Publish Your Photography Book

by Darius D. Himes, Mary Virginia Swanson

We live in the golden age of the photography book. Since the early 1990s, the number of photography book publishers has continued to grow while technological developments have placed more tools for bookmaking directly in the hands of photographers. For the students and working artists who have chosen photography as their primary means of expression, having their own photography book is seen as a passport to the international photography scene. Yet, few have more than a tentative grasp of the component parts of a book, an understanding of what they want to express, or the know-how needed to get a book published. Publish Your Photography Book is the first book to demystify the process of producing and publishing a book of photographs. Industry insiders Darius D. Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson survey the current landscape of photography book publishing and point out the many avenues to pursue and pitfalls to avoid. This expert guide is organized in six sections covering the rich history of the photo book; anoverview of the publishing industry; an intimate look at the process of making a book; a close review of how to market aphoto book; a section on case studies, built around discussions and interviews with published photographers; and a final section presenting a wealth of resources and information to aid in the understanding of the publishing world. Publish Your Photography Book also includes a number of additional interviews and contributions from industry professionals, including artists, publishers, designers, packagers, editors, and other industry experts who openly share their publishing experiences.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Reference, Art

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2010

Reviews

[G.L. Tysk]

This is a good general overview of the process of publishing a photography book, but I'd say that most of the information found here is applicable to pretty much any non-fiction book (gathering your source material, pitching your book, etc.) I was hoping to find more info specific to photography books, like how to cull your photographs, or different ways to organize them, more about specific binding options available for photography books, or heck, even how to know if you're ready to publish a photobook. I was also hoping to find more info on self-publishing, but only a couple pages were devoted to that. All in all an okay book, but probably not the one I was looking for.

[Alessandra Gerevini]

There are a lot of interviews and citations: that's the more interesting part!

[Anne]

My focus was on the case studies. Great examples to look into.

[Lambert]

Excellent advice for those who are interested in publishing photographic book. Himes is a very nice person who is truly in love with books. I met him at the Photoeye Book Store in Santa Fe while attending a workshop with Sam Abell, Leah ben-David Val, and Mim Adkins on the Photo Book. He is the real thing. This book is actually not only informative but is a very nice book as object.
B

[Olga]

Most of the information in this book is pretty obvious, however there are a lot of interesting interviews and examples.