How do I tackle anxiety of pricing my own work

[inkyginge]

So I know it is likely one of those things that get easier over time and also people don;'t discuss pricing super often on here because it is more community, but I think with the self isolation, the rejection of my prices and my general anxiety. I am just looking for advice and reassurance really?

I am a bit of a lurker on here but I am fairly active on twitter under @inkyginge is folks want to follow me.

I opened up commissions for maps for the first time and had a a few people interested and asking questions about my rates. I have then emailed them with questions asking what they are looking for to price them. Generally I have prices my maps at about $50-55 USD for a location/structure maps in full colour/shading, this is because also exchange rate in to GBP takes a big cut. Also both where using them for their RPG adventures for publishing online

I worry I am charging to much but then I also don't want to undercut myself! I am also ware because of the way of world at the moment there is less money circulating, so I am wondering if I am overcharging for the current climate?

So have 2 people already say not that I am charging to much, but they can't afford it. Is it just the case of riding it out until I have people who are willing to pay what I want or am I being ridiculous and should cut my prices? I do ask people if they have a budget but most of them say they are "flexible" or set a budget for their project based on my quote.

If anyone has any thoughts that would be appreciated.

[Yrda]

I hate setting prices for illustrations in general. I'm no expert with that.

What I often see though is that illustrators create a sheet with examples and a price range. Like "simple sketch: 20$, colored sketch: 40$, black&white drawing: $60, full colored drawing: $120", with preview example images next to each "level".
The price tags I named here are random, just an example how it could be divided. Of course it depends on your experience and the complexity etc.

If someone wants a full color map illustration but can't afford one right now, maybe they can afford a simple sketch without color? And maybe they can give you a new commission for the full color version later when they can afford it again? (based on the initial sketch and with a reduced price)

[Tiana]

No, you're not overcharging. That's an okay starting rate for a location map. For a map someone's putting in a published book, I'd say they're either new to it or trying to exploit you not knowing better.

You CAN do cheap commissions, if you want. You'll burn out in the end because people will want more more more without respect to what you charged. It's easier to find ONE person who'll pay you $500 than it is to find 20 people to pay you $25. Yes, there are people with $25 budgets desperately trying to scrape by and it's okay to think of their needs. However, they tend to be some of the worst and neediest clients, so, someone who tells you they can't afford $50 is probably you dodging a bullet. The reason for this is not that they're poor, it's because they have very little experience working with a commissioner and they don't know how to work with you well. Someone with a big budget might have expectations but they will also have experience.

I have a vague pricelist, I'm very flexible depending on timeline and the density of the map in question, but I almost never go under $100 these days, my lowest end maps are $75, and if you can't pay that, cool, I have free map stamps and a tutorial and I will answer any questions you have about how to make your own map from the myriads of stock resources.

How do I make my prices?

I know approximately how long it takes me to draw a map. So, I have an hourly wage that is no less than minimum wage for a project, but usually $35 an hour if someone were to ask what I'm basing it on. I also add a few hours at minimum wage to my quote for the work that went into talking to the client via emails and fishing for the clients... that's why I no longer do cheap maps, because by default I'm budgeting in around $30 towards "not actually drawing but the work that's required to get a commission". I also add up the cost of my supplies for the year and divide it up by 365 and include about 1-4 weeks of "what it costs for me to have an appropriate setup to do this art". For the record, I spent around $2000 last year on various things to support my work, so, it costs me about $5 a day to have what I need to perform art at the level I'm doing now. If I work for someone for a week, $35 goes into related costs. Now, last year I did buy some unusually expensive work related things, but nonetheless, say you have an Adobe subscription, well, you need to factor that into your wage.

So, you see, for one map alone, I'm looking at at least $60 of tangential fees that are not just "I'm drawing the map and charging you precisely for that time". That's some of why I don't usually charge hourly, and if I do, that's why I base my rate on something that's more than double minimum wage. Because there are costs associated with having the equipment and lifestyle to be able to draw maps ALL THE TIME!

If someone were to ask me for a quote right now, for my most common product, which is a mid-sized continent or country, I'd give them a quote between $100-$250 (depending on how dense it was) and if they asked for a poster, they'd get a quote of $300-$800, depending on how rendered and detailed it is. This will weed out 2/3s of people that I contact based on a job, or who cold call me out of curiosity (those people I include the note "my prices are negotiable if you are a non-professional looking for a map for your private game"... because that's true, I will gouge my prices significantly for someone who wants a personal game room piece rather than a publication piece). My lowest cost product is a black and white novel page sized map, for which I charge $75 USD per page (or $150 for the two page spread). It does take me more time than 2-3 hours to create such a map (if there weren't a back and forth I could do it in a workday), but indi authors aren't making huge banks, so I've always endeavoured to keep that particular map style low cost compared to high end full color posters, which I'd rather do a selective amount for a specific handful of clients rather than enduring gruelling hours.

