A Look Inside - My first self-published book

[Peter David Grant]

Hoping this isn't against the rules!

I've produced my first book, 'A Look Inside' it's a book to remind you of what you already know. Its release coincides with my new website being launched and a big change in career giving me time to pursue photography.

The book combines (mostly) street based photographs with pithy commentary.

I want my photography to be completely accessible on the internet, so even if you don't want to buy a copy of the book, you can view all the photographs and commentary here: http://peterdavidgrant.com/a-look-inside/

I've made it using Blurbs 'trade book' to keep the costs down, so you can take a chance on it even though I am a nobody. It contains 32 black and white photographs, some you might even recognise from being posted on RFF sometime ago.

With postage included;
UK £10
Europe £12
US and rest of the world £13

If you're interested in buying your copy, click here to go to my site. Payment can be made via paypal, credit card (through paypal), direct bank transfer or cheque.

I've also written a blog post series on producing the book. Each post is published on Sunday. So far my first two have looked at selecting the medium and selecting the photographs.

Love to know what you think, or if you've got any questions!

Cheers,
Peter

 

[rwintle]

Very nice. I particularly like the photo entitled "Alice" - all those patterns and lines and the solitary figure among them.

 

[Peter David Grant]

Very nice. I particularly like the photo entitled "Alice" - all those patterns and lines and the solitary figure among them.

Thank you rwintle, that is very kind of you to say so. Alice is easily my favourite picture I've made so far.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Lauffray]

Nice website, interesting work.

Just a head's up, the site doesn't quite work in Chrome (blank page on the a look inside, menu hover is off, some layouts overlap in the scrapbook) and it's a tad on the heavy side overall. Excuse my unsolicited feedback, I do this for a living

 

[mfogiel]

I think the book and the photos are OK. What I find completely misplaced are the commentaries. For two reasons:
- In my opinion, photographs need to defend themselves as they are - captions can be useful if they add some factual information about the scene depicted, like place, time, who is on the photo, etc, else, they are redundant.
- If you care for some other commentary, make it a poetry, or make it a stream of your own autobiography, but don't write stuff which sounds forced and banal - it will degrade the photos.
If you find this comment harsh, then I am sorry, but I think you might learn more from open criticism than from anything else.
Good luck, and persevere. You have talent.

 

[Peter David Grant]

Nice website, interesting work.

Just a head's up, the site doesn't quite work in Chrome (blank page on the a look inside, menu hover is off, some layouts overlap in the scrapbook) and it's a tad on the heavy side overall. Excuse my unsolicited feedback, I do this for a living

Hi Lauffray,

Thanks for your message, I appreciate it. What OS are you running? I've tried the site with Chrome on both W7 and OS X. I agree about page speed - I am thinking of going to a much faster host at some point soon.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Peter David Grant]

I think the book and the photos are OK. What I find completely misplaced are the commentaries. For two reasons:
- In my opinion, photographs need to defend themselves as they are - captions can be useful if they add some factual information about the scene depicted, like place, time, who is on the photo, etc, else, they are redundant.
- If you care for some other commentary, make it a poetry, or make it a stream of your own autobiography, but don't write stuff which sounds forced and banal - it will degrade the photos.
If you find this comment harsh, then I am sorry, but I think you might learn more from open criticism than from anything else.
Good luck, and persevere. You have talent.

Hi mfogiel,

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to have a look, and write a comment, I appreciate it.

I do realise that some people won't appreciate the commentary, however my intent is to challenge people's perceptions, and through the use of words I am hoping to do that. I don't perceive this as just a photobook.

Thanks again.
Peter

 

[NY_Dan]

The book is in portrait (vertical) format not landscape -- cover vertical, copy vertical, photos horizontal. For me this is not optimal. Titles and captions -- for me they don't add to the whole. Photos -- I like the photos. Printing -- Blurbs low end is low, even their high end (Pearl Photo Paper option) and hardcover leave much to be desired. To buy or not to buy -- I hope lots of people buy your book -- but, they can see the photo for free on your website -- and that makes a sale tough. Heck it's hard to get likes on Tumblr!

