Steal Like An Artist - Blogger Kit

A couple of years ago after seeing what Fantagraphics was doing with Flickr, I wrote a little piece for The Book Design Review about publishers preparing “Blogger Kits” for new books:

Everybody’s heard of press kits, but the aim of a Blogger’s Kit is spreadability—images and videos that are easy to embed, post, and disseminate on the web.

The best place I can see this happening isn’t on a publisher’s website, but on Flickr, the photo-sharing site. Flickr, unlike a publisher’s website, is a destination—a place where people hang out, favorite photos and comment. People love Flickr. They go there for inspiration. Publishers should go there to meet them.

Using Flickr is easy. You can organize your photos into collections and sets. Each photo page contains an embed code, making blogging a snap. To top it off, Flickr also allows for 90-second videos. (For an example, see Fantagraphics’ account.)

A pro Flickr account costs $25 a year, but a free account should suffice for most authors. Digital cameras and camcorders are cheaper than ever.

Here’s what I think a Blogger’s Kit on Flickr should include:

• author photos
• the book cover (front and back)
• “3-D” shots of the book in space
• excerpt shots of the book spreads
• a video of someone flipping through the book
  

Each photo or video is easily labeled, so you can put all the pertinent information: bio, plot summary, design/editorial credits, and links for purchase.

Of course, now Flickr is kind of on the outs, and without a web interface, Instagram certainly isn’t an option — (maybe Pinterest would be the best place now?) but it’s still an idea I’m surprised more publishers haven’t picked up.