After writing Natural Arizona and working with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing I learned some important lessons.
#1 Don’t rush the process.
My thought when writing the book was I would take an artistic poetic approach. I found myself often just blandly describing the photo and story behind it. This was the result of trying to say I wrote a book. It was also a desperate attempt in my eyes to make some money from my photography.
#2 Amazon Kindle Direct is not the best option for a photo portfolio.
I’ve been in the printing industry for a while and was greatly disappointed that a world class company still requires CMYK conversion from RGB. A lot of pictures were void of vibrance and the subtle tones. Just another reason to slow down and find a publisher/printing company to produce the book.
Also Kindle Create is not made for images either. It seems it would work great for a novel. Just not anything like I created.
#3 F- the critics.
This probably could be said for anyone writing a book. It was nice not to have anyone (with the exception of my mom the editor) tell me it sucks. I would have never finished the book or had the courage to publish it. If anything I was writing the book for myself and sharing it with the world.
#4 Stick with the Programs I Know
I plan to go back and create a 2nd version with the lessons learned. I was constrained with the options of printing sizes and wrote accordingly. I spent more time trying to adjust the print and Kindle versions than actually writing. Next round is going to be using MS Word again for a draft and then InDesign for a final. Then I can control how the layout with a lot less frustration. Instead of a Kindle file I can just sell my own PDF version. The final Kindle file still isn’t formatted properly due to Kindle Creates limitations. It embarrasses me as a graphic designer and is extremely frustrating to work with. I can do better with a fixed PDF and maleable scaling with CSS and a simple line of javascript to adjust for screen size. Much like WordPress…..hmmmm.
#5 Appreciation
I am grateful for everyone that purchased the printed version and Kindle version. Or who will. Really it is just a bunch of gibberish with a bunch of pictures. Kinda like my blog.
