A Master Class in Photo Book Publishing, with Mary Virginia Swanson & Rick Smolan

Every photographer dreams of publishing a book of their photographs. But what exactly does that entail? In today’s show, we’re going to peek behind the scenes of this complex and daunting process in a chat with two complementary figures who’ve spent their respective careers helping to redefine what a photo book can be.

Above Photograph © Rick Smolan

Starting with three basic questions—Why a book? Why now? And what is the role of a book in your career at this time?—our discussion expands to cover a broad range of concerns. From distinguishing between the many different publishing models available today, to insights on sponsorship and publishing contracts, to tips about marketing and getting people onboard with your project, you’ll come away with inventive strategies for publishing your work in book form. We’ve envisioned this show as an impromptu master class, so get ready to take some notes!

Guests: Mary Virginia Swanson & Rick Smolan

Episode Timeline

• 4:45: Mary Virginia Swanson’s basic advice to photographers interested in publishing their photographs in book form, plus the different publishing models available today.
• 10:22: Rick’s start as a freelance photographer and the story behind his shift in roles to launch the Day in the Life book series.
• 15:04: The importance of sponsorship or in-kind donations, plus innovative strategies for negotiating such deals.
• 23:04: The two different categories of photo books: greatest hits with the photographer as subject and a book that has a separate subject and overarching story.
• 27:55: Tips for going on press, advice about publishing contracts, and suggestions for buying back a book before it gets remaindered.
• 34:54: The issue of vanity presses, and the matter of requiring a subvention from authors to help cover the publisher’s costs.
• 43:03: Publicity and marketing: You are the best salesperson for your book. Tips for getting your book seen and heard about, from magazines to podcasts.
• 49:08: Episode Break
• 50:02: Should you create a full mock-up version of a book or just show a publisher a selection of photos?
• 59:22: Benefits to working with a literary agent when seeking to publish a photo book.
• 1:01:44: Slicing up the pie by hiring freelaners or finding a partner to share in the work.
• 1:07:38: The importance of publishing deadlines and many important markers tied to a calendar, plus the cover photo and book blurbs.
• 1:14:22: Swanson and Smolan on their picks for memorable photo books.
• 1:25:19: Parting advice about getting other people excited about your project.

Guest Bios

Mary Virginia Swanson has spent her career helping artists find the strengths in their work, identify receptive audiences, and present their personal vision in an informed, professional manner. Her broad background as a photo educator, author, entrepreneur and advisor spans areas of exhibiting, collecting, licensing, and marketing photographs. A few career highlights include working with Ansel Adams to manage education offerings at the Friends of Photography in California, heading Special Projects for Magnum Photos in New York, and founding and directing Swanstock as a unique licensing agency for fine art photographers. Swanson is the recipient of many awards, including the Society for Photographic Education’s Honored Educator Award and the FOCUS Award for Lifetime Achievement in Photography from the Griffin Museum in Boston to name just two. In 2011, Swanson co-authored Publish Your Photography Book with Darius Himes, which is now in its third edition. Currently, Swanson works independently from her home base in Tucson, offering classes, workshops and consulting services to artists and arts organizations, serving as an advisor for multiple nonprofits, and giving back through other community-minded activities.

Rick Smolan is both a photographer and an entrepreneur. A former contributor to Time, Life, and National Geographic, he is perhaps best known as creator of the Day in the Life book series, plus subsequent book projects of massive scope. As CEO of the multi-modal company Against All Odds Productions, Smolan designs and executes crowd-sourced, global projects that combine compelling storytelling with state-of-the-art technology. These projects capture the human face of emerging topics while engaging a wide range of media platforms to result in books, TV specials, social media apps, exhibitions, and hundreds of millions of media impressions.

One such project, based on Smolan’s 1977 National Geographic cover story about Robyn Davidson’s solo travels across the outback has enjoyed continued life in multiple books, plus the feature film Tracks, with Adam Driver cast in the role of Smolan. Other recent projects include The Human Face of Big Data, which looks at how all our devices are creating a planetary nervous system, and The Good Fight: America's Ongoing Struggle for Justice, which became one of Amazon's top 100 books within a week of its release.

Host: Derek Fahsbender

Senior Creative Producer: Jill Waterman

Senior Technical Producer: Mike Weinstein

Executive Producer: Richard Stevens