Get your work published in a book

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CapitalizedLiving

CapitalizedLiving

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Hi everyone,

This might not be the right forum, but I took a guess based on its tag line ("The art of knife making- advice on methods, supplies, and materials").

I am planning to publish a book on knife design. I want the book to give a comprehensive overview of everything from blade grinds to handle materials, fasteners to carry systems. A lot of questions continually come up on the forum regarding different design aspects, so I think a book covering a wide range of them would be well received by knife buyers, enthusiasts, and makers looking for information and ideas.

Here's a bit about who I am and why I'm qualified to do this. I have written, designed, and published six books since 2009. As I use Ingram for my distributor, all of my books are on Amazon.com and available from major retailers. You could go to a local Barnes and Noble and order any of my books. This means my knife design book will be available pretty much anywhere in the world. Last I checked, Amazon didn't ship to Serbia, so there are a few exceptions.

Here's where you guys and girls come in. As the book will be very photo heavy, I want to feature the work of different makers. So for instance, if I'm discussing leather sheaths with exotic leather inlays, I want to show some examples (your photos of your work) and give you credit (photo by Jane Doe). I'd then have a credits section with contact information (your name, web address, phone, etc).

So what I'd end up with is a book that fills a gap in current knife literature and also promotes independent makers. I have talked to several makers already who are all interested in participating (Dave Loukides, Coty Handley, Ryan Weeks, and a couple others) but I wanted to reach out to all of you and see how many people are interested and what your thoughts are. If there is enough interest I'll begin the project this weekend.

Thank you for any and all input you can share!

Dan Bergevin
 
Thank you! I agree. I am hoping to generate a lot of interest so if anyone has any questions please let me know!
 
Let's see your previous work.

What are your sales ?

What is the artists cut of sales?

How much $ to participate?
 
I looked on Amazon using his name... didn't see anything technical. Alice in Wonderland reprints, a book named Shi, and a few other random things. Nothing knife related. Nothing like what he's proposing now.

Color me dubious.
 
tryppyr said:
I looked on Amazon using his name... didn't see anything technical. Alice in Wonderland reprints, a book named Shi, and a few other random things. Nothing knife related. Nothing like what he's proposing now.

Color me dubious.
Click to expand...

Hi. You are correct. I have never done a knife book before. But I'm doing one now.
 
What sort of book will it be?
Only the work of established big name makers, or a range of skill levels and knife styles?
 
1. You may search by my name on Amazon.com and see examples. Search Inside is enabled on all my titles if you want to see some examples of their "guts."

2. Sales vary by title. My most popular book has only sold a few hundred books, mostly because I suck at marketing and like to design information more than sell it. I think I could do a lot better with this one since I know a bit more about the market.

3. Artists would receive recognition for their contribution and the opportunity to use this book as a means to market their own work to a wider audience. I would not make payment arrangements with contributors as I would treat this much the same way as a periodical featuring works by living artists.

4. No cost to participate. You help me and I help you.

Hope this helps!
 
stabman said:
What sort of book will it be?
Only the work of established big name makers, or a range of skill levels and knife styles?
Click to expand...

Hi, I would much prefer to feature the work of small, independent artists as I don't feel many of them get the recognition they deserve. This would also enable me to feature a wide range of styles from a wide range of people.

The book would be fairly large format (perhaps 8 X10), hardcover preferred, 60 lb paper, and full color. I want it to be a nice looking book, well produced and made for years of use and enjoyment. That's really the goal here.

I plan to publish a general outline of book topics (all the design elements I can think of) and start compiling a list of interested makers as soon as I have established that there is enough interest to make it worth all of our time. So, if you're interested, please shoot me an email so I can put you on the list. Maybe I can start a blog here to track the book's development process and allocate photo contributions and credits.

And thank you all for your responses!
 
Sorry, one other thing...

Any contributed photos/artwork would remain the property of the contributor and would be used by permission. This will be explicitly stated in the book. So whatever you provide would remain yours and you get full credit for it.

I was a journalist for a few years and hated how everything I did became the property of the publisher. I would not follow suit.
 
How about, we provide all the content, you format it for publishing for a fee

& we retain the sales $ on it?
 
I'm not sure I see the concern.. it costs nothing, and even if nobody reads it, you can't really stand to lose? Unless I'm missing something, which is entirely possible.
 
mgysgthath said:
I'm not sure I see the concern.. it costs nothing, and even if nobody reads it, you can't really stand to lose? Unless I'm missing something, which is entirely possible.
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I don't see the issue either.
It costs the contributors nothing.
If someone likes what they see in the book, they might just want to buy a knife from you.:)
AND the photos are still the intellectual propery of the contributor? No issues I can see from this angle at all.
Seems like a positive contribution.
 
mgysgthath said:
I'm not sure I see the concern.. it costs nothing, and even if nobody reads it, you can't really stand to lose? Unless I'm missing something, which is entirely possible.
Click to expand...

That's exactly right. No one loses anything except possibly me. I write, design, publish, and distribute the book (all my cost in time and money). You provide images and retain the rights to them. If the book doesn't sell, it doesn't sell.

I'll put everything in writing with anyone who contributes so full legal protection is assured.

So... who's with me?
 
mgysgthath said:
I'm not sure I see the concern.. it costs nothing, and even if nobody reads it, you can't really stand to lose? Unless I'm missing something, which is entirely possible.
Click to expand...



Do it if you want to, I won't stop you.


It costs no cash outlay, but a tremendous amount of work to organize, write and edit content, and double again to provide your own photos,
or significant $ if you hire a pro to do photos.

If you're going to do that, why not maintain control and ownership?
 
Well he mentioned you do retain ownership. I think he's writing the content you're just supplying the photos. I am not personally doing it, but mostly due to having nothing to show off at this point. No offense meant, just asking for viewpoints.
 
12345678910 said:
Do it if you want to, I won't stop you.


It costs no cash outlay, but a tremendous amount of work to organize, write and edit content, and double again to provide your own photos,
or significant $ if you hire a pro to do photos.

If you're going to do that, why not maintain control and ownership?
Click to expand...

I agree. It is a tremendous amount of work. But regardless I feel like contributors should own their own photos. I have no desire to take credit for other people's work.

EDIT: Sorry, I think there's a misunderstanding here. No one is writing, editing, organizing, laying out, proofing, printing, publishing, or distributing but me. All I need are photos.
 
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