I Wish I had Written This

There is an exceptional article on Spec, titled "I Wish I Had Written This", and I highly encourage you to Read The Article.

"Spec" work, as outlined on Wikipedia. And check this out about spec as well.

ASMP, APA, EP, PPA, and the Stock Artists Alliance published a Joint Statement (available here) that was widely distributed at PhotoPlus Expo a few years back, as it regarded one organization that built it's entire business model around spec-assignments, which they termed Custom Stock™ (and trademarked the phrase, I might add).

In case you're not so inclined, here are some excerpts:

(Continued after the Jump)

To those who are looking for someone to do work for free…please wake up and join the real world...More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service...But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be...In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field. So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?...would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?...It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your {whatever}, It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there....It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work....The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given....Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them....Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away...Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig...The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely...So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you.

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