Cash from Your Camera – Tips to Make Money from Self-Publishing Photo Books

If you thought that the age of digital with the arrival of PDAs and the Kindle would kill off paper publishing, then you are horribly wrong. The market is huge and more books than ever are being published. Just take a look at the shelves of your local bookshop and see all the new publications. Here is a market that is just waiting for new photographers.

The book publishing market is very lucrative but a little difficult to enter. In order to get a commission from a publisher you need to have a portfolio and a track record. So that seems to have shot this idea down in flames, or has it? Don’t be despondent the age of digital offers another solution which is perfect for the budding book photographer. The concept is called print on demand self publishing. There are just so many new self publishing companies that will print from single copies all the way up to thousands.

This is exciting but how do you do it?

1. Research your publisher

The easiest way to get started is with Google. Search for print on demand and self publishing books and your will find hundreds of potential publishers. But don’t stop after reading just the first page on your search engine. Keep going for great deals further on. Take careful note of minimum quantities and how their system works.

2. Research your content

It’s great if you find some good deals but what about your book? The answer is simple, most self-publishing companies sweeten their deals by adding extras like layout, cover design and editing for free or at a low cost while some add marketing packages to the deal. But, first you need to get the concept together and the basic layout of your photos in the book together with the text or articles you will write or have written. You need to drive the project because it’s your vision and nobody will get excited for you.

3. Drive the process

What happens when self publishing is that you become the overall editor and instead of having staff to do the work, you are now paying the self publishing company. Make sure that you have a good knowledge of what their role will be and what expectations you can place on them. Keep the process going and ask questions all the time. If you have a deadline then make sure it’s in the agreement you will initially sign.

4. Who will market the book?

Key to this process is finding out what the company’s role will be in the marketing of your book which is essential to the overall success of the project. Many of these companies have online stores but also will do a limited amount of marketing and press releases to bookshops and online stores. But, you probably find again that you will have to drive the process if it is really is going to be a success. Come up with your own marketing plan in addition to what they will do. No-one will care for your baby like you so don’t expect more than you will give.

5. A foot in the door

What a successful project like this will achieve for you is to give you a foot in door and a CV for approaching potential publishers for future book projects. A good quality production will give a publisher an idea of what you can deliver.

So here’s a plan of action:

a. Create the concept or idea for your book. b. Select the photos and formulate all the text or articles. c. Research a self-publisher and decide who to approach. d. Approach a publisher with your idea and a plan of action. e. Submit your work and keep close communication with your publisher. f. Start a marketing campaign to distribute your books in addition to the self-publishing company’s offer.

Any form of photography venture is always going to take time and effort. You will suffer rejection and there will be times when you think it will never work out. Hang in there because perseverance will always pay off in the end if the quality of your work is of a high standard.

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