Publishing a book cooperatively

[cyrus]

Lets all get togther and publish a book of our best photos, as proof that analog photography is alive and well!

Everybody pays $150 and submits one photo. That should cover the cost, right?

[Ron McElroy]

But who would be the editor?

[cyrus]

But who would be the editor?

Easy. We'll nominate candidates and then take a poll.

[Blueberrydesk]

I'm in, but only because I'd desperately love to be associated with the photographers on this site. :-)

Black & White, Color, or both?

[Sylvester Graham]

I hope nobody's planning to make any money off this.

[Sylvester Graham]

That wasn't nice. But really, this would only be a book only for the sole pleasure of its contributers. Were you thinking about finding a publisher? Binding it yourself? I think you might be underestimating the logistics of this thing. Just read over the print exchange threads and multiply that level of complexity by ∞.

[BrianShaw]

Someone might want to check with the folks over at RangeFinderForum.com. They have published two books using www.lulu.com as their on-demand printer. The last book had some problems with color balance but tey learned a lot about the process. If I remember correctly there shoudl be several very detailed threads on the topic.

http://www.lulu.com/rff

[Blueberrydesk]

I've used Lulu for both saddlestitched and perfect bound books. The perfect bound books were much better quality and still dirt cheap.

But then, you get what you pay for. There were misregistration issues with some text and the cut lines (namely, my name on the cover being so close to the edge they almost changed me to 'Paul Cockl'.)

I assume for $150 a person (pic) and figuring 40-50 people (pages) you could do a hardbound book printed on decent paper stock for around $7500 for 50 copies.

For a little more professional printing services than Lulu, I would probably suggest Trafford Publishing, but I don't remember if they do photo books or not.

[Blueberrydesk]

And on a side note, I'd gladly pay $150 for a book containing everyone here's work. Having mine in it would just be a bonus (assuming I have a shot deemed worthy).

[r.e.]

I think you might be underestimating the logistics of this thing. Just read over the print exchange threads and multiply that level of complexity by ∞.

It depends on what people expect. The Leica Users Group and the Rangefinder Forum have published books through an electronic self-publishing outfit, apparently to the general atisfaction of their members. Two of the more popular companies that do this kind of thing are Lulu and Blurb.

On the other hand, self-publishing a high quality book is an expensive proposition. But at the number floated earlier in this thread ($150 per copy), I think that one could publish a very handsome book - probably best done as a hand made art book with letterpress printing. And it's probably worth facing the fact, up front, that any quality book at that price point is going to take a lot of work (read time) to produce. A good part of the sales pitch for Lulu and Blurb has to do with the fact that buying into their system results in a product that takes little effort and little time.

If it is of any interest, I know people who could do a project like this. They are in St. John's, Newfoundland. The person who would put it together is a female artist from Texas (she's in Newfoundland because her husband is in the oil business) who has a serious hand letterpress/printing operation. She has already done some very handsome art books. It wouldn't be Lulu prices, but it would be a very nice product.

If people want to go the digital route, I also know of, and use, a beautiful OpenType typeface from Austria that was designed by an Austrian printer and an Italian typographer. The license costs US$800, and it is worth every cent of the cost, both for the design and the support from the typographers. There are also some very good type designers out of New York, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver and Amsterdam.

Then you need a graphic designer because, believe it or not, photographers are not graphic designers. The woman in Newfoundland, because she is an artist, could fill that function, but on a project on which I am currently working, I'm using, and am really happy with, a fellow from New York. He's mostly an architect, but he likes mucking around with book design, and he is really talented.