this is often where the negotiation takes place and a revised quote may be required to accommodate things the client hadn’t considered until they were written down and in front of them.

In my quote I include:

A. Letterhead with my ABN and contact details 

B. Date

C. Quotation number: I use Q (for quote) then the date backwards - then they file consecutively

D. Contact: persons name, business name and billing details 

E. Scope: as described to me

F. Description: explicitly describe what is to be done, just line or full colour or limited colour or is there is an image on my portfolio that is the style they like?… also file types, resolution and colour profile

G. Timeline: how long each round is going to take, what that encompasses, can be more or less if warranted, I add a line to explain cover me because I can’t control how long they take to send feedback through. I also can’t control it if I get sick (eg. COVID) and have to be away from from the studio.

H. Delivery: What actual files they will receive

I. Usage: What they are actually buying. A license to use in a particular way for a particular time in a particular location. Could be in perpetuity around the world, could be for three years in Australia.

J. Terms:  I am not a bank and I don’t work for free. I ask to be paid 50% upfront to cover me from chasing kill fees or payment after work is begun. I only start after the deposit is paid. I am clear this is non-refundable. I ask to be paid in 7 Days, I have not resorted to charging late fees because all clients have been able to pay on those terms or have negotiated with me to extend the time before I begin. I put a time limit on the quote because pricing may change.

Anyway - this is what it kind of looks like 

I have negotiated on the terms but in general people want to work with you because they like you work and want to see the project through with you and appreciate you are a sole trader, in any case, you have at least half of the money in hand before you have to start chasing up the rest.

Some large corporates want to buy out the copyright of a work. There is a lot of information about why you don’t sell your copyrights, see the AOI for some good information about this and in Australia you can register with Copyright Agency and they will manage the usage license you and your client agree to. 

You can get help to work out what you do at Choreus. Paying for good advice is worth it. I have used Choreus and the advice they provided gave me the confidence I needed to speak up for myself and provided me multipliers as to how to value my work depending on how they are going to be used. 

I take the approach, how would I feel if in 30 years I see something I did still making money for a past client. Whatever you to do, you have to be comfortable with the outcome, there are no backsies. 

To be blisteringly honest, I have sold copyrights to works. Generally I charge 250% of the illustration cost on top of the illustration cost, but if it is a large multinational I have a multiplier for that figure too, because if you sell the copyright to one part of a multinational how do you police them not using it in any other part of their conglomerate of parent, subsidiary and affiliate companies? It’s a balance and I find much of the time it is easier to sell the copyright than chase clients who have legal departments, but you do need to understand this prior to beginning a quote to make sure you cover yourself for future uses.

Have those multipliers and don’t be afraid to use them. 

So in summary:

> Make sure you have your business details on your quote 

> Cover yourself in the event the client isn’t clear on what they are asking for

> Be clear about what they are getting

> Get more information about copyright and licensing in Australia at CAL 

> Get more information about copyright and licensing in illustration at the AOI ($) 

> Get help with all sorts from pricing to project management at Choreus ($) 

Working with a publisher is a different thing altogether and I’ll put that in a separate post on another day. I’ve done a post about self-publishing here if you’re interested :)

Cheers & good luck, I know you can do it!