Publish Your Photography Book [Paperback]

Since I have become very interested in publishing, I couldn't wait for this book to come out. A how-to guide from industry insiders that promises to "demystify the process of producing and publishing a book of photographs"? Yes, please. And published by Princeton Architectural Press? I couldn't wait. And then I had to because the publishing date kept getting pushed back (there's a lesson in publishing right there--and a typical scenario for all things photo book). Well, I finally got my copy and read through the whole thing in one sitting. My conclusion in two words: pretty. disappointing.

Nice things first. The book is beautifully designed and printed. The paper is a joy to touch. The use of white space is refined. The imagery is well chosen. Even the inner inner flaps of the book are lovely. The whole thing could be filled with lorem ipsum and I would still leaf through it with pleasure.

I could be snotty and say "and it may as well have been," but that would be unfair. The content isn't bad, but it just isn't satisfying. It tries to do too much and ends up doing too little.

The book is divided into six sections:

1. The Photography Book Phenomenon

This section reads like a seminar intro. Something to make you excited to have spent your money. This is the golden age of photography, etc. etc. Preaching to the choir. Nothing particularly revelatory or insightful, but it earns the spirit stick for pep.

2. The Nuts and Bolts of Publishing

Promising. A longer chapter that promises to get down to the nitty-gritty. The chapter is subdivided into sections about "evaluating and refining your concept, "Behind the Editorial Door: Understanding How Publishers Work," "Submissions and the Path toward Publication" and so on. Those sections are each subdivided and then sprinkled throughout we have a recurring "Industry Voices" segment where the experts give insight and advice. As an outline, it all makes perfect sense and it sound like exactly the kind of information I want. Sadly, it reads like an outline. Or rather, it's like reading a PowerPoint document of a lecture you wish you could have heard in person. You can't help but feel that the authors (Himes and Swanson) have a wealth of knowledge that has been edited down to smithereens. In the "Behind the Editorial Door" section, for example, the "players" are each introduced --sometimes in a little as three sentences--and then we never get to see them play. Six (yes, Pirandello fans, there really are six!) characters in search of a plot.

3. The Making of Your Book

More subdivisions and even fewer pages. Sections include "Editorial Content," Design Considerations" and "Production Details," each with corresponding "Industry Voices." Once again, actual content is sparse. see also: scanty. meager. suitable for a quick blog post, but not for a $30 book. I expect more from Princeton Architectural Press. Bill Jay and David Hurn's On Being a Photographer has far more specific, usable advice than this new publication.

4. The Marketing of Your Book

Same story. PowerPoint notes for a talk we don't get to hear.

5. Case Studies

My favorite part of the book. In fact, if somebody could please publish a book with nothing but case studies it would be a hit. I ate this part up. I reread it. I love hearing the real stories behind a publication. My only regret is that most of studies are woefully short. They are presented in interview format and they made me feel like the interviewer was walked into a room by a PR rep and told "You have six and half minutes. Have a great interview" (see the Uma Thurman Schweppes ad that is currently playing before all movies in French theaters).

6. Resources, Appendices, and Worksheets

Alec Soth's links page on the Little Brown Mushroom Blog is just one great example of how much useful information is already online. I would have liked this book to delve a bit more and find resources that photographers wanting to break into publishing could actually have a shot at using.

At in its worst moments, the book comes across as disingenuous--like a seminar about how you, too, can become a millionaire--or in this case, John Gossage. Some of the "Industry Voices" (e.g. Andrea Danese of Abrams) can barely conceal the fact that the reader of Publish Your Photobook is almost by definition someone that will not be launched into the world of art books via any publishing house of note. That's not to say that you won't be the next success story, but I would rather read a book that keeps it real. I would like to see:

* real numbers. Let's have some case studies that show how much a project cost from start to finish. Sébastien Girard's self-published editions of 500 would be a perfect case study for would-be self-publishers, for example.
* real stats. Why not be real and survey some of the publishing houses given in the appendices. How many books did they put out last year, and of those, how many were of new artists? Who is selling?
* real focus. If this were a student paper, I would recommend a tighter thesis. This book tries to do too much. I would rather read something like: Publish Your Photography Book: 10 Real-World Case Studies (or even 6) and get the useful information from examples that the reader might find relatable than have 6 chapters with the occasional pearl of wisdom.
* real alternatives. "To Be Published or To Self-Publish?" is NOT the question. Hmm. Have a book with Chronicle or make my own? Tough choice. C'mon, people. Who wouldn't like to be published? "Oh, I was going to go with Steidl, but then I decided that Blurb would be the kind of venue that would offer me complete artistic freedom, so I chose that instead." Let's be honest: even many Magnum photographers aren't getting the kind of publications they would like. So why not spend more time talking about the people that break through in less conventional ways. What about artist collectives? What other models of publishing might be viable alternatives to the big name houses?

