I Need Your Help

Yesterday I had an idea. One that both frightens me and makes me excited. I thought, why don’t I compile a picture book of my time here? Wouldn’t that be the very best way of closing a chapter? No pun intended. Okay, pun totally intended. What do you think? With anecdotes and recipes and maybe one or two poems (because I hear poems don’t really sell). Not that money is a focus for me whatsoever. I swear to God, all I want to do is create. I have dreamt of publishing a book ever since I was a little widdle head-scarf wearing school girl. Won’t you please help? Any ideas, any contacts, any advice, anything at all because I really don’t know one thing about doing this. Will you buy it? Is it a good idea? What do you want to see in it? Who should I contact? How do I do this?

Eagerly awaiting your comments and messages,
Anisa

 

39 comments

  1. I think it’s a great idea! You can either do it yourself with a site like Amazon Create or Blurb, or make up a proper proposal and try to interest an agent or a publisher of picture books

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  2. http://crownpublishing.com/imprint/ten-speed-press/
    https://www.hachettebookgroup.biz/contact-us/

    Those two do photo/journal/cookbook type books. Or you could self publish. Lulu.com is in North Carolina and they do print-on-demand self publishing. There are other self-publishers, but any promotion has to be self done and then momentum driven. I have a list here I found on just searching for more of them: http://www.publishersglobal.com/directory/subject/food-publishers/

    Good luck and I know you’re going to be a smash hit!
    ~Deon

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    1. Hi!! Can you give me more? Do you mean like seasons? Or categories such as nature, food, famous Japanese spots, etc? Do they seem random like this all mixed together or can you sense a connection?

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      2. I wouldn’t be adding pictures of friends or family.. just really the beauty of my life here.. Japan through my eyes. I once bought a picture book titled photo album.. it was done by Frankie Magazine (an Australian magazine) and the photographs were all random but all had the same filter so they connected through their colours. They had little descriptions but it was just nice to flick through and marvel at their beauty. Like a coffee table book you can pick up anytime and flick to any page and see pretty things.

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  8. It sounds like a brilliant idea!! I always created photo memory books every time I lived overseas or travelled (I’ve lived in five countries to date, currently living in Japan), it’s a fantastic way to remember all your discoveries, adventures, favorite haunts, etc. I’ve never tried to publish one professionally, though…perhaps look into self-publishing? If you’re only looking for copies for yourself and friends, I’ve used Shutterfly many times with great success. Good luck!

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    1. Thank you for your comment! Which other countries have you lived in? Which was your favorite? I want to try and publish it professionally. Do you think people would be interested? Be honest! I will not mind at all. I just had this crazy idea and I thought some people might like it as a coffee table book of pretty pictures (if I can call them pretty myself hehe).

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  10. I think it’s a great idea. Your photos are gorgeous and you had a special experience of the countryside of Japan, which is not that common :) You can also try Patreon or other crowdfunding platforms, if you need money support for your project :)

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  12. Now idea on the HOW, but I think it’s a great idea. Also I think adding in some poetry would be fantastic. A mixture of poems, memorable recipes, story didbits, quotes alongside with your gorgeous photographs would make a lovely combination together.

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  13. Great Idea- A docu-travel book :) If you want to do it for free and share for free you can also do it through Project Gutenberg Self Publishing.

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  14. I think it is a great idea!

    I actually saw your post this afternoon but I was busy with my own stuff so I couldn’t reply then. And then I spent more time thinking it over and I couldn’t reply because there were too many things I wanted to say.

    Okay, first of all, let me finish my latest blog post first. I will explain why I don’t want to use print-on-demand publishing and why I insist on doing things the hard way. You know, hiring illustrators to design my book cover and overseeing the layout of my book myself and wanting to get the printing down where I am (Singapore).

    It may be helpful to you or it may not. Because we are doing two different genres. For starters, picture books are way more expensive to print than regular books. And with picture books, you can’t compromise on the quality of the printing and the kind of paper they use etc.

    What you can do is go out to a bookstore and pick out picture books that are done well. And see if you can find information about which printing company was used to print and what kind of paper was used and of course, the names of the publishers. I don’t know if it would be better for you to approach a Japanese publisher or one in New Zealand (home ground advantage).

    I think a New Zealand (or Australian or British or American) publisher would be good for you. Because Westerners may be more interested in your pictures of Japan than native Japanese.

    But on the other hand, there may be some Japanese publisher out there who wants to reach out to the English-speaking world. You know, because of the Olympic fever.

    Oh yeah, you know the 2020 Olympics will be held in Japan, right? You can use that to your advantage.

    Instead of just anecdotes and recipes, you could also write tips for the foreign English-speaking travelers who will be visiting Japan for the first time in 2020! With pictures! Show them with your pictures (and words of course!) where to eat, sleep, bath and play while they are in Japan. Do you have any pictures of Tokyo?

    About poetry… It doesn’t sell. So maybe it would be better for you if you stick to anecdotes, recipes and travel advice?

    Oh yeah, aren’t you writing for Savvy Tokyo? Couldn’t you ask someone in there for advice? That is, if you are thinking of doing an English photo book in Japan. The Savvy Tokyo people might know people in the industry who might be interested in your project.

    Okay, I will take a short break for now. Will return with more ideas later on.

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    1. Thank you so so much. I completely understand everything you are saying! Unfortunately where I am there are no shops so I can’t look at books but I’m moving to Osaka in one week! There I will research. I’ve already contacted Savvy so hopefully they can help out! I even have an illustrator.. I posted about him a while back.. he lives in Tokyo. I will visit him in August. Oh man oh man. So much research and planning to do. Thank you for being there for me <3

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      1. Here, Anisa. This is the link to the (kinda long) blog post where I explain why I do not want to use a print-on-demand publisher for my debut work.

        Why Not Lulu?

        I just thought about it. If you do use a print-on-demand publisher, you won’t be able to do a press check or ask for a wet proof before the printers start rolling. And getting a press check (preferably in the form of a wet proof) is especially important in your case because you are doing a photo book. So you might want to give my post some serious consideration.

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  15. Look into my previous suggestions to you, if you’d like: the Harper Collins Wednesday submission to the Australian branch (I’ve previously given you the link), and make a line of homegoods and/or kitchenware accoutrements (dish towels, potholders, mugs, sheets, pillowcases, totebags, dishware, even slipcovers and bedspreads, etc.) from that cut-fruit colorful photo I loved, plus others), I also already suggested!

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  18. I don’t really know who to contact or any of the truly professional aspects of writing a book, but I think you should just start by writing as much as you can and practicing so that you can create the best content possible. That way, others and publishing companies can see how amazing your writing is and contact you for possible opportunities!

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