Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Art and Writing

That copyright question.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Frequently, artists email me hoping I can help them with questions about art and the business of art. I can't answer all of them, and much of what I end up telling them I have covered on this blog before in a four part series from a year ago (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4). This short series talked mainly about artists (and writers) getting an online presence through a web site, but it also touched on protecting a creative work from being stolen.

A recent email, which I will share with you, got me to thinking that maybe I should mention some of these things again:

can you tell me the ins and outs of copyrighting and selling
my artwork. this is all new to me and I dont have the first
clue about it . I have been doing poitraits for years for
friends and family but nothing outside of my own circle of
family and friends. after alot of prodding I finaly decided
to go public with my work. I just dont know how. thanks for
any help you can give me

I did not reply back to this request because I really can't tell him the ins and outs of copyrighting and selling his artwork. It's never been a huge concern for me. The biggest hurdle I always found, in attempting to sell art, was to figure out how to price it and then to figure out how to market it. I didn't worry about the copyright issue first and foremost because, in my experience, the people who worry about others stealing from them above all else have bigger hurdles to clear before being successful in selling their work.

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If you're not a well-known artist or writer, you're being a little over-paranoid in constantly thinking that people are going to want to steal your work. Granted, I've had it happen where I've sold a little painting or something, and then the buyer's family just loved it so much that they went and had color copies made of it for every family member. That's clearly a copyright violation. In the rural area in which I live, however, making a big case out of is a sticky thing. I also didn't see the family members as turning around and making financial profit off of my work. I let it slide, though I was irritated. The problem with assuming that everyone is out to steal from you is that too often, it serves as the perfect excuse for not getting your work out there. The thinking is that, until you figure out a way to keep people from stealing your art or your poem or your writing, that until you figure out a way to make money off of it each and every time it is seen or read, you'll just hold off. I would rather have the irritation of knowing I was infringed but still producing than the feeling of being hamstrung by paranoia.

Time is money and you have to consider that when dealing with a real case of infringement. Time is money, especially to an artist who has to calculate that in when selling art. One of my art professors in college had an experience where someone re-sold the painting they had purchased from her. She had, in her contract, a clause in which she was to receive a percentage of each subsequent sale because otherwise the buyer was, essentially, profiting off of her. I have a similar arrangement mentioned on my copyright page, though I confess, the thought of pursuing it gives me a headache. I know this, because it became a huge obsession for my instructor; she constantly told of the hassles of trying to collect the money from the buyer/seller. I saw that it almost embittered her and was affecting her work. Now, if she were a very famous artist or writer with serious cash on the line and the issue of plagiarism or copyright infringement came up, that would be another story. That kind of money would likely overshadow the time spent and even pay for an attorney to deal with the headache for you. Time is money; think wisely on how you'll spend it.

Within reason, I view my art and writing as a bit of philanthropy. This is not going to be a popular idea for a person with the mindset that money must be exchanged every time someone benefits from the art or writing they have produced. Yes, I agree that no doctor, plumber, or electrician would perform his services for free, and it doesn't seem fair to expect if of artists and writers. Art and writing is as much work as anything else and deserves compensation; we can't live off of air and too many people expect that.

But silly me; I think art and writing are higher. I think my art and my writing have the power to do something above and beyond a re-wired light. It is this reason I offer free projects and downloads on my site as well as have free essays and writing in this and my other blog. It is ironic that the people who won't hesitate to download these things, won't hesitate to enjoy free content and writing, or won't hesitate to use one of my online images to base a drawing of their own off of, are the first to demand payment from everyone else for everything they do. The world would be a better place if we all were less fixated on money, artists and plumbers and writers and doctors, but I can only deal with myself.

And so I give some away. I can be as generous as Seth Godin and all his eBooks, to some degree, can't I?

I want people to have beauty or learn something new, and if they find it in what I make, I'm pleased to give it away. Now, having said this, I would recommend that you check out some of the links in the blog roll on this page because there is a difference between being a "philanthropist" and a patsy. A commercial magazine or publisher has the money to pay you for your work and you have to make money to live. Don't be convinced by someone who has the means to pay you that you should work for free just to "get your name out there", as if it were an honor to let you work for free. That's not what I'm saying at all.

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I have to reiterate that I am not, by any means, an expert in this area. I am not a well-known artist or writer and I don't think there's a huge crowd of people tempted to steal from me. I've never been one to pursue or hound someone for downloading or printing or otherwise using my stuff without permission because it hasn't seriously affected my livelihood. That isn't to say that I won't in the future, but as of yet, there's been nothing worth the effort and money to do so.

If you are an artist and still have questions, you may contact me. I would ask, though, that you first consider checking out my copyright page and see if your questions might be answered there.