I was approached by a textbook publisher who wants to use an image of mine in a book, and was asking if they could use it. While I am flattered, I am sure they are hoping to get the image for free, but i think I would be happier if I got some cash for the use.
How much should I ask for? They are associated with McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Scholastic and Pearson, and say that they expect a 1 million run over 10 years.
Here's what I believe to be a reputable Stock Price Calculator — my instinct says it should be at least in the three-figure range if not more. A million run? They can afford a reasonable fee — it's almost certainly less than they spend for lunch at a Board meeting ...
the one paul recommended is one i use; i also use this one, as well as getty. you'll need a few more parameters than "a million copies", to be fair to both them and you. good luck!
I've got an image published in a textbook in South Africa, via Alamy. For a print run of 5000, 1/4 page in size and I believe in colour, and after Alamy took their fee, I got approx $20/CDN.
I also had a piece written ages ago used as teaching material in a Journalism course at a college in Vancouver but I never saw a penny. Probably because the owner of the paper for whom is was written *sold* it.
Depends on the textbook.
Should be $0, as textbooks should be free to students/schools.
Ah, but the great economy of the public school system.
i cant wait to learn from a textbook that was written for fun.
(not gonna hijack this thread too, carry on..)
I wasn't hijacking per say...
Depends on the textbook... Biology books you'll likely get less than say an English book that might have fewer pictures.
This is going to be a one time fee, don't expect royalty payments, it's just not feasible to even pay $1 per image per book.
Example, a biology book with 200 images would costs $200 in royalty per book if paid this way (and this doesn't even account the writing).
So expect a one time payment.
Also, realize that you'll have to compete against people willing to submit their pictures for free.
Is your picture that much better than the competition?
What is more important to you, getting your picture in a book or getting the $20.
If you are looking for $$, there are better ways in photography to go about doing it.
