The Calligrapher's Business Handbook: Pricing and Policies for Lettering Artists

Name: The Calligrapher's Business Handbook: Pricing and Policies for Lettering Artists
Rating: 4.8 (144 reviews)

by: Molly Suber Thorpe (0)

The Calligrapher’s Business Handbook is a guide to best business practices and pricing strategies for calligraphers and lettering artists. Whether you’re starting out in creative freelancing, transitioning from a different profession, or running a lettering business that just needs a boost, you will welcome the invaluable ideas in this handbook. Award-winning graphic designer, renowned calligrapher, and bestselling author of Modern Calligraphy, Molly Suber Thorpe shares her hard-earned insights to answer your most pressing business questions. Molly has packed these pages with advice you won’t find anywhere else, covering a range of topics for freelance calligraphers and hand lettering artists: How professional calligraphers charge for their services Whether to charge flat rates or hourly rates When – and how – to offer discounts or freebies How to charge for commercial work, such as logo designs How to get the most bang for your advertising budget What goes into a fair project contract How to navigate copyright licensing and know your rights!

The Reviews

This book is the concise compilation of all the information a newly skilled letter artist needs to begin or an expert calligrapher needs to refine their business techniques. It answers the question that most dominated my mind- "What are other people charging for their work?"No resource can precisely tell you what YOU should be charging, bit this helps you define what the national average is and what fees are often attached for specialty services, not to mention compensation for services you hadn't realized could be charged in addition (though, perhaps it should have been obvious by the amount of additional work you did). Then you adjust for your geographic region and expertise to determine a fair fee for your services.I love most of all that's she's written this while embracing the "community over competition" mentality. By being more transparent in our pricing policies, we actually encourage more reasonable compensation for the entire lettering community. It also helps consumers know that they are getting a fair quote.Bravo, Molly!

This book is seriously helpful in terms of how to price your items and educated me on things I haven't even thought about yet! It's been a couple of months since I took up calligraphy as a hobby, and I'm finally feeling confident enough to begin selling my work. This book answered all the questions I had! I especially love how Molly assures you throughout that your work is worth the price tag that you should be putting on it!

As a Calligrapher/Handletterer, this book is exactly what I needed. I finished it in a day and my copy is very highlighted. As you're reading the book, you'll see she's also compiled extra resources so you can go more in depth if you want. Her writing style is what I hoped for. Informative, but clear and easy to understand. I'm sure I'll read it again.

I’m a huge fan of Molly, and was ecstatic to see she wrote this! It is much needed and covers every relative topic. She is the best and I cannot recommend this book enough for any calligrapher or letterer who needs to know how to do a business startup or needs to know any topic basically covering the business end of the art.

Thank you so much for writing this book and helping to answer all of the questions I’ve had for the past year as I started up my calligraphy business! I feel like I have a much better understanding of the business and I can’t wait to take it further with all of your advice.

I really love this book but wish it came with a digital copy. I have some learning disabilities and it really helps. I tried learning ally and kurswell. Any other suggestions?

Love this book. Lots of good information for those of us thinking about turning calligraphy into a business.

A good, but light, read. The book is full of useful advice, but it doesn't go in depth. It appears to be written for someone with little to no business experience, and even then, it just skims the surface. I finished it very quickly, and remember thinking, "that's all?" It's worth purchasing, as the author touches upon some calligraphy-specific topics that you won't easily find elsewhere. But you'll want to read some other books/resources on running a creative business as well, and it's always a good idea to join a local guild, if possible, as you'll meet experienced calligraphers who may be willing to help guide you.

I definitely find this book helpful and it gives non-business minded people like me direction. If you feel overwhelmed with starting your calligraphy business, this book a must have.

This book and Molly's Skillshare classes have changed the game for my hand lettering business. Definitely worth the money and you will learn a ton!

I’m a huge fan of Molly, and was ecstatic to see she wrote this! It is much needed and covers every relative topic. She is the best and I cannot recommend this book enough for any calligrapher or letterer who needs to know how to do a business startup or needs to know any topic basically covering the business end of the art.