Even if they are not maxed out for work, there comes a time when an amateur turning pro has to say "no, I'm no longer available to do free work. Even more than publicity, I need the ability to assert that I have been paid money for my work."
That is an uncomfortable transition for an artist. Poking them with "do it for the publicity" is aggravating and unpleasant.
yup, i feel a similar struggle doing Free Software development. i'd love to just hack and code on projects unpaid, but i can't afford it and the publicity i can get out of it is not enough to attract paid work. at least within FOSS the work we do is for other FOSS users and contributors who all know that, so nobody is brazen enough to make such requests.
That is an uncomfortable transition for an artist. Poking them with "do it for the publicity" is aggravating and unpleasant.