John, that was a rousing call to arms for all rail photographers
everywhere. Applause, applause. And I am darned glad I didn't hit you
up for photos in the book of mine that is almost on its way to the
printing plant. It contains, about 100 b&w photos from the 1960s, and
close to two dozen slides. The contributors numbered about 30. Each of
them will get a copy of the book--which is all any of them asked. The
book will have a retail price of $50. And I will pay for those books,
because the contract--ALL railroad book contracts, so far as I
know--leave to the author the reimbursement for all editorial
expenses, including illustrations.
Granted, I can get books at a discount from my publisher, but
include my shipping charges to get the books and to mail them out and
we're still talking about upward to $1,500, which is far more than the
advance I got to do the book! And if the book doesn't sell well, that
advance could be all that I ever get for this undertaking. I won't
bore you with tales of the years spent researching the topic of this
book, the years spent writing it or the horrors of being both my own
art director and production director and becoming the prisoner of
desktop publishing technology which I do not fully understand.
But I read your manifesto and say to myself, does Corns know who
he's beating up on? You aren't beating up on Pentrex or Morning Sun or
Kalmbach Books. They could care less. This isn't their problem. They
put it on the shoulders of the authors. You are beating up on the
ink-stained wretches who have invested big chunks of their precious
time on earth to produce something of lasting value while knowing that
they will never be repaid in money for what they have put into the
project.
In other words, John, welcome to the club. Here, take my crying
towel and dry yourself off. We're all being used.
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: SPORRS: UP Roster Shots Wanted
Author: PC:[EMAIL PROTECTED] at INTERNET
Date: 10/16/97 2:42 PM
You are absolutely correct, Lara, that photographers should be paid for
the use of their work in railroad books, and not just be given a free copy
of the book in "payment" for their talent and effort. Without the photos,
there would be no railroad books at all. Most railroad book publishers
pay a pittance like $10 or $20 apiece, which is an insult. I realize that
the publishers are attempting to keep costs down to keep the price of the
books competitive, but they have to pay full price for the separations,
plates, paper, printing, binding and shipping, so why should we
photographers work for nothing, or close to nothing?
Purchasing one-time reproduction rights to a photo is just another cost
of doing business, and the publishers should respect that.
The biggest problem is the proliferation of low quality railroad books on
the market today. It seems that anyone with a story to tell or who owns
a camera gets into book publishing and writes or edits a book on
railroading, too often with poor results. These "editors" and
"publishers" are not discriminating in their choice of photos or words
(and neither are the purchasers of these books), and some really poor
results emerge from good intentions. A lot of folks will allow their
images to be printed for free just for the "honor" of having one of their
photos published in a book.
I am a professional, a mercenary if you wish, and I expect to be paid for
the work that I perform. If you do not want to pay a fair price for the
one-time use of my photos, then my slides will be staying at home and you
can use someone else's photos in your book or magazine. John B. Corns
--> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects
--> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects
