SkipCohenUniversity
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us

the SCU Blog

Photographers Who Want to Add "Author" to Their Resume

1/13/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
© Minerva Studio - Fotolia
Picture
There are hundreds of books on the topic of being an author already available. However, this is the time of year when many of you have a little down time and over and over again I hear comments from photographers about writing a book.

I've been incredibly fortunate in my career and written six books, all with co-authors.  Don Blair, Bambi Cantrell, Joe Buissink and Scott Bourne have all been partners with me since Don and I did the first book in 1999. With each book I feel like my understanding of the task itself got a little stronger, but the work involved in doing a book never gets easier.

So, my goal this morning is to help you realize your dream, not stifle it. There are too many of you who just jump in wanting to start writing without thinking through your options and the commitment. Here are some points to seriously consider:

Commitment: Writing a book takes time. Even with today's ability for anybody to publish an ebook, if you're not going to set a schedule and stick to it, then wait until you're truly ready. Writing a book and telling your story takes discipline. Don't underestimate the time you're going to need to set aside to not only write, but pull it all together.

Topic: Think through what you're going to write about. Your topic needs to be unique and have appeal to do well. The fact that your family likes your work doesn't really count. What makes your work different, thought-provoking and of interest to your fans? Most important of all, are you an expert on the topic?

Self-Publish or Work with a Publishing Company? I've done both and there are advantages and disadvantages. If you're on the lecture circuit and have access to a large audience, like Don Blair did, self-publishing is a terrific way to go. We worked with Marathon Press and they did an outstanding job. However, if your fan base is relatively limited, then a publisher has the distribution network you don't. A great publisher can get your book out in front of thousands of potential readers.

Books are About Fame NOT Fortune: If you think you're going to make a killing on a book, then think again. Very few authors, especially in the photography arena, make enough money on a book to change their lifestyle. Most of us, at least in photography, are unlikely to make the New York Times bestseller list. Just make sure you have things in perspective. There's nothing wrong with the fame aspect of your own book - in fact, it's terrific, exciting and loaded with pride.
 
Loose Lips Sink Ships:
If you're going to do a book, then my suggestion is to keep it to yourself until you're far enough along to really have a target date. Unless you intend to crowd-fund the book, then telling everybody you're doing a book is like announcing the resolution to diet for the new year. Once the word is out, everybody wants to know how you're doing and the pressure you've created on yourself with the announcement, before you were really ready, winds up slowing you down.

Get a Great Editor: I sat in on a program by Guy Kawasaki two years ago and this was his advice and it makes so much sense. A great editor is a necessity in writing your own book. Even with Guy's track record as an author, he told a terrific story about delivering a manuscript he thought was his best ever...his editor still found over a thousand mistakes! Guy's book is loaded with great advice and well worth the read. Just click on the cover on the right if you want to find out more.

Okay, so there it is, six points to think about before you get started. Personally, there's nothing more fun than doing your own book, but there's also nothing more frustrating, challenging and time-consuming. Just think it through before you take that first step.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Your walk is just a click away
    Picture
    Picture

      Sign Up for Our Newsletter!

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter

    Our Partners

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    "Why?"

    Check out "Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog. It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're over 130 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

    Categories

    All
    Alzheimer's
    Beyond Technique
    Business
    Business Breakthroughs
    Clean Up Series
    Customer Service
    EDU10
    Excire
    F64 Lunch Bunch
    Faculty
    Fast Food Friday
    Guest Post
    Humor And Sarcasm
    Hump Day
    In The News
    Lessons Learned
    Lighting
    Luminar
    Lumix
    Marketing
    Mark's Corner
    Mind Your Own Business
    Miscellaneous
    Motivational
    One Step At A Time
    Photodex
    PhotoShelter
    PhotoTexting
    Platypod
    Podcasts
    Profoto
    Sales
    Search
    Skylum
    Social Media
    Sunday Morning Reflections
    Tamron
    Tamron Recipes
    Technique
    Throwback Thursday
    Wedding Photography
    Westcott
    Why?

Categories​

Business
Marketing
Technique
Sales
Fast Food Fridays
​

Podcasts

Tamron Recipes 
Beyond Technique
Why?
Mind Your Own Business
Pro Photographer Journey

 Partners

Tamron
Photofocus

​Lumix

Marathon Press
​Platypod
©  2019 Skip Cohen University
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us