Advice Greatly Appreciated!

Ten percent to reach a market you might not otherwise reach? It depends on how much they charge for their kits. Over $20, I would probably do it. Under, probably not.

April,thanks so much for replying! In dollars it would be between 40 and 400 for each kit, but I was guessing that most items sold would have been the inexpensive ones. I entered into a deal like this once before with a small company and they were all over the place with their record keeping. Kind of decent people but they had no idea of the stress they caused by not keeping accurate records, not alerting me of my sales or paying me on time ! It made me only want to deal with people who are totally straight about what they will pay at the outset and who will pay in advance. Then they can go ahead and make maybe more than I would have got if I had accepted royalties, but somehow I would feel free of the stress ! I know really that I should have asked my question on this forum at the time of the offer! But your thoughts are useful for another time as I'm still uncertain as they wrote to tell me how disappointed they were!

ps. April,what a superbly beautiful set of digital paintings you have ! Totally in love with your bee and owl ! Plus beautiful flowers,shading techniques,light and compositions! Great work!! J.

Why, thank you, Jane! I appreciate your kind words. :)

It's probably not too late if you wanted to make a deal with them. You might start with one or two pieces as a trial run, and make sure you have an end date written into the contract. Your work would make phenomenal cross stitches, and it wouldn't surprise me if you sold quite a few of the larger kits. Cross stitchers are usually older retired ladies with extra spending money and some serious time on their hands. If they come out in droves to buy your kits like I imagine they would, you'd have great leverage for increasing the percent with each future kit. But it's entirely up to you. If your gut is telling you no, you should listen to it.

I would have got more information. Your passed experience could possibly be holding you back. How many units do they expect to sell...how often? Dig in to see what their record keeping is like and how they will track it. How big is the company? 10% royalty per unit sold, if they are selling a lot can turn out to be a lot of money. Ignore people that say do it for the publicity...they are offering a royalty. What April said withe the trial run after you get more information....

April,I love your upbeat approach to this and the idea of droves of retired elderly people with time and money buying the kits! Thanks so much for your input on this.

Kevin,that feels like very wise advice and I can see that what I should have done is given myself more time to consider rather than replying so soon. Not sure if I would have acted differently with more time but at least I would have been better informed and not left doubting. Your words are valuable for another time. Thanks a lot! J.

Jane, April and Kevin have some great advice. Whenever someone wants to use your art check out the co. first ask about their past sales volume, do they have repeat volume? Names of other artists they have done this with and talk to them about how well the co. is at paying. Contract wise have full control of your art. You retain an upfront fee for use as is.If you need to do any revisions of the art that's at an additional cost.A 10% royalty fee on sales is a good start also check if the royalty amount is on wholesale (each kit price or retail price or per case or unit price.) I was once offered a % of sales only to find out it was only given if the co. met there quarterly sales goal and that yr they did not.
You can do one or two say for a year then opt for a renewal (note renewal would be on your terms). You have beautiful work let this time be a learning curve ( if you feel later you want to revisit this prospect do it. Be sure to send a thank you for their interest that always puts you in a position to check back on any offers.) Research other like companies of what they have to offer their sales and volume
.I can really see your work also done on puzzles,and tapestries start checking around and keep notes making what you would want in a contract and goals for your wonderful art.

Someone was here a year or two ago asking artists to join up doing this. I understand many did and then many had problems.

So be careful

Kim,I really appreciate your detailed advice and the time you took to explain it.Thank you very much.I feel very fortunate to be able to ask questions here .Everyone is so generous with their answers. It is all very helpful indeed.Thanks also to you Abbie.

Hi Jane.
I recently did some research on licensing, and I came across this site:
http://mariabrophy.com/art-licensing/what-to-charge-for-art-licensing-royalties-advances-and-flat-fees.html
If you're going to do a lot of work for them up front, you should expect to receive an advance.

Thanks a lot Julia. That site looks very well written and clear and I will go back to it.