Would like to Publish a book of photos

[alex_matus]

<p>Hi everyone ,</p>

<p>All do I have been a photographer for over 10 years. I simply did it for the love of Art.<br>

I complied 11 years ago History photos. And I think now would be a good time to compile and publish a book.<br>

Does anyone have a recommendations? I dont know how to go about finding a publishing house. <br>

<br />Thank you </p>

<p>Alex</p>

 

[igord]

<p>Maybe try www.blurb.com</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>If you want to "self-publish" your easiest route is to use a "print on demand" publisher such as Blurb, Lulu, Shutterfly, etc. They will make one copy of your book, depending on size and number of pages for $35-$50. Additional copies don't cost much less.<br>

If you want to publish a photo book through normal publishing channels, I suggest you buy "Photographers Market 2013" and start by showing your proposed content to as many publisher's reps as possible.<br>

If you self publish, you will be responsible for marketing and selling your book to get people to order if off the web site. Lulu and others have tie-ins with Amazon and Barnes and Noble to get your books listed on their site. The downside is that you don't see much of that $35-$50 price because everybody takes a cut. But again the only success with self publishing is if you can get people to buy your book. Because no one else is going to do it for you.</p>

<p><Chas><br /><br /></p>

[Spearhead]

<p>There's an implication in Charles' response that you can make more money if a publisher takes on your book instead of self-publishing. There may have been a time when this was true, but it's not the case any more, particularly for photo books. The problem is that volumes are low unless it sells in a tourist market or has a celebrity name attached. Even 1000 copies is high these days for a new photographer, and half of those may be remaindered. Costs are high for the publisher. Even if you find a publisher, which is much tougher now, the net to you will probably be less than working a month a McDonalds. The photographers I know who have books published recently have them concurrently with gallery and museum shows and look for income from print sales rather than from book sales.</p>

[alex_matus]

<p>Thank you Igor and Charles you for your response. Its an eye opener for sure. Of course its a world that i am learning about. Jeff you might have given me a great pointer. The book that i held on to to publish the photos are my 9/11 photos. By a mistake I was at ground zero after math. Some of the pics are on my site here on photo.net. This is what i am trying to publish. But you are probably right museums and galleries are my best bet.</p>

<p>Thank you all again.. </p>

<p>You photographer comrade Alex. :)</p>

<p> </p>

[alex_matus]

<p>Also just one question for Jeff. What do you mean by print sales verses book sales?</p>

<p>Thanks again </p>

<p>Alex</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>Sales of prints in a gallery easily exceed book royalties with just a few sales if your prints are selling at a high enough price. I talked to one photographer whose monograph sold out and netted about $5000, the associated exhibit traveled and in the US alone made about ten times that in print sales. </p>

<p>Even without high prices, you should be able to make more from just a few shows with the same photos if there is a market for them.</p>

[alex_matus]

<p>I see. But these are 9/11 photos. So should I pay and create a book. And presented to galleries and Museums? So say the book will cost me $25 dollars to print. I can find cheap print shops abroad. But then what present it to galleries and museums for say $50? And they take a cut for every book that is sold? But i pay for the printing of every copy?</p>

<p>Am i understanding you correctly? </p>

<p>Alex</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>No, what is selling is prints alongside the book. The book drives people to the gallery and the prints sell in the gallery. </p>

[alex_matus]

<p>I see.. the actual PHOTO..</p>

<p>So I should create a book and prints. The prints /photos that will actually sell? <br>

So do i just pick up the phone and call few Museums>? </p>

<p> </p>

[cricketprints]

I personally don't think a book is a good idea because if someone wants a 9/11 rememberance book, the best ones will be

compilations of photos from all over NY. If your photos are truly unique, they may sell in other ways. Are they emotional,

unique, high quality? Are they on 9/11 morning, during the attack, after? The best time to sell may be past.

[david_henderson]

<p>Here are your theoretical options</p>

<ul>

<li>Find a publisher to accept your proposal, edit, print and market the book to bookstores, galleries etc. You have to find a publisher out of the hundreds/thousands available . If you get one who says yes, they will pay for the print run and take responsibility for the unsold books. The problem is that as Jeff says, sales of photo books are relatively low and publishers aren't generally positive to another way of losing money. But you can try. No-one here will be able to direct you to a publisher who is very likely to accept your proposal. It will be down to your own hard work. The upside is no financial commitment. The downside is the thick skin you'll get after lots of people say "no" or just don't bother to reply. </li>

