Notes on the making of a book…part 1

Notes on the making of a book…part 1

We are blessed with imagination, ergo we all have a book in us. At least, that’s what I believe. A book begins with an idea and a publisher willing to put that idea on the page. My publisher is Graffeg, who have been very supportive and occasionally indulgent of my disparate ideas over many years!

My first book – Pembrokeshire (2009)

In the summer of 2008 I walked out of the offices of Graffeg, in Cardiff. Actually, I floated out of the offices of Graffeg as they’d just agreed to publish a book of fine art photographs of Pembrokeshire I’d been accumulating since jacking in a job in a contact centre to become a photographer two years before. Or, to be more precise, to become a photographer who sold their work to help pay the bills and not simply the hobbyist I’d been for many years.

Brave or Mad?

Ditching a secure job with a pension to chase a dream is, well, crazy really. But, I’d just turned forty and could see with depressing clarity the next twenty odd years of desperate boredom, and anger, that lay ahead. So, with the support of my wife Anna – who basically just wanted me to cheer up – I went for it.

The Pitch

And so, I arrived at Graffeg to pitch my idea for a book of my work. I was nervous – I mean, who the hell was I to imagine I could have a book published – and the garbled spiel I blurted out certainly wasn’t polished. But they must have seen something in what I showed them as we agreed on a book.

The Challenge

The book was to be fifty full page black and white photographs of the Pembrokeshire landscape and coast (fifty six photographs in subsequent editions) with accompanying extended captions. At the time of signing the contract I had a portfolio of about thirty photographs, so there was a lot of work to do to meet the deadline.

Digging Deep

So, all I had to do was bag twenty more images. Simple. Well, not quite. You see, what I haven’t mentioned yet are the physical limitations I operate within. When I was eighteen I had a camera but also a motorbike. One a wise purchase, the other not so. I had an accident, broke my neck and back and a few other bits, and made an incomplete recovery. Getting about is tough and getting tougher as I age, and limited mobility and balance issues aren’t a good recipe on uneven ground. There were to be many falls and comedy tumbles in my quest for the remaining images.

Completion

With a fair wind though and no amount of bloody-minded determination – plus the odd cut and bruise – I reached the magic number of fifty images. I then settled down to write the extended captions, an element of the project which brought unexpected joy. With all the material submitted, Graffeg’s talented design team laid the book out and sent it off to be printed.

The Reveal

A month before publication I received an advanced copy of Pembrokeshire. I held the package knowing what it contained but couldn’t bring myself to open it. What if it was rubbish? What if it was badly printed? So many what ifs. So, Anna opened it. And it was perfect. And I was happy. From contact centre headset to my first book. I couldn’t quite believe it.