Publish Your Photography Book --You are a beautiful, beautiful creature. But you are a tease.
[fyi-this was the review I published on my blog]

I have no doubt that most serious photographers, after wanting to set up a web site, have at least thought how nice it would be to publish a book of their photographs. There's plenty of help around about setting up a web-site, but the process of getting a book published is less familiar territory.

The authors, who are active in the photography book publishing industry, originally prepared this material as a series of articles for "photo-eye Magazine" an on-line site about photography books. The book opens with a short history of photography books, and then covers the nuts and bolts of getting one's book published, examining the structure of the publishing industry and the players the photographer will encounter in publishing and marketing the book. There is a chapter entitled case studies, which follows individual photographers and their considerations in getting their books published. Each chapter also includes interviews with various participants in the process. There are a number of appendices, including listings of publishers, distributers, related blog sites and so forth.

As befits a book on publishing photography books, the volume is well designed, with pages that feel crisp and generously use white space and attractive graphics. Unfortunately the content is not of the same quality as the form. Perhaps it was a natural result of trying to reformat materials originally prepared as articles but much seems missing on both the micro and macro level. For example, an important question is why one would want to have one's photographs in a book? An answer might be just to derive the pleasure of having one's work in hand, but in that case, many of the publication-on-demand services like Blurb can provide that more economically. Publication on demand by Blurb and similar services is not covered, except to the extent that the photographer may find it easier to find a publisher ready to commit to printing an economic quantity of 3000 volumes or more when the publisher has a maquette in hand. The book contains no discouragement to the photographer that his or her photographs may appear lovely to his or her own eyes but may not be evidence of a good business investment to a publisher. Not to mention the strong possibility of rejection may create unrealistic expectations by the photographer. Nor is there any acknowledgement that as a financial matter, making money on a book publication is not in the cards, except for the highest tier of photographers.

Other important questions were not considered the authors. Why publish a book at all? Can a book be a better way to present a series of images to reveal the photographer's vision than say, a boxed set of prints or a gallery show? Is there some synergistic effect from the book form? How does one layout better disclose the photographer's vision than another - or as one photographer worried, keep pictures from actually detracting from each other?

On a more micro level, we are told several times that the submission packet is the way for the photographer to capture the publisher's attention, but rather than being shown some specific examples of submissions, the reader is only presented with general guidelines.

The most interesting parts of the book were the guest interviews with photographers and other professionals participating in the publishing process. But these comments were certainly not organized into a complete road map to follow to get one's book published.

Ultimately, this is a case of high form and production values with unorganized content that may or not help the photographer to get his book published.

If you LOVE photography books and always wanted to publish your own, Publish Your Photography Book by Darius Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson is just the book for you. It's packed everything you need to know about photo book publishing.

Since my first book Art & Soul: Stars Unite to Celebrate and Support the Arts comes out in October, I read this book cover-to-cover on a flight from JFK to Naples and I found it loaded with just the type of information I needed. I particularly liked their marketing timeline and resources section listing independent bookstores, festivals, awards and trade events, plus a great list of blogs about photobooks and the publishing industry.

Publish Your Photography Book touches on all the things you should consider from book design and to weighing the options between traditional publisher -vs- self-publishing. Print-on-Demand technology, understanding publishing contracts and best of all, it pulls back the curtains explaining how publishers think, which is an invaluable resource to understanding how to get your book published.

My personal favorite sections were the Case Studies of photo book authors Alec Soth, David Maisel, Alex Webb and John Gossage along with essays from Industry Voices like Michelle Dunn Marsh, Rixon Reed, Jeff Blackwell, Denise Wolff, Nancy Wolff and Eileen Gittens.

Publish Your Photography Book is the textbook to photo book publishing.