I know from experience that one can post links to one's Blurb book on photography sites, garner 4,000 views (of thread) and make only 2 or 3 sales (on the cheapest version -- small softcover or low cost ebook). One can do the same thing and post a link to a FREE ebook download (this is what I do) and the number of people taking the time and effort to download the book might number 30 -- and that's when it's FREE. Did I mention FREE? So one must ask oneself what their goals are. For me, I want to share my work, interact, get feedback, and lend another purpose to the huge task of shooting, processing, adjusting, editing and publishing. Even if one places a price on an eBook download of say $3.00 US -- it will yield very little -- perhaps $14 (based on selling 7 and Blurb taking $1) -- and then one will have less eyes on the work -- so what good is that? And Blurb's threshold for cutting a check is $25 from which they take $5 to send the check -- that's wacky!

If any photographer wants the best advice on making books I suggest they buy a few Steidl published books -- the design is super simple, and tasteful -- the printing divine -- the ink is so thick it's almost photo-braille. Now unless God taps you on the shoulder and whisks you to Germany for the supreme joy of standing shoulder to shoulder with Gerhard Steidl as your pages roll off the press, while the sweet smell of ink fills your nose with ecstasy -- well lets just say -- Blurb printing is the only realistic and affordable option. Good luck and keep shooting and making books!

 

[Bob Michaels]

Peter: I went through your entire book and your blogs. My opinion is that you were quite successful because I understood the message you were communicating and your motivation for doing so. This seemed to be coming from your heart simply because you wanted to do so and without regard to how many you pleased. I sense too many authors trying to please the world and not themselves. That subliminal message that they consider you buying the book is more important than you reading it is the kiss of death for me.

One suggestion: I would have preferred that the on-line version had some way technically to simply move from one photo and written message to the next without having to return to the page where you selected photos for expansion. Maybe that was there and I just missed it.

I bookmarked your site and will return to it.

 

[Lauffray]

Hi Lauffray,

Thanks for your message, I appreciate it. What OS are you running? I've tried the site with Chrome on both W7 and OS X. I agree about page speed - I am thinking of going to a much faster host at some point soon.

Cheers,
Peter

Hi

I was on W7 on my work computer which admittedly is a piece of ****
At home on OSX chrome it works fine. I guess you can disregard that comment then, sorry about that.
On the other hand I'm glad you paid attention to a responsive layout, a lot of people still neglect that.
For the performance, sure the host can make a difference, but also the way the images are loaded. I won't bore you with the technical talk, but I'd speak with whoever coded your website about this, you don't have to do a lot, sometimes small changes make big improvements. But I digress

 

[Peter David Grant]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the post!

The book is in portrait (vertical) format not landscape -- cover vertical, copy vertical, photos horizontal. For me this is not optimal.

Yeah, I should have chosen some better examples from the book! About 30% is portrait images. I wanted to rotate the copy on the horizontal images, however the blurb software seemed to limit this!

To buy or not to buy -- I hope lots of people buy your book -- but, they can see the photo for free on your website -- and that makes a sale tough. Heck it's hard to get likes on Tumblr!

Yes, I've not quite decided if that is the right strategy - writers don't give away all their work, so perhaps I shouldn't on the site either?

I know from experience that one can post links to one's Blurb book on photography sites, garner 4,000 views (of thread) and make only 2 or 3 sales (on the cheapest version -- small softcover or low cost ebook). One can do the same thing and post a link to a FREE ebook download (this is what I do) and the number of people taking the time and effort to download the book might number 30 -- and that's when it's FREE. Did I mention FREE? So one must ask oneself what their goals are. For me, I want to share my work, interact, get feedback, and lend another purpose to the huge task of shooting, processing, adjusting, editing and publishing. Even if one places a price on an eBook download of say $3.00 US -- it will yield very little -- perhaps $14 (based on selling 7 and Blurb taking $1) -- and then one will have less eyes on the work -- so what good is that? And Blurb's threshold for cutting a check is $25 from which they take $5 to send the check -- that's wacky!

