How To Find A Publisher
For Your Photography Book

Going Direct

By Andrew Hudson

"I have a great collection of photos about (some subject). How do I find a publisher? How should I present my work and approach a company?"

Finding a publisher for your first book is very hard. But with some effort and fortitude, you could get lucky. Here are some ideas to help.

Also see:
How To Sell Your Photos
Stock Photography
How To Self-Publish

About Publishing

Publishing is a difficult business and many companies only survive by being tightly focused, concentrating on a market niche. Find out who specializes in your work, get their address and phone number, and contact them. Look at similar books in the bookstore or at Amazon.com and identify the publisher, listed on the information page, often known as the "copyright page."

A great resource about book publishers is Literary Market Place (LMP), available as a book and online. It lists most publishers in the U.S. with their speciality.

Finding A Publisher

One of the best ways to find potential publishers of your photos is to buy a copy of the latest edition of Photographer's Market. This lists over 2,000 places to sell your work. Book publishers, stock photo agencies, magazines, are all here. Another useful book is Rohn Engh's Sell and Re-Sell Your Photos which contains lots of great ideas. For more books like this, see my list of books about selling your photos.

The important thing to remember is the rule of numbers. For every twenty contacts expect only one sale. This is just a fact of life - the publishers may be busy on other things, have gone out of business, are bunch of idiots, there's a host of reasons - so approach this with the expectation of low returns. If you want to make three sales, you'll need to contact sixty suitable prospects.

What Should You Send?

So what should you send prospective publishers? I would recommend making some "cut sheets." These are usually 8.5" x 11" glossy white cards, with your name, byline (such as "Images of New England"), address and sample color photos. You can make them cheaply with a color inkjet printer and some nice glossy card stock designed for inkjet printing. I use the Epson Stylus Photo 1200 printer with CompuJet glossy paper, Hammermill JetPrint or Hammermill JetPrint Photo paper. Sending your prospects a few cut sheets and a short cover letter will allow them to see the type of work you do - if they're interested, they may request more specific examples later on.

I've had photo/text packages published before and been paid between $50 and $600, depending upon the scope of the work and the circulation of the magazine. Although I don't sell much stock photography I've read that a typical figure is $1 of income per stock image per year.

Why Is It So Difficult To Find A Publisher?

Like many things, it comes down to money. Publishing a book takes a lot of time, resources, and up-front cash. A publisher would need to hire an editor, a layout person, a production project manager, and pay for the printing, which could cost $40,000 for a color book. That is an awful lot to gamble particularly on a first-time author.

Finding a book publisher is very difficult. A typical book sells only 1,000 to 3,000 copies. A large publisher would only consider a book if they think it will sell more than 20,000 copies. So why will your book sell seven times more than the average book? There needs to be a very good answer!

Selling in General

Selling anything takes work. About half my time is spent selling or marketing my books. Fourty percent of my time is spent on publishing functions (presenting the work), and I only get to spend ten percent of my time actually taking photographs. If you want to make money from your photos, be prepared to spend a lot of time and energy promoting them. Call people, research publishers, visit shops where your work might be sold, give talks, write articles, get your name out there. I liken it to trying to push a freight train: it takes a lot of effort every step of the way.

Expect low returns. Most publishers and stock agencies have very narrow requirements, and they may not even be in the market for new work. Even the best targeted mailing typically gets a four percent return so if you want to get one sale, market to twenty prospects. If you want ten sales, you'll need to find two-hundred prospects. It's just a numbers game -- don't take it personally.

Look good. Always be professional. To sell a picture you must present a good image (of yourself). Be courteous and pleasant when talking with people; turn up to meetings on time; write letters on letterhead; have a business card; confidently advertise your business on envelope address labels; get cut-sheets of your work. Make sure everything you submit is clean, simple and well-organized.

Show only your best work. Publishers and most stock agencies are looking for quality not quantity. Edit, edit, edit. I throw away 95% of my slides so that I only have the cream of the crop. If you're in any doubt about a photo, don't show it, don't even keep it. Present only your very best work, so that your average quality is high. Less is better than more - it makes them want to see more of your work, rather than less of you.

Copyright 2006 Andrew Hudson for Photo Tour Books, Inc. You may reproduce this article for personal, educational, non-commercial and non-Internet use, such as in a local photo club newsletter or school project. No Internet publishing is permitted. For commercial use, please email me for permission.

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