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to do today," you're diminishing your position. When you quote your price of, say, $750 to cover the assignment, the editor will say, "Oh, we can't pay that. Our rate is $300." The editor is attempting to equalize the situation by using what Cohen terms "the power of precedent" and the learned knowledge that you're not committed to something else. Surely you, the photographer, wouldn't dare to ask more than they're offering or have paid others in the past. The editor didn't even say, "Our rate is usually $300" or "We try to pay $300 an assignment," which might give you some insight into wiggle room.

Instead, you could have said, "You know, I've got several projects I am working on, but I think I can rearrange those commitments to take this assignment for you." Because you're always doing something—looking for new clients, working on marketing materials, reading about the latest equipment, reviewing other photographers' work online, or just generally doing busywork that needs to get done, you do, in fact, have to rearrange something to take the assignment.

Cohen further says:

In any type of negotiation, quick is always synonymous with risk…. Undue haste puts one party in potential jeopardy. Who takes the risk in a quick settlement? The person who is less prepared and cannot determine equity. Let's say that I cannot ascertain, based upon my data and observation, that your proposal is fair. Instead, I must rely totally upon your representation.

Sound familiar? "Every other photographer we deal with has signed this 'all rights in the universe' contract." Or how about, "I am leaving for vacation and need this buttoned up before I leave, so can you do the assignment at this rate?"

First, get off the phone. I almost never give a quote over the phone because I haven't had a chance to think it through, nor have I done any research on this "over the transom" inquiry. Take the time to think through the specifics of the request and come to an understanding of what you'd like to get. Then put it in writing. Things in writing are usually perceived as being less negotiable than things simply said over the phone. When you've drafted your estimate, send it along and follow up with a phone call to begin the negotiations. For a broader review of negotiations and how you should approach them in general, consider that there are effective rules you should apply when negotiating.

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NOTE

I refer to clients who have come to me through no direct effort of mine as "over the transom" inquiries. Although there is some belief that the term "over the transom" is a nautical one, it actually has its roots in publishing. A small window that could be opened over the top of a door, often used in the days preceding air conditioning, was called a transom. Book proposals and manuscripts would come to a publisher's home or place of business unsolicited by being dropped through the open transom. One other possible origin suggests that the phrase stems from the Copper Kings in Montana bribing officials by tossing payoffs through the transom into their hotel rooms.

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Before you begin the negotiation process, consider what Leigh Steinberg, author of Winning with Integrity: Getting What You Want without Selling Your Soul, defines as "the twelve essential rules of negotiation" (followed by my application of them to aspects of photography):

1. "Align yourself with people who share your values."

This means photo editors you admire and publications whose reporters you trust and whose stories you respect. In the instance of companies or organizations, perhaps it's humanitarian aid organizations or the philanthropic arm of a corporation. For example, suppose a company such as Ford has a separate charitable organization, the Ford Foundation, that does good in the name of Ford.

2. "Learn all you can about the other party."

This is applicable not only to the photo editors as individuals, but also to the potential contract terms you might face and have objections to, the state of the company (flush with profits or facing cutbacks and recent staff