How can I secure photos for a book?
September 21, 2011 10:57 AM Subscribe
So I'm publishing my first book. My editor has asked me to secure photos and the international rights. How does this work? What are some good cheap sources?
So I had the good fortune of landing a book with a major American publisher. It's narrative non-fiction, so mostly text, but we're adding photos in the center and before each chapter, around forty total.
I'm looking for mostly old images, specifically woodcuts and ink stamps related to the acrobats and the circus, a bit like this.
I thought the stuff in the public domain would be free, but most libraries are telling me they charge by the image, even if something is in the public domain.
So I'm wondering how best to go about this. Are there Internet sources for this kind of thing? Am I naive in thinking I can get away without paying? Generally, what are the hazards I should be watching out for, to avoid getting sued?
Like I said, it's my first book, and the business end freaks me out. Any advice, specific or general, would be great.
Thanks all.
So I had the good fortune of landing a book with a major American publisher. It's narrative non-fiction, so mostly text, but we're adding photos in the center and before each chapter, around forty total.
I'm looking for mostly old images, specifically woodcuts and ink stamps related to the acrobats and the circus, a bit like this.
I thought the stuff in the public domain would be free, but most libraries are telling me they charge by the image, even if something is in the public domain.
So I'm wondering how best to go about this. Are there Internet sources for this kind of thing? Am I naive in thinking I can get away without paying? Generally, what are the hazards I should be watching out for, to avoid getting sued?
Like I said, it's my first book, and the business end freaks me out. Any advice, specific or general, would be great.
Thanks all.
Oh God. Photo rights for books are a huge pain in the ass. And yes, often expensive. And yeah: where the Internet falls apart is print-resolution, because... the Internet isn't itself at print resolution. This is a thing book publishers are pawning off on writers more and more these days. DEFINITELY talk to a professional like Ideefixe above.
Am I naive in thinking I can get away without paying? Largely. Generally, what are the hazards I should be watching out for, to avoid getting sued? All sources have permissions systems. Get some money together and be prepared for paperwork.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 11:21 AM on September 21, 2011
Am I naive in thinking I can get away without paying? Largely. Generally, what are the hazards I should be watching out for, to avoid getting sued? All sources have permissions systems. Get some money together and be prepared for paperwork.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 11:21 AM on September 21, 2011
Perversely, it can wind up being much cheaper to hunt down the images you want in old books, and then buy the books themselves. Scan them in quality with a decent scanner and there you go. You don't even have negotiate infuriating rights agreements. It takes some google-fu is all!
For example: Wonders of Bodily Strength and Skill has several lovely plates that might suit. Many available for about 25 quid. That saves you the several hundred pounds the British Library asks, for starters.
(You wouldn't believe how many 1860s books on steam engines I've picked up for a tenner)
posted by Erasmouse at 11:38 AM on September 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
For example: Wonders of Bodily Strength and Skill has several lovely plates that might suit. Many available for about 25 quid. That saves you the several hundred pounds the British Library asks, for starters.
(You wouldn't believe how many 1860s books on steam engines I've picked up for a tenner)
posted by Erasmouse at 11:38 AM on September 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Occasionally, I'll get a request on Flickr for use of a photo. It wouldn't hurt to take a peek and see if anyone has an image of interest and is willing to part with some rights to it. I never refuse.
posted by jsavimbi at 11:44 AM on September 21, 2011
posted by jsavimbi at 11:44 AM on September 21, 2011
Erasmouse--not everything in an old book is in the public domain. If it's a reproduction of a well-known work of art, say David's watercolors of the Mid-East, there's a museum that owns the reproduction rights. This is a risky strategy, unless you're willing to do the paper trail.
posted by Ideefixe at 11:52 AM on September 21, 2011
posted by Ideefixe at 11:52 AM on September 21, 2011
Two ways come to the top of my head...
WikiCommons is essentially an open database of images and art. Although the copyright varies from photo to photo, WikiCommons makes it super easy to figure out the rights. If you click on the photo the rights information is right below the image, usually with links providing a more detailed explanation.
Public domain art. The statute of limitations and copyright expiry vary by a number of factors (that I'm sure can be looked up online). But, art and music published before 1923 is part of the public domain and can be used freely and fairly. Double check on the source and use that handy dandy chart to help figure out what's ok to use. I'm assume because you're going to art that was created using older world techniques it won't be all that difficult to pull up a bunch of pre-1932 pieces.
