Hello everyone I'm new to the site and already I have a question... I recently received an email from someone interested in using one of my articles for a course book. Here is the excerpt from the email: I am designing an English Language course book for advanced learners of English as a foreign language. The book incorporates authentic materials i.e. articles such as yours, with exercises focusing on language and vocabulary. With your permission (and by whatever means and conditions you deem necessary... My question has to do with financial compensation...Should I be asking for money in this situation? And if so, I have no idea how much to ask for? (One of my conditions is to receive a copy of the final product) But when it comes to the money part, I just don't want to ask for an amount that is too low or too high... Any suggestions? Thanks a lot, Mike
first of all, welcome to the site, mike! and congrats on having some of your work recognized and wanted... compensation will depend largely on the size of the piece of work involved... if it's several pages long, for instance, a decent fee should be paid, but if only a brief excerpt, then a couple of copies of the book would be fair enough... why don't you google for the going rate on such things and pick a fee somewhere in the middle? love and welcoming hugs, maia
Thank you so much...I appreciate the warm welcomings... Yea, the article is less than 1000 words, so i didn't expect too much financial compensation...I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to 'screw' myself over...I definitely will ask for a copy of the final product Thank you again for the response...I truly appreciate it... It's great to meet you... Mike
also be sure to make it clear that you be allowed to check out the ms before it's submitted to publishers, to make sure the article was quoted correctly and proper citation was included... and if they're paying you for it, get the money up front, since there's probaly little chance the book will ever be published, if the author hasn't got a contract yet... keep that in mind if all that's offered as compensation is a copy or two... imo, if you're a pro, you should be paid for the use of your work... finally [and most importantly], if the article has been published, you'd better take a good look at the contract you have with the publication it appeared in, to make sure you can sell/allow a reprint...
Thank you again...Though I have been encountering difficulties attempting to find sites that indicate proper compensation for this sort of thing... But I will take what you said and incorporate it into my follow-up email to him... Thanks yet again, Mike
I'm thinking of just asking for $40 or $50 bucks and a copy of the final product....does that sound fair? P.S. Thanks for the quotes...very thought provoking
Just giving the heads up... I sent off a reply asking for $40 and a copy of the final product...just waiting on a return email... I believe that's a fair offer...
