Coffee table books are large-sized, high-quality, attractive books that usually feature amazing photography and illustrations on various subjects. As the name suggests, these books are often placed on coffee tables in salons, hotel lounges, or corporate waiting areas, where the guests can casually browse through the pages and get inspired.
If you have a collection of amazing photographs, snapshots, or design elements, you can convert them into a coffee-table book and publish it. This blog provides insights into the coffee-table book publishing online and the best self-publishing platforms that can help you.
Does Your Picture Speak a Thousand Words?
Anyone can publish a coffee-table book. In fact, if you love expressing your areas of interest through photographs, you can communicate through coffee-table books. The scope is unlimited – interior designs, wildlife photographs, paintings & sketches, art & culture, heritage sites, fashion designs, application or website designs, sketches, henna designs, rare family history, event management, wedding photographs, or anything that grabs the attention of visitors sitting in a lounge.
You can also document your company’s recent projects into great books to create visibility and attract new prospects.
Making of a Coffee-Table Book
You only need to remember that your book needs to communicate through visuals, unlike fiction and non-fiction. Therefore, to publish a coffee table book, you need to focus on a few aspects – Theme, Intention, Photographs, Content, Size, Design, and Quality.
Quick Read: Paid vs. free book publishing companies and what should you choose?
State Your Intention
The key to successfully publishing a coffee-table book is your intention. You must find a purpose for publishing your book before actually doing it. Your intention could be to sell your book to the masses or only target audience, print a hundred copies to gift to your employees, customers, or friends, announce the launch of your new venture or product line, or keep a few copies for your family, or just one book for your personal use.
Choose a Theme
The theme should be unique, appealing to your readers, and gripping enough to be remembered. Invest time in collecting the pictures that represent your theme the best. For instance, if you are a wildlife photographer, a few unique themes could be Jungle in the Winter, Rain in the Jungle, Summer Animals, Darker Forest, and so forth.
Another possible example is creating a roadmap of the unexplored art & culture, cuisines, or sites of a country or region through pictures.
Photographs!!
A coffee table book’s main hero is the images or illustrations. Do not compromise here. Do not think of using a low-quality camera or saying yes to cheap and unprofessional photoshoots. Do not skip the editing process either. Choose the best pictures from your collection and hire a professional editor to enhance the images.
Size Matters; So does the Content
You need text to support your images. The right manuscript will provide a deeper meaning to the photographs and illustrations, such as background story, date, time, place of capture, and anecdotes. Also, there should be a proper content flow throughout the book. Example: You can tell a story or show the pictures in chronological order based on events. Work on your taglines, headings, captions, and introduction. Edit the text before publishing.
What is the Ideal Size for Coffee-Table Books?
Coffee table books are meant to be big and oversized in order to create the desired impact. Also, these books are generally in landscape format (like wedding albums), made from glossy paper and hardcover. People need to notice them from 6 feet apart, right?
You can also ask our team of designers to customize a size & page trim based on your purpose.
Design the Book for the Visual Treat
Coffee-table books are aesthetically appealing because they make a great piece of interior decoration. Besides, they enhance the beauty of table tops. Therefore, if you want the person sitting next to the table to pick your book, go for a customized template instead of the standard layout and style. If you know the craft, bring out an awe-inspiring design that offers a visual treat to the readers.
Writat is one of the best self publishing companies that offer cost-free solutions for coffee-book publishing online. Our graphic designer can help you design the best possible layout and template for your coffee-table book at a minimal price. Click here to learn more about our customized services.
Publishing a Coffee Table Book
Now that you know the critical steps to publish a coffee-table book start exploring different options for printing and distribution. You have two choices – traditional publishing or self-publishing companies. Traditional book publishers offer different packages with all-inclusive services, like design, production, distribution, and marketing, but at a much higher cost than free book-publishing companies. The process is also lengthy and not flexible in comparison.
Keep in mind that you do justice to your book, regardless of the direction you go – use high-quality ink and superior quality paper, bindery, and adhesive.
If you choose to self-publish your coffee-table book, we have great book publishing options, including affordable standalone solutions that are as good as publishing a book through a reputed traditional publisher.
Also Read: What Does Self-Publishing Mean – How to Choose Between Traditional vs. Self Publishing Companies.