Just make sure you're securing merchandising rights (as opposed to general media rights) since you will be at least attempting to turn a profit.
posted by jay.eye.elle.elle. at 12:06 PM on September 21, 2011
WikiCommons is essentially an open database of images and art. Although the copyright varies from photo to photo, WikiCommons makes it super easy to figure out the rights. If you click on the photo the rights information is right below the image, usually with links providing a more detailed explanation.
Public domain art. The statute of limitations and copyright expiry vary by a number of factors (that I'm sure can be looked up online). But, art and music published before 1923 is part of the public domain and can be used freely and fairly. Double check on the source and use that handy dandy chart to help figure out what's ok to use. I'm assume because you're going to art that was created using older world techniques it won't be all that difficult to pull up a bunch of pre-1932 pieces.
Just make sure you're securing merchandising rights (as opposed to general media rights) since you will be at least attempting to turn a profit.
posted by jay.eye.elle.elle. at 12:06 PM on September 21, 2011
jay--the OP was asked to get international rights. US pd doesn't fly internationally. And with all due respect--he doesn't need merchandising rights for use in a book. If he was making mousepads and coffee mugs, yes. Editorial use, even in a book, is different.
Vecchio--make sure you get very clear direction from your publishers about what documentation you will need. Many publishers will want you to license or get permission and indemnify them, the publisher, against any errors and omissions.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:22 PM on September 21, 2011
Vecchio--make sure you get very clear direction from your publishers about what documentation you will need. Many publishers will want you to license or get permission and indemnify them, the publisher, against any errors and omissions.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:22 PM on September 21, 2011
I work for a major publisher that publishes internationally. Once you get into the use of images in for-profit products, things get complicated quickly! I'm in editorial, so I'm not as expert in permissions as I would like to be (we have a whole permissions department that does nothing but rights acquisition for text, image and film) but our authors typically select images from vendors like the ones Ideefixe mentions, where images can be licensed royalty-free for a fee. You may end up finding your material in other sources, but it may be difficult to find gratis images sufficient in both quantity and quality for your book within a reasonable timeline.
A brief search shows that Alamy, for example, has over a thousand woodcut illustration photos in the image library, and the other places may have more (Shutterstock has 2600+). Admittedly, you have to pay for these images, and having 40 of them may be out of your budget, so, I would ask your editor, if you haven't already, what the budget is for this... if it's coming out of your royalties or you're otherwise expected to pay out of pocket, it could get quite expensive. It may end up being around a couple hundred dollars per photo, which, multiplied by 40, adds up to quite a bit. You'll want to know the placement within the book, the size on the page, and the quantity of the print run as well, since these things are typically licensed for x number of copies, and if the publisher wants to do another printing that exceeds that number, they have to pay up again.
But using a stockhouse can make photo research a lot easier because you can specify everything you need up front and secure international rights right there, because licensing images is the raison d'etre of these companies. Attempting to contact individual photographers or other rightsholders and license images can be dicey just in terms of negotiations and meeting your production deadlines, not to mention tedious. If it's an image you REALLY want, it can be worth it, but be prepared to have to do a lot of annoying followup.
Given the thorniness of international permissioning, does your publisher have some sort of rights acquisition specialist or IP counsel who could at least give you some guidelines? I'd be surprised if they didn't have a standard procedure for that, if they're a big company.
posted by Kosh at 1:16 PM on September 21, 2011
A brief search shows that Alamy, for example, has over a thousand woodcut illustration photos in the image library, and the other places may have more (Shutterstock has 2600+). Admittedly, you have to pay for these images, and having 40 of them may be out of your budget, so, I would ask your editor, if you haven't already, what the budget is for this... if it's coming out of your royalties or you're otherwise expected to pay out of pocket, it could get quite expensive. It may end up being around a couple hundred dollars per photo, which, multiplied by 40, adds up to quite a bit. You'll want to know the placement within the book, the size on the page, and the quantity of the print run as well, since these things are typically licensed for x number of copies, and if the publisher wants to do another printing that exceeds that number, they have to pay up again.
But using a stockhouse can make photo research a lot easier because you can specify everything you need up front and secure international rights right there, because licensing images is the raison d'etre of these companies. Attempting to contact individual photographers or other rightsholders and license images can be dicey just in terms of negotiations and meeting your production deadlines, not to mention tedious. If it's an image you REALLY want, it can be worth it, but be prepared to have to do a lot of annoying followup.
