Yes, Photo Books are Still a Thing
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
#1960Now, featured in the pdn article I read and wrote about yesterday is selling on Amazon and seems to be doing well. It received largely positive reviews. The images are black and white and there is a fair amount of writing around them. Mind you, the subjects are timely and so many people are drawn to it, to the moment, to what is represented. It is something altogether quite different than what Lenny and Jan sought to do in the 80’s. I continue to worry that perhaps their tug has…tugged (away)?
[Insert deep breath here]
I have to (re)remind myself that the goal is publication and that perhaps the “type” of publication isn’t so important as long as it gets out there. And if I do so out of my own pocket, so be it.
* * *
So I set about reading the two articles listed in my previous posts. I started with this, Want to Publish a Photo Book? Here’s What You Need to Know. Here are the points I took away from my reading, although it kind of took me down a rabbit hole, as it provided summary points and then links to other “full articles”:
consider publisher, “Aperture”
I might be asked/expected to pay upfront for some of the cost of publication (!)
Have a response to this question: Who is your “engaged” audience for the book?
Create a “leave-behind” when you are pitching your book (Naw. Ena doesn’t have time or $ for that)
Provide assurances that you will help market the book (What?! I feel like this is going to be another gig for me. I already have three lined up for the coming months…)
The most useful tidbit is offered by a Mary Virginia Swanson regarding self-publishing. A link to the following article was provided: Resources for Self-Publishing Your Photo Book or Exhibition Catalog. Although I am not sure I want to go that route yet, I do think I need to read up on it and peruse the resources that are listed. Now you see how I have turned into a rabbit.
I may want to consider getting an agent (For now, I am my own consultant, editor and agent all wrapped into one. I feel like we all get along real well).
Before I got too dizzy from my descent down the hole, I turned my attention to the other article, which deals more with organization and aesthetics. Both usually bring me joy so I felt hopeful about what I was going to learn as I read, The Art and Process of Sequencing Photo Books. Here are the revelations:
According to Teun van der Heijden, the images in a good photo book must “build up” and then “release” the tension (uh…ok).
He then makes another point, one that I am down with, that “lesser quality” photos can sometimes capture a mood, an energy (I am thinking of one shot that Lenny chose that is blurry yet very impactful).
As I was reading this article, I started to prepare myself for having to “surrender” more of Lenny’s slides in order that an editor might be able to piece together a more seamless and striking “narrative” (If I self-publish, I can be in the driver’s seat…but the vehicle itself will be very expensive).
Mr. Van der Heijden offers book-making workshops but I’m afraid to look into that possibility right now. I still very much feel like I am on my own (once again now, one more time). Segue to Patti Labelle: On My Own featuring Michael McDonald.
