A question about freelance offers

[Raven_C]

Hey folks! This is for any of you guys who have worked on freelance gigs, and it’s a simple question: How do you respond to freelance offers/emails?

I’ve gotten a freelance inquiry recently. They mentioned having looked thru my portfolio and art posts, and so they reached out to me for a project on a fantasy deck of cards. They also said it will be Kickstarted and that I won’t be asked to create art that they cannot pay for (before or after the Kickstarter). Lastly, they would pay me for an “audition piece” meaning they’ll give me one card to illustrate, just to see my process first.

So basically, how would I respond to this? Sorry if this seems like such a noob question I know that i should mention my rates, timeframe, and such, but anything else? It seems like a cool project.

How do you handle freelance offers?

[soyasholm]

I mostly have done smaller time commissions but for bigger jobs I think it's a good idea to ask them what their budget is and potentially what they had imagined it would cost.
You can always haggle the price with them but if you had a price in mind first and they give you a bigger one then you know you can take more for your work. Of course it doesn't mean you can't haggle more with them in terms of going up or down in price but yeah, that's the little bit of advice I can give.

And good luck with it!

[Nachi]

I usually thank them for the interesting offer.
Since they are the ones coming to you so I would first ask them about details of the project, maybe past projects you can look into so you know they did something before, if you are interested in that and a inquiry about their budget and their goals for the project (if they seem realistic). But if they are going to pay you anyway (unless it is in %), that may not be your biggest concern.
Basically let them know you are interested, ask any details you are interested in, which opens the communication. If it is a company or someone bigger than you coming to you, they may very well be prepared with what they want from you and what the next step will be, so they will lead the conversation. They may have a contract prepared etc. So I don't think you need to think hard on how to proceed.

They may also ask for a meeting to get to know you and have the opportunity to explain everything and maybe ask for your rates there. You can also negotiate according to their budget (I did two nice commissions where the price I asked was doubled and I asked more than I ever got in the first place, so don't sell yourself low by telling them prices upfront, unless you have a reason to believe they won't be able to offer more or you want to be fair and ask the same from anyone).

Anyway, first they probably need to know if you are interested and if you have time.

[Rodimus13]

If you make a audition piece, make sure to put a watermark on it and give them a low res version. I handle the business side of many of my husbands freelance projects, and we've gotten requests like this before. We are very very careful when they ask for an "audition piece" that they choose because, in our experience, it's someone who tend tries to take the artwork without paying. They only need 52 people to do it to get a free deck, and since you gave it to them that means (in their mind) they can do what they want with it.

It's important to make sure you let them know what rights you plan on retaining to any artwork you send and to ask for half down once you start the project. Also, in this case, you would want to talk about if you get any percentage of the SALES. If you don't, that should really affect our fee as well because they will keep making money but you won't. The ones that are serious about paying us never have any problem with it.

Otherwise all the above advice is good.

[LortiaMJB]

Ask them which piece of your portfolio they liked most and made them approach you! It's possible they just looked for artists in general and threw a bone to anyone (it happens)

After that, look at their credentials, long live google!

If all checks out properly and you think you can trust them, go for the first piece as a starter. If they're still interested afterwards set up a contract with them that's beneficial to both of you. (royalties and all, important)

Good luck!

[Raven_C]

If you make a audition piece, make sure to put a watermark on it and give them a low res version. I handle the business side of many of my husbands freelance projects, and we've gotten requests like this before. We are very very careful when they ask for an "audition piece" that they choose because, in our experience, it's someone who tend tries to take the artwork without paying. They only need 52 people to do it to get a free deck, and since you gave it to them that means (in their mind) they can do what they want with it.

I didn’t think about this, thank you! I will heed your advice.

And thanks everyone for your responses! They give me something to think about.