January 2003.
This isn't so much a 'final' report, as it is a 'bringing up to date'. The project isn't over, although it is in terms of it being a full time occupation for myself, and the others who were majorly involved. I shall continue to seek out new possibilities for the book and the photos in my spare time, and will try to put together an 'annual report' each year rounding up any developments. I would ask that people direct any comments or questions to the discussion board rather than e-mailing me directly. This way I can respond for the benefit of everyone. I check the discussion board much more frequently than I do the e-mail, since the spam/no-spam ratio on the e-mail is 90% and counting. (Please continue to send your e-mail address changes by e-mail).
Creatively I think the book was extremely successful, certainly that's the comments I've been hearing back from people. I'd be interested to know what kind of feedback other people have had, but I know from my own experience at least, that anyone who's ever seen the book, has been fascinated and enthralled by it. I hope everyone else has had the same kind of reaction.
This roundup focusses on the business side of the book which does not make such happy reading as the creative side. We all know about the success of the creative side, so some balance is probably a good thing, if only as note of caution or advice to others.
Despite all the problems with our original publisher, the book got made, which, while I realize may not seem a big achievement to everyone, really was a miracle if you knew all the circumstances. There were many people who helped make this happen but in particular I'd like to single out Stephen Williams, father of photographer Candace Williams, who through his company Supreme Distribution, arranged to fund a significant portion of the print run which enabled the book to be printed. Without his generosity of spirit, and the support of many others, the book surely would never have seen the light of day. We all I think owe these people a great deal of gratitude and thanks.
I would also like to single out Connie Wragge, whose tireless efforts and commitment as the project's lead volunteer were simply earth shattering. Her enthusiasm was an inspiration.
AGENCY DEAL WITH SUPERSTOCK
Thanks to the efforts and enthusiasm of London based photographer Nick Tsinonis, I am pleased to announce that we recently signed a deal with the commercial photography agency Superstock (third largest in the world) to represent approximately 55 photos from the book, as chosen by Superstock. Superstock is a commercial agency meaning they place photos in adverts, billboards, any commercial setting. This is generally the higher end of the market in terms of payments (as opposed to editorial use). A full list of the photos accepted by Superstock will be provided here following their submission and acceptance, probably sometime in February 2003. (List can be found here). |
To get the book made through our own funding efforts mean't scaling down the publishing side considerably. The original publishers were planning to print a quarter of a million books, with a half million dollar marketing budget. We could only manage a more modest, albeit more exclusive print run, of just 15,000 books, with a $5000 marketing budget. Quite a difference.
We lost our original publisher at the last hour when they got into financial difficulties. It was a complete shock at the time and left us very little time to find another publisher. We literally found out the day before the book was due to go on press - August 16th 2000.
Other publishers were all very interested in taking over publication of the book, including big names such as Warner Books, Random House etc., but there simply wasn't enough time for them to get the book into their production schedules. The book had to be out in time for Xmas 2000.
Instead, through a huge collective effort, the entire publishing effort became an 'independent' one. We arranged for the printing, binding, publishing, marketing and distribution of the books ourselves. A herculean effort by all.
One bonus was that it meant that we had full creative control over the book. Some of you may remember the earlier heated debates over the cover, as chosen by the original publishers.
With the scaling down of the publishing side of the project, we still managed to keep our promise to send out a free copy of the book to all the photographers. As of November 2001 when we finally wound down the sending of the free books, more than 85% of the 864 photographers entitled to a free copy, had received theirs in the mail. Considering the large number of people whose contact details had changed, this was no small feat.
With the change in circumstances on the publishing side, we were left with a far more modest marketing budget. In the same spirit with which we originally promoted the website at the launch of the project, we took on most of the marketing ourselves, and suceeded in just four weeksn earned coverage on the likes of CNNfN, CBS, FOX and ABC, with additional reviews and coverage in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and many other newspapers, magazines and radio stations worldwide. Many of the photographers themselves took on their own efforts at promotion, and earned themselves coverage in local newspapers and the media, with some even having their own book signing sessions. Rhoda Burlingham, the 100 year old subject of the 'three centurians' photo by Connie Wragge (p105), even made it out to a booksigning session herself to help Connie sign some books in person. I met up with many of the photographers as part of the cross country tour, and it was fantastic to see us all meeting one another in the real world, having got to know one another in the virtual.