I can easily imagine. Right now, I am not concentrating on profits or income, but finding people that like, and enjoy my work, to get to know them and then for me to develop along side them, perhaps into something that can provide an income. This is quite a good read if you've got the time, 1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly

If any photographer wants the best advice on making books I suggest they buy a few Steidl published books -- the design is super simple, and tasteful -- the printing divine -- the ink is so thick it's almost photo-braille. Now unless God taps you on the shoulder and whisks you to Germany for the supreme joy of standing shoulder to shoulder with Gerhard Steidl as your pages roll off the press, while the sweet smell of ink fills your nose with ecstasy -- well lets just say -- Blurb printing is the only realistic and affordable option. Good luck and keep shooting and making books!

I adore Steidl books! I've got at least five of them, and want to watch the documentary at some point (http://www.howtomakeabookwithsteidl.com) have you seen it?. Minutes to Midnight is easily my favourite book, both for the images, and the phenomenal quality of the printing.

And yes, Blurb is the only realistic choice for to keep the cost down, in the hope this will make it more likely for 'unknown' purchases. So far I've sold 14 copies, although that is all to friends and family.

Thank you for taking the time to reply Dan, much appreciated.

Cheers
Peter

 

[Peter David Grant]

Hi Bob!

Peter: I went through your entire book and your blogs. My opinion is that you were quite successful because I understood the message you were communicating and your motivation for doing so. This seemed to be coming from your heart simply because you wanted to do so and without regard to how many you pleased. I sense too many authors trying to please the world and not themselves. That subliminal message that they consider you buying the book is more important than you reading it is the kiss of death for me.

That is wonderful to hear, and thank you for taking the time to go through the book and blogs - I really do appreciate it. I want to do my own thing and find people who like it along the way.

One suggestion: I would have preferred that the on-line version had some way technically to simply move from one photo and written message to the next without having to return to the page where you selected photos for expansion. Maybe that was there and I just missed it.

Yes, I would love to have this! However, I am somewhat limited by the design of the site. I had to disable it, because with it enabled, projects would get mixed up. I will at some point look for an alternative method for showing the work.

I bookmarked your site and will return to it.

That is great to know Bob, I'd love to know what you think as I develop in the future.

Thank you again.
Peter

 

[Peter David Grant]

Hello,

"The idea of a business in photography started sometime in 2012."

As a retired professor, I would say you are very earnest, but would suggest [perhaps] you are not ready yet. Milton Glaser, the American graphic designer, said that to me when I was exactly your age, after many others flattered me, but did not hire me.

Cruel honesty about careers -- perhaps only comes to those who pay for it in Yale graduate school?

Perhaps, but I feel readiness is a state of mind, not something defined by gatekeepers. Only time will tell me how ready I was. I am under no illusions, the chances of failure are high, but I've got well paid part-time engineering job and the time to give it a go.

Thank you for taking the time, reading and reply.
Peter

 

[Peter David Grant]

Hi

I was on W7 on my work computer which admittedly is a piece of ****
At home on OSX chrome it works fine. I guess you can disregard that comment then, sorry about that.
On the other hand I'm glad you paid attention to a responsive layout, a lot of people still neglect that.
For the performance, sure the host can make a difference, but also the way the images are loaded. I won't bore you with the technical talk, but I'd speak with whoever coded your website about this, you don't have to do a lot, sometimes small changes make big improvements. But I digress

Hi Lauffray,

Thank you for responding. Glad to hear it was alright at home. I bought the wordpress theme from a developer online, but have made many modifications myself. I don't profess to have a deep knowledge of website design, but I shall have a look into it. My host is pretty piss poor though, and am going to need to move soon anyway.

Thanks again,
Peter

 

[sailor]

They say that you always regret the things you don't do rather than the things you do. I'm now 62 years old and can say that this is definitely the case for me. I had a very secure job in teaching for all my working life and managed to talk myself out of making the leap to something different, even on a part time basis. If my wife were not much more of a free spirit with a determined nature, I would have many more regrets. She has forced me into doing all sorts of stuff, none of which I regret. So It's good to see someone willing to have a go and take the risk of criticism and possible failure. I happen to like your book and I'm not generally a fan of street photography. I think you have talent and it will be interested in how you develop over time. I have bought a copy of your book and wish you all the best in your endeavour.

