As you know, I am in the process of creating my book. I have a lot of great photographs (yes, I know you'll be the judge of that) and I have a lot of great stories (including my own). And being that creating anything is a process, the ideas I have for the book are in constant flux and basically bouncing off the walls of my brain.
In a moment of brilliance, or weakness (I'm not sure which, yet), I decided to throw the 'making of' out into Blogdom Come. Not sure if I was looking for a way to market the book or validate it, or what. But now that it's out here, I've decided to make my creative process democratic and let every voice be heard.
So, here are a few of my questions to start:
1. Should it be a traditional coffee table photography book full of pictures with minimal captions?
2. Should it be #1 with biographies of the musicians?
3. Should it be #1 with my personal stories (how personal should they be?) and short biography sidebars?
4. Do you think it's even possible to step outside the box and present a hybrid coffee table book to the publishing house?
5. What would you call it? A Photomoir (photography + memoir)? Any ideas?
I'm hoping to start a lively discussion here. Like a writers room. Help me create a book that you want to have on your coffee table (and open repeatedly).
Thank you!
4 comments:
Short bios, to be sure. A coffee-table book with a bunch of photos of singers I probably didn't care much about when they were alive, and nothing else besides a date/cause of death? - well, that's a book I might thumb through in the bookstore, but it would stay in the store. Gotta have words in a row, IMO.
As for your experiences with them/impressions of them: Dunno. Frankly, if they're to be like the one you posted earlier about Led Zeppelin, I'd say no. When I read that, my reaction was, "You and every other teenage girl in the sixties. What's unusual about that?" If you had some illuminating experience WITH the artist, that would probably be interesting to read.
my 2c, use'em for what they're worth.
Thanks, Joel. It's really great to hear your thoughts - very helpful for me in shaping the book beyond the pictures.
The Led Zep paragraph was a short intro to my story and your reaction was exactly what I was going for at that point. I want the reader to know that I was like every other teenage girl, because that sets up the awkwardness and oddity of what happens next. And, while it's not "kiss and tell," it is a personal experience with the band members. Does that work for you?
This whole thing is a bit tricky because my personal interactions with the different musicians varied a great deal. Some very close, others not at all and everything in between. My thought/hope is that the pictures and the theme will mesh the book together. Does that make any sense?
I would not buy #1 in a bookstore or look at it on someone else's coffee table.
I would not buy #2 in a bookstore, but I might look through it on someone else's coffee table.
I would probably buy #3 in a bookstore if I ever got it open, but I rarely shop for coffee table books.
I do think you could have a hybrid coffee table book. The last coffee table book I bought had a lot of pictures of lighthouses, but also a lot of text. Same with a coffee table book I once owned about Mars.
I'd go with #3, integrating your own stories - I'm sure they'd be very entertaining! Plus, you could include a bit about your reactions when you'd heard that the subjects passed away. I'm sure having photographed them, their deaths struck a major chord.
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