Distribution turned out to be the major challenge, and all the press in the world couldn't help us if people couldn't actually go somewhere to buy the book. With the book ultimately coming off the press in November of 2000, following a month's delay by the printer, there was little time to get the book into retail stores for the crucial Christmas 2000 selling season. Vital orders were lost.
It had been predicted early on by people in the industry that 80% of our total sales would occur in the 12 weeks leading up to Christmas 2000. With just the one option to get the book into stores in time (Chapters), we concentrated our efforts on building a strong Internet based distribution system including distribution through Amazon.com. This we felt would ensure that people hearing about the book (from the media) could readily get hold of it, no matter where they were located in the world.
This worked, but some media responses were baffling. Following the broadcast on CNN for instance, which featured lots of pictures from the book and both a verbal and on-screen plug for the website, just 2 books were sold online. This didn't even cover the cost of my flight to New York to do the interview! A hard lesson in response rates for Internet sales from traditional media.
The best single response to a media story was a radio interview I did in Toronto on Canada's CBC. 16 books were sold through the website following the interview, although the host mentioned a photo of a couple making love.
For those interested in the numbers, at the time of writing, a little over half of the 15,000 books have been sold, and we continue to sell books steadily, although at a very modest pace through Internet retailers such as Amazon and a few select stores. I am told now by people in the industry that 8000 books is actually an amazing acomplishment sales-wise for an independently published photography book. I guess it just seems so much less than what we originally planned.
All of these problems could perhaps have been avoided with the benefit of hindsight, but really we were actually very unlucky. We could not have predicted the situation with the publishers running into financial difficulties, and nor could we have imagined one of the largest and most respected book printing companies in North America closing a factory down. We also couldn't have imagined the Florida votes scandal which monopolized the media and cost us interviews on NBC's Today Show and Oprah.
It was a massive learning experience for all those involved, and I hope by sharing it with others, an eye-opening experience of benefit to anyone else considering similar undertakings.
With the passing of the Christmas 2000 season, retailers are not generally interested in carrying the book as a title. Interest in the Millennium will certainly rise with time, and it is, at the end of the day, the only book that documents how the world celebrated it. Time will tell I guess. And whether we can do a reprint for the 10 or 25 year anniversaries.
Events such as the Exhibit at Chicago airport, seen by literally millions of people, continue to raise awareness and interest in the project, and I still get e-mails from people saying how much they enjoyed the exhibit or taking part. It's good to see that people are still interested in what we collectively achieved.
The opening of the Chicago exhibit itself was a magical experience and one that I'll never forget. The youngest photographer in the book, 14 year-old Sahir Raza, flew all the way from India, having been sponsored by his school, to be at the opening. Another of our photographers, Carlos Roberto, flew all the way from Brazil. In all, more than 20 of us spent the day together in Chicago and finished off with a meal at a local restaurant. The project had brought us all together, from all over the world.
As for the future. I'm taking a well deserved break and embarking on new projects. Wesley and the other volunteers have all moved on to pastures new. Connie in particular has a new project in the works called Photo Mission. It's a Christian oriented endeavour and a link for it is at the bottom. I'm currently working on a project not completely disimilar from Millennium Photo, only to do with golf (my other great passion).
A couple of other things I have planned, and in no particular order, are to place the collection with a suitable photo agency (done recently - see sidebar above). Any revenues from this will be shared as per the project rules (50/50). This is why it's vital you always keep me updated with your e-mail address, just in case I ever need to get in touch with you to send a cheque.
Another thing I am considering is to ultimately place the collection of the original photos and digital prints with a museum. Choosing which museum will probably be a difficult decision, but I can tell you it will almost certainly be Canada (the home of the project) or England (my home) or America (where I thought of the idea). I'm open to suggestions.
The final thing to decide is where the exhibit is going to go next. Yahoo! have confirmed they will sponsor the move to another location, so I just have to find a location that makes sense. I like the idea of perhaps continuing at another airport, it worked so well for Chicago, and it literally means millions of people get to see our work. I'm also open to other suggestions if you have any.
In closing, I just want to say how happy I am that so many people came together to make this project a reality. Please treasure your copy of the book and continue spreading the word. It was a huge collective achievement, and the whole world should probably know about it...!
Alx Klive, Project Founder
The Millennium Photo Project
January 2003
Connie's Photo Mission Link - www.photomission.com
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