Revised: 2007-09-12

These are some things to remember when negotiating rates for design work. And please send us your accounts of successful negotiations.

• Designs are copyright works, though the rules are slightly different to those for words and pictures. The suggested rates are for use of a design in one publication.
• The rates are suggested as minima from which freelances will negotiate upward according to their experience and specialist knowledge and the value of the work.
• It is vital that both sides agree on a list of precisely what is expected and what the rate will be for unexpected work. Elements that may appear in this list include:
  • preparation of sketches and mock-ups;
  • meetings to discuss, amend and decide among these;
  • interviewing editors, sub-editors and production editors to determine copy-flow and what they call each design element;
  • creating word-processor style-sheets using this information;
  • creating DTP program templates;
  • creating scripts to import styled copy into these templates;
  • testing and debugging all the above;
  • training for editors, sub-editors and production editors;
  • revisions to cope with the inevitable differences between what they say they do and what they do do;
  • revisions to the appearance of the publication (oh, that!) now the publisher has seen it; and
  • re-testing and re-debugging the above.
• Clients who use exotic software should either give the designer the use of a workstation in the office that runs it, or pay for the designer to acquire their own licence to use it.
• The rates for shifts do not include paid time off.
• Freelances who are registered for VAT will add it to every invoice.

Book designers obviously have fewer people to consult - unless they're setting up a series with multiple editors. If they bid to produce ready-for-press files, they may have to consult only themselves.

Generally useful links: