88 Secrets to Selling & Publishing Your Photography

by Scott Bourne

Book Overview

This book is for serious photographers who want to turn their avocation into a money making venture. How can I make money with my photography is the first question every serious amateur asks me, said... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0976187809
• ISBN13: 9780976187806
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Olympic Mountain School Press
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Wasn't what I thought it would be. My fault.

I was thinking this would be a book about places to sell your photography like post cards and bookmarkers or stuff like that. I guess I just didn't look it over enough. It is pretty much just basic stuff about how to run a business in photography. Some I thought were a little simple, like it says you should have a seperate phone for your business. Also, you should tell family members to not use that phone for anything other than business. That would be true of any business be it photography or selling comic books. Some of it is good business practices that many would not think of but I think you could get a book on operating a home business or small business from the library and learn most of this stuff. It is not an expensive book so I'm not going to complain much. I would suggest though that a person that is going to do photography work might think of staying with one or two areas and get books on those. For example, wedding photography and stock photography and learn how to make it in those areas. Go ahead and buy it, if you don't like it you are not out much.

Simple and Effective

This book does just one thing for a person hoping to derive income from the sale of photographs. It tells you how to sell photographs. It doesn't tell you anything about equipment, or picture taking, or processing, or even how to run a photography business. It doesn't even take a comprehensive approach to marketing. Instead it provides useful tips on marketing photography, period. Moreover, Bourne doesn't just limit himself to one market, like stock photography. He covers all the markets and if one secret isn't applicable to you, the next one may be right up your alley. Calling it "88 Secrets" is a misnomer, because many of the ideas contained are simple common sense that someone interested in selling pictures could figure out for him or herself. Secondly, there are far more than 88 secrets because many of sections called secrets contain more than one idea for marketing. The reader will sometimes say, I knew that, sometimes say, I should have known that, and sometimes say, I never thought of that. But if you read the book and you follow some of the tips, you will increase sales of your pictures. Although the book is quite short, it's also inexpensive and the person willing to follow Bourne's advice will soon amortize the cost of the book. It probably won't put you in direct competition with Art Wolfe, but it will increase your photographic income if you have the will power to follow the tips. For example, the author discusses a traditional subject, query letters to editors to whom one hopes to sell pictures. He tells you what has to go into a letter if you want to get the editor's attention. He even provides a sample letter. In the very next paragraph, Bourne discusses something relatively new, e-books and how to go about publishing them. He even suggests software that will ease the work, and even how to structure an e-book. He says photography e-books are most popular if they take a how-to, travel, or adventure approach. "It will be easier to sell an e-book that features pictures of Yellowstone National Park if it is written as a travelogue rather than an attractive Yellowstone picture book." I've read a few books on marketing pictures and sometimes find reasonable marketing advice buried in the verbiage. Often it's aimed at just one market. Here it's simple and effective. All one has to do is read a secret and follow it. And of course, take a reasonably good picture.

No longer a secret

Making money from photography is everyones dream but a tough goal in reality. This book has helped me define my goals for marketing my photography. As an amateur turning pro this book has been a life saver. Bourne clearly and concisely outlines a variety of methods to market your work. The beauty of the book lies in it's set up. You can pick and choose what you want to use and attack each new obstacle one step at a time. I highly recommend 88 Secrets to anyone interested in turning their dream into a profitable business.

One more secret!

Here is one more secret. This book is worth way more than its list price. Anyone, from novice to seasoned pro, interested in earning money making pictures needs this book. I am a serious amateur photographer. I plan to turn my photography into a lucrative hobby when I retire in several years. Thanks to 88 Secrets I will not have to waste time testing what will work. Scott Bourne gives the reader of his book a proven track record to follow. Buy this book. You will find it invaluable when you put Scott Bourne's recommendations into action.

Essential reading for anyone wanting to market their photos.

Scott Bourne is an outstanding teacher and successful marketer. The book exemplifies this by being well organized, very readable and packed with valuable information for any photographer wanting to market and sell photographs. The three divisions of the book are well thought out. As I considered marketing my photos the section on "general secrets" was very helpful. The last two sections provide valuable information on who to contact for sales and all the issues that need to be considered to complete a successful business transaction.