10 Tips for Self-Publishing Art Books & Catalogs

Self-publishing is becoming more and more popular across just about every industry imaginable, and this includes the art world. Why, you ask, would a visual artist be interested in publishing a book or catalog? Well, one of the biggest reasons is because a book or catalog offers access to an artist’s work to people who might not be able to afford it otherwise. It can serve as a portfolio and can also be used for artists pursuing faculty jobs and hosts of opportunities. Many are deciding to take the time spent pursuing agents and publishers and use that energy to do the necessary research to successfully self-publish their own projects. Aside from that, one of the primary reasons many choose to self-publish is because it’s much easier to maintain creative control of the project. The flip side of that, though, is self-publishing has what can be a rather high learning curve and the author has to be able to finance the project in its entirety.

• -Be concise  

  Remember the art is the focus of an art book or catalog. The book should give insight into who you are, your accomplishments as an artist, and the art.

• Hire a professional graphic designer

  If you are a graphic designer or dabble in graphic design, by all means, go for it. However, if you don’t have graphic design experience and have no understanding of concepts such as white space and knowing how much text to include – hire someone. If you dabble and know that your work is not quite of professional quality – hire a professional designer. If you are a graphic designer, but looking to publish a work of your visual art or design work, you may still find it helpful to hire someone and have them execute your vision – should your budget permit. This allows you to focus more fully on other aspects of the process.

• Create a budget

  Don’t wing it. Create a budget for your project. When self-publishing, all of the costs are yours. A budget should include items such as: design and layout, content creation (if needed), professional editing, purchase of barcode and ISBN, proof copies, and printing and shipping costs. Use this list as a starting point, but do your research on what else should be included in your projected budget.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.