Given the thorniness of international permissioning, does your publisher have some sort of rights acquisition specialist or IP counsel who could at least give you some guidelines? I'd be surprised if they didn't have a standard procedure for that, if they're a big company.
posted by Kosh at 1:16 PM on September 21, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for the replies!
Erasmouse -- I'd never heard of Wonders of Bodily Skill. I'll investigate.
Kosh -- My editor's has been helpful but vague, though I haven't pushed him on it. They've sent me all the necessary documentation for international rights, so that shouldn't be an issue. And since most of what I'm looking for is fairly obscure I'm not expecting any real contention. But, again, I have no idea how this works. (And, yes, by the way--I'm responsible for covering the cost for the art.)
Ideefixe-- Thanks for all. I just sent you a Memail.
posted by vecchio at 1:40 PM on September 21, 2011
Erasmouse -- I'd never heard of Wonders of Bodily Skill. I'll investigate.
Kosh -- My editor's has been helpful but vague, though I haven't pushed him on it. They've sent me all the necessary documentation for international rights, so that shouldn't be an issue. And since most of what I'm looking for is fairly obscure I'm not expecting any real contention. But, again, I have no idea how this works. (And, yes, by the way--I'm responsible for covering the cost for the art.)
Ideefixe-- Thanks for all. I just sent you a Memail.
posted by vecchio at 1:40 PM on September 21, 2011
Flickr Commons has some great images most of which have no known copyright restrictions. You may have to attribute use to the institution that holds the work but the hi-res tiff or jpeg will be free.
posted by Ventre Mou at 1:59 PM on September 21, 2011
posted by Ventre Mou at 1:59 PM on September 21, 2011
The library is charging you for the hi-res image, not for permission to use the image. Depending on your contract, you or your publisher is responsible for paying. Read that.
If things are in the public domain, you don't officially need permission, but you should still include a source line in your figure legend (From.... or Courtesy of....).
For all the permissions work that I do, I secure English only, world rights. This means that if your book is in English and distributed in any country, you are covered. Some places have tiered fees for US only/NA only/World. If your book is translated then GENERALLY the foreign publisher will secure the new translation permissions for the figures and you don't need to worry about it.
If your book will also be electronic (Kindle, ebook, online, etc.) you will need to ask for print AND electronic permissions as nearly every publisher I have every requested permissions from treats these things separately and has different perm fees for both.
Most publishers have their own online permissions forms that are sometimes easy sometimes hard to get to from their main site. If they don't, your publisher should have a standard permission request form that you can use and submit to the source publisher.
Permissions are annoying and boring and time consuming, but pretty easy to do once you figure out the ins and outs.
IF YOU AREN'T SURE IF YOU NEED PERMISSION FOR SOMETHING, REQUEST PERMISSION JUST IN CASE. It's way better than being sued later.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 8:56 PM on September 21, 2011
If things are in the public domain, you don't officially need permission, but you should still include a source line in your figure legend (From.... or Courtesy of....).
For all the permissions work that I do, I secure English only, world rights. This means that if your book is in English and distributed in any country, you are covered. Some places have tiered fees for US only/NA only/World. If your book is translated then GENERALLY the foreign publisher will secure the new translation permissions for the figures and you don't need to worry about it.
If your book will also be electronic (Kindle, ebook, online, etc.) you will need to ask for print AND electronic permissions as nearly every publisher I have every requested permissions from treats these things separately and has different perm fees for both.
Most publishers have their own online permissions forms that are sometimes easy sometimes hard to get to from their main site. If they don't, your publisher should have a standard permission request form that you can use and submit to the source publisher.
Permissions are annoying and boring and time consuming, but pretty easy to do once you figure out the ins and outs.
IF YOU AREN'T SURE IF YOU NEED PERMISSION FOR SOMETHING, REQUEST PERMISSION JUST IN CASE. It's way better than being sued later.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 8:56 PM on September 21, 2011
Does your editor have an editorial assistant? If so, ask him or her for help. That was like 50% of my job when I was an editorial assistant (the helping authors learn how part, though I occasionally did the research for authors who didn't have internet access slash weren't very good at image research).
posted by ocherdraco at 9:00 PM on September 22, 2011
posted by ocherdraco at 9:00 PM on September 22, 2011
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Free sources are usually not the best quality scans. Most vendors will make a bulk deal. Feel free to Memail me.
posted by Ideefixe at 11:18 AM on September 21, 2011