Well #13 was long the "trademark" shot from my old version of the website. I really do not think the smoking thing is an issue. It's such an evocative photo of the glamor of the era. Let's face it, smoking in those days was sexy!

It's running just below the #1 shot from The Hooded Falcon, so far.

Thanks for all the input.

I like them all...well, almost. I don't care much for #9 and 12.

A as Valentino neophyte photo #6 is the only one I would look at and say "Ahh that book is about Valentino" from across a bookstore isle.

However I also like the captivating direct stare in #8.

My opinion,
Four, Six, and Thirteeen.

I guess you had better just use a collage of all the photos....

Believe it or not, that was also a suggestion by someone!

Option 6 is moving slowly up the ranks, but still not close to #1 or #13

I'm ordering a 20 page sample book tonight just to double check the quality of reproductions on the hand tinted photos and the toned shots I plan on using.

Also, Kevy if you are reading this, a CD will be coming in the mail soon with photo/scans for fixing!

And I have now had a second person tell me when they go to my website they get a popup from their anti virus staying some trojan is associated with my site. I can't find anything on my PC and lunarpages is the webhost. Go figure?

I'm torn between #6 and #13. I think #6 is instantly recognizable, so it depends on who/how you are trying to attract the potential reader.

Alrightie!

I just received the proof/sample copy of a blurb produced 20 page PB book of photos for my project.

The quality looks good, the reproduction on the images is pretty close. Not quite 100% on the toning (I see a little slight coloration on light backgrounds) but it is actually nicer than I was expecting. I can see that I need to rescan some photos.

The color tinted photo I put on the back cover is very close to color true. So that is good to know, as I have 4 hand tinted images I want to use.

What I did not get, and I read it, it just never registered with my brain, the book size is literally 8x10. Which is not a large book. The larger HB only option is 10x13.

So, I've got 3 choices:

8x10 PB - approximately $45
8x10 HB - approximately $65
10x13 HB - approximately $115

I can offer all 3, but then I would be designing 2 different books (and buying ISBN numbers for 3 rather than 2 as originally planned)

I honestly do not know how many I can sell at $115 a pop, it's a lot more than a Disney Coffee Table Book! ;)

Anyone have thoughts on the size and my options with blurb? If you want to see the stuff they've been putting out, visit them. I do need to revisit the software and see the layout I can do for the 10x13 book. It may work out well, I've just been working in the standar mode.

One of my best RV friends was like, of course I'd pay that much for a coffee table book. But, I do believe not everyone will. I'm not looking to make money on this, merely to get the thing out. I would only make money of I set the price with blurb (like $5 per book) but gee whiz, that just makes it more expensive!

If you think the larger format would better represent the pictures, I'd go with the larger format. One way to make the price point be a little more appealing (at least for the first several months), is to offer some kind of "bonus" for people willing to pay the extra money. You could, for example, offer a free 8x10 reproduction of the cover - signed by you - to anyone who purchases the book in the first 12 months.

On the other hand, if the original photos were 8x10s, would the smaller format hurt? How does a tight binding affect your margins?

Well, I do need to check out the layout options for the larger format book. Since not all the photos will be full page size, I might be able to do a slightly smaller page count and still have a book chock full of good stuff. As I said, when I get home, I will see what the layout options are.

I do not think the smaller format would hurt, but I think people might be expecting a larger format book. In the smaller book, the full size photos would be approximately 7x9 in size in any case.

In any case, I'm very happy with the quality I do see. It looks nice, feels nice in your hands and will be a nice book to thumb through. I did want to make it affordable, though and I am hoping at some point Blurb will go with some kind of distribution via amazon, that would certainly increase views and (one would hope) sales beyond plugging on my website.