I think it's been said before...it's a juried competition with entry fees. That's standard practice in the graphics industry and has been for years.

I have no problem paying for an entry. If I make it, 50 bucks was cheap for such exposure. If not..I've got a $50 write off and some good practice under my belt. I charge $50 bucks an hour for my work...so I look at it as I took an hour's break. I entered 4 pieces. If they get in, then when someone asks me for "references" I will be able to say "I've been published here...here..here...", etc.

A few weeks back one of my pieces was chosen for inclusion into Aphrodesia's Art of the Female Form book as well. It cost me $80 to enter. One of my 4 entries was chosen and will be included. There was no guarantee I would get in, but I did. The judges were some major names and they thought that piece was good enough to be included. It's not vanity publishing...I had to compete to get in with 1000 other people.

Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. For a newer artist, it's a great chance to find some cheap exposure. If I were to purchase a space in one of the illustration annuals, it would cost me a hell of a lot more...from 100's to 1000's of dollars. A single page ad in a magazine these days can cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $12,000 and runs ONE time.

These books tend to hang around on people's desks. And even if you get no calls from them, when you have to sell YOURSELF to someone..a client or on your resume...you can say..."Here...see...I was good enough to get into this book...or this book...etc. etc." It's not THAT much money and its NOT vanity. You want to become well known..you put yourself out there and see if you cut it...or not. Here's an example of one of the best known comepetitions for books like this...Spectrum: Q: Why do you charge entry fees? A: Unfortunately, nothing in life is free. The entry fee helps to off-set the escalating expense of doing Spectrum each year. Postage, printing the Call For Entries posters, advertising, costs associated with the judging event, etc. all adds up. Though our costs go up annually, the entry fees have remained virtually unchanged since the beginning. Spectrum is very much a co-operative effort, with the arts community joining together to make this high-profile showcase possible. And, unlike some other art annuals, there are no additional publication fees for works selected for inclusion in the book (others can charge up to $75 per accepted piece in addition to the entry fee). Artists accepted for Spectrum receive a copy of the book their work appears in without charge: contributors to many of the other art annuals have to purchase their copies. Rendo isn't unique in how they're doing this.

Message edited on: 09/01/2005 01:10

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