Review: Publish Your Photography Book

Publish Your Photogrpahy Book

Is there a book in you? If you’re a photographer, the answer is probably a resounding “Yes!”

Whether you’re dreaming of producing one of those coffee table books with a hefty price tag or if your desires run to creating a client-wowing portfolio that doesn’t look like all those other portfolios, you’re in luck. Thanks to the proliferation of print-on-demand companies like Blurb, Fastback, Creative Books, and Shutterfly, getting your photo book into the hands of readers is easier than ever.

Note that I used the word “readers.” That was deliberate. The reality of the photography book publishing world is that it’s difficult to find buyers. Photography books are like poetry books in that the supply far exceeds the demand.

However, there are a few photographers whose books are collected like fine paintings. Expect to find their books on some very high-priced coffee tables. But these people are the exception, not the rule.

Promotional Your Photo Book

So, with the odds against it being a money-making venture, why would you want to publish a book of your photography? Because a photo book is like a giant business card. That’s how photographer Lisa Robinson uses her book Snowbound (Kehrer Verlag, 2007). Snowbound showcases images that she made while traveling on back roads in rural New York State.

I met Lisa Robinson at a Tucson, Arizona seminar presented by Mary Virginia Swanson, co-author of Publish Your Photography Book (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011). The book’s other author, Darius Himes, did not attend.

Lisa Robinson’s work is profiled in one of Publish Your Photography Book‘s seven case studies. It doesn’t take but a minute or two of hearing Robinson to understand that producing a photo book is not enough. You have to be very devoted to promoting it.

In Robinson’s world of fine art photography, “devotion to promotion” means that you’re constantly sending your book to people who organize exhibitions for galleries. That’s where the “book as a giant business card” concept enters the picture.

And it’s not enough to just put that giant business card out there. You have to follow up with the gallery people. Repeatedly. After all, there are a lot of other people who want to get their work on gallery walls.

You also need to become very good at getting up in front of an audience and talking about your work. I can say from firsthand experience that Robinson is a very polished public speaker. She very ably shared the stage with Mary Virginia Swanson, and that in itself is quite an accomplishment.

Challenges of Publishing

While this isn’t as much of a how-to book as Dan Poynter’s venerable Self-Publishing Manual, there’s a lot of useful information in Publish Your Photography Book. Starting with the all-important question: Why do you want to publish?

Tip: Think carefully before answering this question. Publishing is a lot of work.

Publish Your Photography Book goes on to cover the differences between having a book produced by a commercial publisher versus doing it yourself. It goes without saying that the competition to having a book published commercially is fierce. Always has been. Always will be.

If you should be so fortunate as to be offered a publishing contract, keep in mind that this is a book with Mary Virginia Swanson’s name on it. Hence, a very detailed section on publishing contracts. Swanson’s not an attorney – she’s a photography licensing and marketing consultant. And she’s very insistent on the point that artists shouldn’t sign anything they don’t understand.

If you’d rather shun the commercial publishing route and travel the do-it-yourself road, be prepared for quite the learning experience. Because you’re not just in charge of producing the book. You’re also in charge of promoting it. Publish Your Photography Book has you covered on both fronts.