Best Way to Send the Most Accurate Copies of Fine Prints to Publishers?

[Pieter]

LensScratch recently did a series on independent photobook publishers.

https://lenscratch.com/2022/01/publishers-spotlight

Go to the bottom of each entry and click on "Next" There were a bunch of them, one s day for several days, with many different business models.

Just perusing the page that you linked, you come the the statement "we publish books for hire." Meaning they get paid by the photographer/author/artist to publish the book. I don't even know if they distribute the books, although that might be part of the services they get paid for. The bottom line is, there are very few photo book publishers who will take your photos and design, lay out, print and distribute a book unless you are a known photographer whose book they have a good idea will sell. Otherwise, you will end up paying to publish, either by the self-publishing route or what used to be known as the "vanity press," which seems to be what the publishers profiled on Lenscratch are.

My experience with getting a book published is agents and publishers pretty much want everything handed to them if they are going to publish and distribute your book. That means knowing who the audience and market is, having a list of bookstores you know will carry the book, and your own network of potential individual buyers.

Self-publishing is the toughest. You need to pay for the printing (remember to include the cost for revisions, and design if you are not so inclined) and hope you have chosen a printer who can deliver the quality you expect. You will also need to market and sell the book yourself (most bookstores are not interested in self-published books).

[esearing]

One photographer I know sends out a postcard with one or two images with an invite to view the portfolio on his website. He has been doing it for over 20+ years and has sold many images to calendar and stock houses but you could do similar with a dedicated website containing digitized copies of your images and a write up about your goals to publish. Postcards in the US cost about $1.25-$2.00 each to print in bulk through companies like Minted or if you want a smaller number, ilford makes postcard sized paper that you could print directly in the darkroom showcasing not only your image but your skill as a printer. The effort would then be expended in creating a compelling website and copy text that would draw the publisher into at least having a conversation. The site could also be used to sell images should the book not work out. Web images do not have to be high resolution scans.

[r.e.]

unless you're already a big name whose books are a sure sell out, no one will publish your work for you.

True, and it isn't just photography books. For most non-fiction, responsibility for marketing has transferred from the publisher to the author. Both agents and publishers expect the author to have built up a significant following on social media which can be counted on to purchase and promote the book.

[Bernard_L]

We have not heard from the OP since he initiated this thread 5 days ago.
@christopherf how about showing your photos to this audience; not quite as gratifying as publishing a book, but a start nevertheless.