Introducing The Calligrapher's Business Handbook!
Hi all! Molly here, founder of Calligrafile.com. I want to tell you a bit about my second book, which I wrote in response to the questions I regularly receive about the business side of lettering arts. The Calligrapher’s Business Handbook: Pricing & Policies for Lettering Artists just came out and is available worldwide in print and eBook formats!
During my career as a professional calligrapher and freelance graphic designer, I have taught calligraphy to hundreds of students and worked with countless peers in the lettering arts industry. There is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the business of calligraphy and hand lettering and, over the years, I’ve heard the same questions and run into the same misconceptions time and again.
My goal in writing this book was to provide answers to these questions and to clarify misconceptions about the business side of hand lettering by creating a guide to the best practices and pricing strategies of successful, professional lettering artists.
The common questions my new book answers include:
- What prices do professional calligraphers charge for their services?
- When should I charge a flat rate and when should I charge by the hour?
- I’ve heard I should charge a lot more to design a logo than to design something for an individual to use personally, but why?
- What is the protocol when a company wants to buy the copyright to my work? (Wait, do I even own the copyright to my work if a client hired me to make it?)
- What are exclusive rights? How are nonexclusive rights different?
- What should a fair project contract include?
- When, if ever, should I agree to do work for free or for considerably less than my customary rates?
- What are the best ways to advertise on a budget, especially when I’m just starting out as a freelancer?
- Do I need to go to art or design school to become a successful, in-demand lettering artist?
Molly Suber Thorpe
CALLIGRAFILE FOUNDER & CORE CONTRIBUTOR
Athens, Greece
Molly is a calligrapher, teacher, and author. Her first book, Modern Calligraphy, has reached tens of thousands of budding calligraphers, and is available in Spanish and Chinese translations. Her second book, The Calligrapher's Business Handbook came out in May 2017 and addresses the business side of lettering arts.
Molly graduated from UCLA's Design Communication Arts program in 2009 with a concentration in typography and layout design. Prior to that, Molly studied art history, comparative literature, and creative writing at The American University of Paris. After spending nearly a decade in Los Angeles, Molly now resides in Athens, Greece, where she works with clients all over the world.