To celebrate the launch of FotoMarket, the first ever crowdfunded photobook store, we got in touch with some of the best photobook publishers throughout the world and asked them a few questions about the photobook industry, their approach to photobook making, and what photographers should consider when looking to make a photobook. Sign up to our newsletter to be sure you don’t miss any of the interviews in the Publisher’s Insight series.
After interviewing Michael Mack of MACK Books, Today we pass the microphone on to Dewi Lewis, the founder of London based Dewi Lewis Publishing.
Hello Dewi, thank you for this interview. How do you define the photobook as a medium?
The key thing about the photobook is that it is not simply a collection of images. It is a coherent sequenced set of photos expressing the thoughts and opinions of the photographer. For me if a photographer is simply reliant on the aesthetics of their work – on the strength of the single image – and has nothing to say, then they don’t have a book.
What qualities should a photographic project have to pique your interest in making a photobook out of it?
It’s always difficult, if not impossible, to say what I will respond to in terms of subject matter. I’m looking for something which surprises me, which feels fresh and original. I believe in the power of the book as both a means of expression and of communication. For me the audience is critical. A book must speak to people – not just to close friends and family.
Can you describe Dewi Lewis’ approach to photobook making?
Making a book is a collaborative process that should involve the photographer, the designer and the publisher as creative contributors. It should be an equal partnership. It is certainly not an easy process and without a sense of mutual respect and support amongst those involved, it is simply a painful one. On the majority of our books we lead the design process and also the production. Probably 80% of our books are designed by me and I am always on press to supervise the printing – to try to squeeze the best out of every book. And so it is very much hands on, and fully involvement in every detail. Over the years I have met several publishers who farm out many aspects of the work and sometimes don’t even read the texts that are in a book. That’s definitely not me.
When I believe in a project I publish it because I want other people to see the work – as many as possible. Consequently I’m not that interested in high price, small run limited editions (though of course we have done a few); I want to make books which are as affordable as possible and that can reach a reasonable audience. This, of course, isn’t easy. The return that a publisher gets is generally pretty low – almost always well under 40% of the retail price – and this means that every project must be properly budgeted and controlled.
What advice would you give a photographer looking to make a photobook?
Too many photographers want to make a book too quickly. For me, a book is something that should have longevity. It’s something that you should look back at, years after it was published, and still feel that it represents you and your work. You should be proud of it. In the UK, legally, every book has to be lodged with the British Library. In theory, in 100 years or more, your descendants could go to the library and arrange to see that physical book. When I think of the book in that context then I know that I would only want to produce something which had depth, something based on value and not ego.
In more practical terms I would say that photographers should begin the process of sequencing at a relatively early stage. I always suggest making a set of very small prints (that can be laid out on a table) and working with them – creating a sequence, leaving it for a week, revising it etc. The photographer will begin to see the gaps in their work, what images they still need. They will also begin to understand that sometimes even great images have to be discarded. The whole process can go on for many months but there should be a point at which everything begins to flow, where it all feels right. At that point you may have a book.
What are the most recent books in your catalogue, and what upcoming titles we can look forward to?
At the moment we seem to be producing a lot of new books. I hate picking out one or two: it feels as though you have favourite children rather than loving them all. But here are some of the most recent: Dougie Wallace’s dynamic Road Wallah; Celine Marchbank’s moving story Tulip: My Mother’s Favourite Flower; Polly Braden’s Great Interactions, which is an amazing body of work about the lives of children and adults with Learning disabilities or Autism; Daniel Alexander’s When War Is Over; Ricardo Venturi’s Haiti Aftermath; Catherine Balet’s romp through 176 years of photo history in Looking For The Masters In Ricardo’s Golden Shoes; Ferit Kuyas’s wonderful box set A Quintology of Diaries; Paul Hart’s Farmed and Albertina d’Urso’s Out Of Tibet.
Later in the year we have revised editions of books by Martin Parr, Chris Steele-Perkins and Giacomo Brunelli, as well as many other new titles. I also have to mention The Heavens by Paolo Woods & Gabriele Galimberti. It’s just been shortlisted for the Kraszna Krausz Award which will be announced at Photo London in May. Its subject – tax havens – is so relevant at the moment.
Can you share any figures about how many copies you sell per book on average, and which sales channels have proven more successful for Dewi Lewis?
Our print runs do vary quite a lot these days. There are books where we are only producing 500 copies but there are also projects where we print up to 5,000 – though this is increasingly rare. On average we are generally printing around 1200 to 1500 copies. What is important though is that we do have an active reprint approach and there are many of our books which have been reprinted, some multiple times.
As for sales channels I think the most significant change has been that the major bookshop chains no longer really support visual books in any serious way. Ten years ago they were very important to us but now our focus is much more on the specialist photo bookstores (both physical and virtual), other online retailers such as Amazon and our own website.
Photobooks are often costly to produce and scarcely profitable. Is this the case for Dewi Lewis, and if so, what strategies do you use?
The margins are extremely tight and it is easier to lose money than to make it. When we started out we had to find a way of funding all our projects and there were many times when we were on the edge financially. In the last 5 to 10 years, however, there has been a major shift in how many photobooks are financed. Often there are projects that we would very much like to publish but which we know from experience are highly unlikely to even cover their costs. In such situations we have to ask the photographer to find a way to fund the production costs of their book. Increasingly this is coming through Kickstarter and similar operations. However, even when a production budget is fully funded, we will still have significant costs on our side which we’ll need to cover – often this can be a few thousand pounds.
Over the last year we will have risked around 65% of the costs of book production. On some titles we take 100% of the risk, on others much less. Achieving a balance like this is the only way that I believe a publisher can survive in the longer term.
What other limitations or flaws do you find in the photobook market? What do you think the industry needs to grow?
Many people talk about now being the Golden Age of the photobook, and in many ways it is. There are certainly a massive number being produced – but that is also part of the problem. Photobooks are becoming almost fashion objects: in season for six months and then forgotten.
As for growing the sector. Of course we’d all like to see a much bigger audience but I don’t see that as being very realistic other than in quite marginal terms. I do think that the market has grown in the last few years but the impact of that growth has been more than swallowed up by the increase in the number of books being produced. Print runs are lower than ever and profit margins are dropping all the time. In time there will be more digital print solutions but they are still some years away. Digital print is beginning to achieve much better quality (though still not up to offset standards) but cost are prohibitive for anything more than very small editions.
Another major issue is funding. At the moment photographers are finding ways to fund their first book. But if these books are not commercially viable how will they able to find a way to fund their future books? I’m already concerned that money shouldn’t be an obstacle to publishing – I would hate to think that only the wealthy would be able to contribute to the future of photobook culture.
Does Dewi Lewis accept submissions? What should photographers do to reach out?
Yes, we accept submissions in May and November each year. The best thing that photographers can do is check out the guidelines on our website.
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