Note: my low end product is still more than you feel uncomfortable charging. 80% of the time I regret taking low 2 digit commissions. With one exception recently, a teenager commissioned me to do a map for her GM, she was very nice, and I gave her a very good deal, that commission rolled out smoothly. I just had a good feeling about it so I accepted it. Trust your gut. Your gut knows if a client's giving off red flags.

It is ALWAYS easier to find one client with a high budget than several with a low budget. It will ALWAYS be a better experience. If you want to do low cost work to help people with small budgets, make stock art packs available on the DMs Guild or whatever. Don't let someone with a stock art sized budget push you to do extremely custom artwork. It will burn you out. If you want to make generic stock, do it on your own terms and advertise the packs to those people who say "ah, that's too much".

My solution for those people was to make a list of all the free fantasy map tools I could find on the internet. You don't have a budget to hire me? That's fine. I have a reason for charging what I do, but I don't want you to not have a map. I just don't want to do it, because I will ultimately make more money over the long term if I spend that time not on a $30 map pack, but on a kit of Roll20 tokens that resell repeatedly over the course of a year. If you only have $30, get Wonderdraft, get Other World Mapper, get Dungeon Forge, it's super easy to make your own map with a mapping specific tool and I encourage it to all low budget indi creators.

It isn't just for my sake, too. It's also for them. If they lowball, they're not going to get the best possible art for their creation, and visuals are what sell RPG modules and game sets. And if they try making maps they might realize why our rates are like this, or discover they love making maps! So that's not a bad thing. I'm always happy if the outcome is "and the cheapskate client woke up to the joy of cartography and now they make dungeon maps every day."

Why should you listen to me when my profile isn't full of little Cartography awards? Eh, I dunno, maybe because I'm successfully making my living as a freelance fantasy cartographer almost exclusively and have been doing this professionally for 7 years. I have a good idea of why it's worth charging more money than you might think you're worth, because I used to do it wrong and burned myself out on $35 maps, leaving a wake of disappointed clients whose needs I could not meet when I surged in popularity and could not actually keep up.

[Bogie]

Everybody has a different opinion on this subject, but I agree with what Tiana is saying.

I have had a few nightmares. One of the first maps I did was a commission for a start-up with no money but connections to big names in the old school D&D world. I made a map for Exposure. Now on one hand he did introduce me to those big names and I have made friends I never would have, on the other, when he finally published the adventure it had been so long he forgot who made the map for him and didn't give me credit for it.
A worse experience was for an RPG adventure Kickstarter. They contacted me just for permission to use maps that I had posted online (free to use), Then they asked how much for a few original maps, I quoted a slightly low but fair price. They agreed, but then a few maps became 5 maps, and then they wanted me to significantly rework the old maps. I ended up putting in way more work than what I had agreed to. The Kickstarter funded but didn't perform like he thought it should have and he went all over the internet blaming me & my maps, NOT Cool.

[Eowyn Cwper]

Great post, Tiana! I'm sure it could help many people a lot – it helped me too.

Another thing I think is worth keeping in mind to tackle pricing anxiety (take it from someone who only recently transitioned from being in awe of art to actually selling it) is that the person who asks for prices might be as stressed out as you are when pricing them. It's difficult to have to say “okay, I can't afford that”, because it makes them look like they don't care for what you do, or it will seem that they judge you for your price.

So keep going and worry not: we all feel that way!

[Tiana]

on the other, when he finally published the adventure it had been so long he forgot who made the map for him and didn't give me credit for it.

And this, humans of the Cartographer's Guild, is why "for exposure" is literally just bullshirt.

[inkyginge]

Thanks so much for all your thoughtful responses this is all really helpful.

Oh yes, I did graphic design years ago at college and the word exposure makes me skin crawl!

I think deep down my gut tells me my prices are fine but the reassurance is super helpful. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences!

[bkh1914]

That is a really great post, Tiana!

I really like that you treat the cost of getting a commission as a separate expense that needs to be folded into the total cost.
And I like that you identify and include your overhead costs.
I sell stuff through a small gallery and they charge a commission that covers exactly those types of expenses.

Trust your gut. Your gut knows if a client's giving off red flags.

That is so true.
I was reluctant to follow my gut feeling for a long time because I couldn't explain it in rational terms.
Then, several years ago, I had a set of experiences that convinced me that my gut knew a lot more about certain things than I did.
Now I listen when my gut has something to say.
It's not always right, but it has a very, very good batting average.

[AracelyHatfield]

Hey there, I stumbled upon this old post and wanted to offer some encouragement. I can relate to the anxieties you're facing with pricing your work, but don't worry. It does get easier with time and experience. As for the current market, it's understandable to be cautious, but don't undervalue your work. It may take some trial and error to find the sweet spot, but trust your instincts and don't be afraid to adjust your prices if needed.

[MikesMaps]

I'm a newbie in the map commissioning game, and I've this thread really helpful. It's clear I'm undercharging so will have to lift my prices at some point. Fortunately my commissions so far have gone quite smoothly, even if some have dropped the project for lack of funds (or finding me too expensive).