<li>Produce the book yourself . Find a printer. Pay for a print run. Take the book to bookstores, galleries etc and get orders. Finding a printer might not be hard. Getting the book accepted by bookstores and galleries ( alongside your prints) is going to be very tough and there probably isn't a way to avoid absorbing the cost of unsold books returned to you. The downside are that you will face a financial commitment, with no guarantee that you will ever break even , and a lot of hard work getting your book in front of buyers/gallery owners. </li>

<li>Design the book yourself, and only print sufficient copies to run your marketing campaign through a "print on demand" publisher such as Blurb. This differs from the route above only by reduced financial commitment. But your cost per book printed will be much higher. The difficult task of securing bookshop/gallery outlets for your work remains the same, but the chances of making money are lower because you'll be paying higher prices per copy.</li>

<li>Design the book yourself. Print a dozen copies for family and friends and be proud of what you achieved. If you want, make your book available for sale via Blurb's online bookstore and make a small margin if it sells any.</li>

</ul>

<p>There's no easy route to fame and fortune here, and whichever way you decide to jump, you should do so on the understanding that its going to cost a lot of time and might cost you money that you'll never see again. Part of your decision should be based on an understanding about whether there is or isn't a ready market for 9/11 imagery nowadays, and whether your photographs are in some way uniquely appealing. I've looked at the material you have in your portfolio here, and I think you'll struggle to get these accepted as unique or even superior to what's been available. But thats just one persons opinion. Just do whatever you're going to do with your eyes open.<br>

</p>

[robert_k1]

<p>A somewhat dated article on PN:</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/learn/book-publishing/creating-a-photo-book-proposal/</p>

<p>Another more recent article on PN. A revision to include the reality of profiting from book publishing would be nice. Check my comments for other references.</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/learn/photobooks/publish-yourself-photobooks-intro</p>

[robert_k1]

<blockquote>

<p>So I should create a book and prints. The prints /photos that will actually sell?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>It is not simple to produce *quality* prints and books. As I commented in this article:<br>

<br /> <a href="/learn/photobooks/publish-yourself-photobooks-intro" rel="nofollow">http://www.photo.net/learn/photobooks/publish-yourself-photobooks-intro</a></p>

<blockquote>

<p>Holy Grail #1: Able to make prints closely matching what are on the monitor.<br /> Holy Grail #2: Able to make books closely matching the prints.</p>

</blockquote>

[virginia_john_mybusiness]

<p>Holy Grail, Batman! Producing high quality prints without trying a number of print houses seems a significant challenge, or am I wrong?</p>

 

[alex_matus]

<p>Again thank you for all of your comments and suggestions. I will take all this in strive.</p>

<p>Many thanks to Scott, Robert and David.</p>

[alex_matus]

<p>Again thank you for all of your comments and suggestions. I will take all this in strive.</p>

<p>Many thanks to Scott, Robert and David.</p>

[Alex_Es]

<p>The 9/11 photos fall under the documentary category. Archivists and scholars, among others, would probably be interested in them, particularly as they were shot at Ground Zero. I doubt you would be able to sell many individual prints if you had a gallery show. Shots of Ground Zero are not decorative art, and should not be. If you did find someone interested in your photos you probably wouldn't get much money, if any. You might want to donate them. That would be a decent thing to do, given the subject matter. You'd at least get satisfaction from doing something good and you might receive some honest fame for work. </p>

[alex_matus]

<p>You are 100% correct Alex S. that is exactly what i am doing. Donating them to 9/11 Memorial Museum.</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p>Alex M</p>

[arthur_koenig1]

<p>ALEX<br>

Nooooooo. Donate a non exclusive license or donate a print or limited printing rights but do NOT donate the copyright unless you really intend to do that. Are you prepared to find out in 10 years that one of your photos was the ONLY one that shows some particular aspect of the event and that it is sorth $50k? Are you prepared for the museum to sell your work or sell the copyright to somebody else?</p>

<p>If so, then go ahead. If not, then keep the master rights for yourself and your heirs, and allow the museum a license to use or sell prints.</p>

<p>I have a friend that collects old prints at garage sales and resells them to regional Texana Musems. He got $5k for one set of images of a historic ranch. He bought the images for a couple bucks.</p>

[alex_matus]

<p>Thank you Arthur,</p>

<p>That is exactly what I am doing. The copyrights always and forever belong to me. I am simply giving the museum the rights to showcase and in some case sell the prints. </p>

[alex_matus]

<p>How to create copy rights for the photos? </p>

[anton_kratz]

<p>Hi Alex, just looked at your 9/11 photos. I have no idea if a traditional publisher would want to publish a book of these, but I think it would be a good idea, because in my opinion they are outstanding. I believe that 9/11 should be depicted as much as possible, so that it does not get forgotten - there is nothing wrong with the idea of a "coffee table" - type photobook of 9/11 <em>per se</em>.</p>