 

[Bob Michaels]

......
And yes, Blurb is the only realistic choice for to keep the cost down, in the hope this will make it more likely for 'unknown' purchases. ......

Using Blurb or a small number of competitors in the "print on demand" business is simply a function of the authors decision not to make any investment in printing. Once a decision is made to make a limited print run, there are many more options available.

Personally, I rejected Blurb and other POD competitors who subcontract out the actual printing because of the print quality. I chose Edition One Books in Berkley CA to make a print run of 100 copies of my book "Vignettes Cubano" because of their quality and reasonable price.

My approach was different as you cannot buy a copy of my book. If you are one of the 65 people who have a copy, it is because I wanted you to have one and gave it to you. My decision not to sell my book was based on my conviction that the very best I could ever hope for was to recover my marketing costs. That is no profit was realistically possible and an economic loss was probable even before considering my time invested. But I am a bit unique in photography and publishing circles being a MBA / CPA with a lifetime of business financial management. My publishing decision was based on a personal desire to better communicate the message of the book and to leave some legacy for family and friends (a/k/a enhanced self esteem)

These financial factors are based on economics and unrelated to the quality of the actual work contained in the book. Publication of Robert Frank's "The Americans" was not initially financially successful. If his talent could not pull it off at the beginning, I doubt that any of ours could.

 

[gdmcclintock]

"... my intent is to challenge people's perceptions...."

I am so tired of arrogant, pedantic art school speak that whenever I read phrases like the above I just shut down.

 

[andersju]

I think the book and the photos are OK. What I find completely misplaced are the commentaries. For two reasons:
- In my opinion, photographs need to defend themselves as they are - captions can be useful if they add some factual information about the scene depicted, like place, time, who is on the photo, etc, else, they are redundant.
- If you care for some other commentary, make it a poetry, or make it a stream of your own autobiography, but don't write stuff which sounds forced and banal - it will degrade the photos.

My sentiments exactly. I feel captions, apart from factual ones, (almost) always cheapen photos. Like writing the viewer on the nose.

I could also do without the accompanying descriptions. A lot of it sounds like it's from a cheap self-help book, and some are borderline ridiculous (picture of female cyclist without helmet: "Life is already short and fragile enough, why wouldn’t you just wear a helmet?"; picture of girls smoking: "Beautiful girls, but I wonder what damage lies within?"). On the whole the texts just feel moralizing and lecturing. I did enjoy your photos; they deserve better than that

And your comment "challenge people's perceptions", well -- I believe this type of writing is more likely to just annoy people ("who are you to tell me what to think?"). But again, my criticism is only about the text. I like your photos. Thanks for showing them.

 

[NY_Dan]

"... my intent is to challenge people's perceptions...."

I am so tired of arrogant, pedantic art school speak that whenever I read phrases like the above I just shut down.

Well my perceptions were challenged -- I don't know which perceptions exactly -- but I'm sure some were. I do agree that the art-speak is annoying. How else though does one justify 60K per year at Parsons? Of course going through the art-speak is part of the journey -- until the day one's head explodes like a popcorn kernel. However without the art-speak art would sell for much less if at all. So let's just keep on dancing...

 

[Peter David Grant]

They say that you always regret the things you don't do rather than the things you do. I'm now 62 years old and can say that this is definitely the case for me. I had a very secure job in teaching for all my working life and managed to talk myself out of making the leap to something different, even on a part time basis. If my wife were not much more of a free spirit with a determined nature, I would have many more regrets. She has forced me into doing all sorts of stuff, none of which I regret. So It's good to see someone willing to have a go and take the risk of criticism and possible failure. I happen to like your book and I'm not generally a fan of street photography. I think you have talent and it will be interested in how you develop over time. I have bought a copy of your book and wish you all the best in your endeavour.

Hello Sailor,

Thank you so much for the encouraging words and for buying a copy of the book. It went into the post yesterday first class, so should be with you soon.

Thank you again,
Peter