How should I word this???

I've got a friend/business partner who is publishing a book, and I am taking some of the photos for it. It is a nature-y type book, with both wildlife and landscape images. All of the landscape images will be provided by me, whereas the wildlife photos are coming from another source. It is not really an "artsy" type book, but more of a tourist book. While the images will be "good", they mostly will not be the fine-art type that people will be putting on their walls.

I will be receiving credit for the photos on page 2 of the book, but am unsure of how I should word it. Here is what I received from the author.

This is the first time I have done something like this, and am really at a loss as to how I should word everything. Any advice?

Congrats - always nice to be published. The odds of someone purchasing are pretty slim but you never know. I would go crazy with a bio that says how great you are etc and include your website. This is more of a something you can use for further clients down the road. "I was published in a book....etc"
Go crazy with the bio and make it fun.

davidmtml wrote in post #16898992
I will be receiving credit for the photos on page 2 of the book, but am unsure of how I should word it.

This raised a red flag for me. My old job included designing books. Your friend/partner calls it page 2, but normally the acknowledgments are part of what's called "front matter," and the pages have lower-case roman numerals. Page 1 is the first page of the main text. Look at books from large publishers to see how it's done. I wonder whether the author knows enough to plan the format of this book without major mistakes.

Credits of that kind can instead appear at the end of the book, in "back matter," which may include index and glossary, for example.

A photo of yourself is a good idea even if it happens not to bring you any sales. It gives readers a better sense of the book as a communication from real people--they feel that someone is talking to them or, in the case of illustrations, showing them something. For this kind of book, a photo of you in action, or at least in an outdoor setting like the places the book is about, is better than a standard headshot. If your photo is there, the author's should also be, perhaps on the back cover or on an "About the Author" page in the back matter.

The author says "'And then something along the lines of 'You can purchase any of these photos and others at (website).'" My opinion: that's too much of a shameless plug. I'd prefer something like "David _____ has photographed Montana landscapes and wildlife for _____ years. You can see more of his work at [website]."

stathunter wrote in post #16899003
Congrats - always nice to be published. The odds of someone purchasing are pretty slim but you never know. I would go crazy with a bio that says how great you are etc and include your website. This is more of a something you can use for further clients down the road. "I was published in a book....etc"
Go crazy with the bio and make it fun.

Thank you! I am very excited for the opportunity! I agree that it is more of a bragging right than a chance to sell these photos.

OhLook wrote in post #16899153
This raised a red flag for me. My old job included designing books. Your friend/partner calls it page 2, but normally the acknowledgments are part of what's called "front matter," and the pages have lower-case roman numerals. Page 1 is the first page of the main text. Look at books from large publishers to see how it's done. I wonder whether the author knows enough to plan the format of this book without major mistakes.


Credits of that kind can instead appear at the end of the book, in "back matter," which may include index and glossary, for example.

Thanks for all the great insight. He actually sent another email shortly after saying that the credits will be at the end of the book.

OhLook wrote in post #16899153
A photo of yourself is a good idea even if it happens not to bring you any sales. It gives readers a better sense of the book as a communication from real people--they feel that someone is talking to them or, in the case of illustrations, showing them something. For this kind of book, a photo of you in action, or at least in an outdoor setting like the places the book is about, is better than a standard headshot. If your photo is there, the author's should also be, perhaps on the back cover or on an "About the Author" page in the back matter.

The author says "'And then something along the lines of 'You can purchase any of these photos and others at (website).'" My opinion: that's too much of a shameless plug. I'd prefer something like "David _____ has photographed Montana landscapes and wildlife for _____ years. You can see more of his work at [website]."

Thanks again for the great insight, and I completely agree. I was leary of of putting the purchase option in there, especially as I really don't plan on selling any of these particular images. I really like the way you put it.

Thanks again both of you, and open to any more ideas as well!