A Chinese book company, Dopress Books is sending out gazillion of invites to artists asking them to contribute their images to their 'high quality books' (of different topics). While the scenario is not a scam per se (the company does exist and they do publish nice books that can be found in every large distributors and retailers, like amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc), be aware what you are doing.
They say the usual sh*t (no compensation but what a great exposure), but make no mistake: after you contribute your art free, they publish it and make lots of money on them. While sometimes it is worth considering certain exposures I do think you should stay away from this mass publishing company. What practically they do is, they use your image in a Royalty Free way except they do not pay royalty at all! (Just to give you a hint: a Royalty Free contract should mean at least $500-$750/per image!) But this is not all: in their invite they assure you that you (yes, you read it right!) don't have to pay them (!), and as it turns out they don't even send you a copy of the book you might contribute to free of charge. Not cool. Not cool at all.
If you have gotten an invite it is of course up to you how you react but I strongly recommend to turn it down and learn to appreciate your own value.
Here is the letter template everyone gets - the books and the 'editors' vary of course.
"Dear Sir, I am (name), an editor of Dopress Books who focuses on creating high quality books on graphic design, interior design and Avant-garde art. I found your exciting works on website, such as (titles of images) which are wonderful and well match our new book. It is my pleasure to invite you to submit your relevant works for the book titled: (title of the book) 215x255 mm, 208pages, English In 2015, (a short description of the book).You need not to pay any money for the publication, and you only need to provide the materials for printing. It is a good opportunity to introduce your art style and your business to our readers from all over the world. Please feel free to contact me for more information if you are interested in publishing your works. Look forward to your reply. Kindest Regards, (name) (Editor) "
Oh, by the way, when I asked for further details, they wanted me to send a minimum (!) of 16 (!!) high res, ready-to-print images...
