Anybody Here Ever Had A Book Published?
 

I've been contacted by a large well known publishing company about my interest in writing a how-to book about Glamour/Nude Photography. I have some of their books on my bookshelf now regarding digital photography, digital video and a couple of Photoshop books.

They offered 10% of all net income from the publication of the book. The guy said you can find publishers who will pay you more, but they don't offer as much support or have the marketing channels that this big company has. He definitely got my attention.

Just wondering if any of you guys has had a book published and if so...how was that experience for you?

Im sure you have lol

I've had a few books published and, in my experience, even when a book earns royalties, they can be hard to get out of the publisher. Generally, I'd recommend only working with someone who offers you a decent advance. If the advance payment is not an amount you would be at all happy with, if it was the only payment you receive for the work, then waiting on a percentage deal later is probably going to make you even less happy. Generally a slightly higher % would be more normal and your royalties would be calculated as that % minus whatever advance you were paid, so, even when you get royalties, they can take a while. A company which offers a lower percentage and no advance sounds a bit suspicious to me, but you might find them publishing your book useful from a promotional standpoint, so it sort of depends on what you want.

My :2 cents:

Gotta love the haters :thumbsup

Thanks Amelia....

This guy is offering an advance as well as the percentage. He says..."After the advance has been repaid, we will make royalty payments to you quarterly, within 90 days after the end of the quarter in which the royalties were accrued."

Of course we have no idea what the advance would be since we have no idea how big the book will be (how many pages) or how it might sell.

From how you describe them, it sounds like they are an experienced publisher with a good-sized footprint. An experienced publisher should have some notion of how a book is going to sell and should be able to tell you a ballpark of how many words or photos they want from you and what advance they can give you. If they can give you an advance you like and you feel they have a good market position, you can probably roll with the somewhat low royalty percentage.

I hope this is helpful, but a typical advance deal is generally 50% of what they are going to pay you when you sign a book deal contract with them and then 50% when they approve the final book you deliver. The royalties they offer being calculated quarterly and paid net 90 is pretty standard.

Since you are surely the single most important photographer of the 21st century, this does not surprise me.

I am predicting a huge bidding war amongst the major publishing houses by the time this is over. In fact, I am guessing they will be offering you six - no, seven digits, plus royalties, just for your consideration.

Please tell us all (as if you wouldn't) when this goes to print.

I want to purchase a first edition so that I can have you autograph it at a future trade show, since it is sure to be an invaluable collector's item.

Good luck Dean,

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As I said....gotta love the haters :1orglaugh

Sour grapes suck......

net = creative accounting abuse, aka "Hollywood accounting"

what do u have to lose just do it

the moment you get an offer, get an (reputable) agent.

Congrats Dean,

A speciality book like you described, the publisher knows exactly how many they will print and they know withen 20% how many will go out in the first 90 days.

However depending on good the book is it might have many reprintings.
If it is really good you might get 40 to 50 schools who pick up the book as mandatory for their students.
You have nothing to loose. If you are comfortable with the advance go for it. Publishing is like film/photography , you are only as good as your last project ;)

Also you know how it is in photography...your skills lead to a jobs, which lead to a book, which lead to more opportunities...

This great for you and congratulations!

I had this book published 20 years ago (and amazingly it's still in print, albeit now in a softcore edition). Frankly it was a nightmare.

I had very carefully chosen a publisher who had a good reputation, got my contract, advance, etc. Then about 6 months later she sold her whole business to probably the one publisher I wouldn't have gone within a mile of.

Even getting the book published without being ruined (because he kept trying to cut corners) was a struggle, but eventually it was (and became a best seller for 3+ years). When royalties were due, I had to hire a lawyer to get paid.

Practically you either go for it or you don't. It's rare for a new author to be taken up by a major publishing house and the reality is that most books don't sell in large numbers. So if you are unlucky enough to pick a bad publisher who doesn't pay royalties as he should, it may not be worth chasing them.

Don't be mislead by talk about marketing. The sums involved can be huge and no-one will spend serious money unless they are absolutely sure they have a hit on their hands. The best the average author can hope for is that his publisher is at least able to place his book with the big distributors.

The alternative is "vanity publishing", where you pay for the book to be printed yourself and you are also responsible for selling it. That has worked for some, spectacularly in a couple of cases, but that is also a field full of rogues and villains.

Art Buchwald allegedly got cheated in a "net" accounting scheme. There was a big lawsuit and he eventually won it. Search Google.

I am thinking about writing a book myself, but not about photography.

Congrats, and screw the haters.

Is it just me who thinks you're pretty much a dick in most of your posts?

*shrug*

Don't pay Lawrence any mind....he's just a jealous little bitch. Ya' gotta wonder what goes on inside the mind of someone who spends so much time stalking and attacking others simply because they are making a name for themselves in a very difficult industry. Lawrence reminds me of the little playground bully who chases the other kinds around... harassing them and trying to steal their lunch money. What a loser :Oh crap

The bullies always get what they deserve sooner or later and Lawrence is no exception. I look forward to the day when I can look him face to face and tell him exactly what I think of him. Until that time, he'll continue his immature little posts and hide behind his keyboard like the jealous little bitch that he is.

It's ironic when ya' think about it - 3 of my biggest haters are all Photographers: AlienQ, Abyss_Al and AsianDivaGirlsWebDude. Can anyone explain this? I must say though - AlienQ has been a true gentleman lately on one of the other boards that we frequent. He's been very nice and respectful. That's more than I can say for my other 2 haters but ya' know....sometimes it's hard for some people to grow up and see the light.

http://www.matt-d.com/ghetto/crybaby.jpg

ADG Webmaster

I actually feel sorry for you man. I hope shit gets better for you. The gift you have of posting pictures for a reply, though, pales in comparison to those Chio / Shoehorn threads. Those were spectacular.

I'm in the process of doing this myself. Luckily I have an agent and they deal with most of the crap. since your book would be speciality type of book and the book I have written is fiction it is two totally different markets but here is my suggestions:

1. get an agent. Don't just get any agent, get one that deals with non-fiction and specialty books. They will get 10-15% of your money but a good one is worth every penny.

2. ask certain questions like how many copies will the first print run be and how many copies do they expect to sell. Also how much are they going to sell it for? Also if you get an advance plus a royalty what is the royalty amount and exactly how do the calculate it? A big one is how much are they going to spend on publicity and what type of publicity will the pursue? Are they going to send you out on the road to promote it? Does the cost of the publicity come out of your royalties? On that not what expenses do come out of your royalties? What about area rights? Meaning will they be selling it only in north America or will it be released world wide? If it is released world wide and is translated what do you get from that?

In the end it sounds like a book like this would have a limited market, but world wide it could find a readership. Just be sure to ask a ton of questions and get a good contract. The last thing you want is to put a ton of work into this book, have it sell well and you end up with nothing to show for it.

Nice thread, bump foro you! I have no experience in such area, but my father well known economist published a lot of books, if you want to speak about that Dean, hit me up on ICQ

Congratz...hope it all works out for you:)

"How to make a fortune posting webmaster refferal links"

you need an agent.

:thumbsup

I think those type of books are used more as a tool then for making big money,to do seminars and such like rolando gomez, gives creditability.

Get an agent. This is not a do it yourself operation. The agent charges a fee and provides a valuable service. Just like accountants, a good one is well worth his fee.

Yes... I'm also a well known photographer (even though I dont spam it here) and I've had several published photo books dealing with my work



Dean I love you... GET AN AGENT let him, or her, handle everything