With the end of the year fast approaching, it is a great time to reflect on goals accomplished for 2009 and also, setting new ones for 2010…I receive a lot of email about how to self publish a photography book. Publishing your own photography book can be a great marketing tool, but also a way to generate additional income from your favorite photos.

Before the explosion of desktop publishing and online printers, the cost of printing your own book was cost prohibitive for most of us. The process involved finding a publishing house, creating/sending a proposal for your intended book, along with several photos. In most cases, lesser known photographers were quickly rejected. If you were lucky enough to land a deal, a small upfront payment barely covered the completion of the project and royalties from sales were non-existent.

With the advent of print-on-demand or self-publishing companies, the options for photographers have increased dramatically. The process has been greatly streamlined and anyone knowledgeable in basic computer skills can easily layout and create their own book …with no upfront costs. The cost of printing your book is based on the options you select, i.e., size, cover type, etc, and by the total number of pages. Self-publishing sites combine easy publishing tools, the ability to set your own prices, and custom storefronts.

Overall, the ability to create your own book is the easiest part, with marketing being the key to your success. The ability to drive traffic to your product is the hardest part of process. Check out these resources for marketing your self published book.

Affiliate Programs for Lulu Creators – How to create your own affiliate program to sell more of your Lulu books, music, and digital media

Book Marketing DeMystified: Enjoy Discovering the Optimal Way to Sell Your Self-Published Book, Practical advice from the inventor of print-on-demand (POD) publishing

Self-Publishing with Amazon’s CreateSpace: A Resource Guide for the Author Considering Self-Publishing

Print-on-Demand Book Publishing: A New Approach To Printing And Marketing Books For Publishers And Self-Publishing Authors

Here are a list of the top self publishing sites. Best of luck.

Lulu.com
Lets you publish and sell print-on-demand books and e-books, online music and images, custom calendars and books

BookSurge.com
BookSurge and CreateSpace, now uniting on the CreateSpace platform, offer you more publishing options than ever before. Whether you have ready-to-print PDF book files or a manuscript in need of professional editing and book design support, we can help you effectively publish, market and sell your book.

InstantPublisher.com
Instantpublisher has helped turn 1000′s of Author’s dreams into reality over the past 9 years with quick affordable service, friendly customer representatives, many different printing options to choose from and easy to follow step by step instructions.

Blurb.com
Blurb lets you self publish your own photo book, cookbook, portfolio, and more with free software.

CafePress.com
Create and sell your own designs, photos and images on a wide variety of customizable products with zero upfront costs and zero inventory investment.