One year published, and thoughts on a second book
It’s been around a year since my book became available. A few of you have asked how the year went, if there’s been any impact on business, and if I’ll write another.
For those new to my blog, here’s a “behind the scenes” of writing a design book.
Highlights
There was an initial print-run of 8,000. Today there are 18,000 copies in print, with more written in Polish, Chinese, and German (and Czech).
In one year, the Facebook page I started has grown into a fan-base of 36,000 and is now a useful way to highlight fresh content on the Logo Design Love website.
The book has an average rating of 5 stars on Amazon.com (from 50 reviews), Amazon.co.uk (from 28), and Amazon.ca (from 7 — reader reviews don’t seem to carry-over between national sites).
It reached #1 in both the graphic design and the brands & corporate identity bestsellers lists on Amazon.co.uk, ahead of the likes of Shaughnessy, Fletcher, Sagmeister, and Heller (the list’s updated hourly, so normal service has probably resumed).
Benefits
Although sales have been fairly successful, I’ve not received any more commission than what I’d earn from design clients. In fact, the figure’s considerably less. But even before starting the project, and on the sound advice of a few others, I never expected too much direct income.
Writing a design book isn’t about selling hundreds of thousands of copies. It’s about using the “published author” status as a springboard to what may follow, be it new clients, a new job, speaker invites, or just the knowledge that you’ve helped someone make a decision about what career path to follow. I’ve received many stories of thanks. That’s a huge bonus. Perhaps more so than any financial reward.
New business
It’s hard to say if any doors have opened, but generally, the calibre of client I’m attracting has steadily improved. I still get the occasional week where work inquiries are less than promising, and I wonder where the next client will come from, but maybe that’s just part of being a self-employed designer.
A second book?
My publisher wants me to write again, which is where LDL readers can help.
Although I’ve learned a great deal since the book was published, I’m still apprehensive that the knowledge gained during my fledgling career has been fairly spent. Because of which, a second publication might be more of a research study than speaking from experience. It’d definitely help to know there’s a want for any pending title.
Cue your good self.
Where identity design is concerned, what do you want to read about that wasn’t covered in Logo Design Love? (Here’s the table of contents — PDF download, 32k.) Were there topics included that you want written about in greater detail?
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Update: 19 October 2012
My second book: Work for Money, Design for Love.
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Thank you so much for the support.
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36 appreciated comments on “One year published, and thoughts on a second book”
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Just wanted to say congrats on your first book – it sounds like it’s been doing really well. All the best with your next one :)
Congrats David,
As always, thanks for the behind the scenes info. Really is fascinating.
One thought (and your publisher certainly won’t thank me for this) but had you thought of going down the print-on-demand route for your next book? Why go through a publisher who will cream so much off the top when you can go straight to market …
Just a thought. You obviously have a very good idea who your potential readers are – you speak to them every day!
You’d be like the Seth Godin of the design world.
Cheers
Ed
Thanks for the candid behind the scenes look.
Congratulations David on being a successful published author. It must be a great feeling, and as you said it gives you enhanced credibility with new clients.
John
Leamington Spa, England
David, if I was you, I’d go down the ID Designed route for your next book; explore the world of complete identity systems rather than focussing on just the logo (the logo is important, of course, but more and more these days it’s about how that logo, incorporated into a complete visual identity system, is applied, isn’t it?)
My thoughts, anyway. =] Congrats on the success of your book.
I moved to the Czech Republic recently and saw the book in my local book shop which was quite surprising. I would add that while there haven’t been any massive benefits financially you surely must be proud. I have a stack of books on my desk featuring my work, three years ago I never thought that would happen. The point I’m making is your always building on what came before, keep going and I will keep buying.
I bought the book 2 days ago and I cannot put it down.
I think writing a second book would be a great idea. Although, if you want to stay away from writing about your own experiences, I would suggest focusing on the history of logo design. I know that studying the history of design can only be helpful, especially for students like me. Maybe a large portion of the book can be dedicated to what makes a bad/good logo (with plenty of examples)?
I think you covered all the important parts of the process in the first book which really helped me a lot. Thank you! I am recommending this book to everyone in my design classes.
Hi Edward, you have a good point, but there’s a lot to be said for the help an established publisher can give. Editing and development, marketing and promotion. I’m sure the book wouldn’t be as successful and widespread without the help of Peachpit.
Ian, the thought of an Identity Designed style of book is a direction I’d prefer to take. Then it’d be a matter of creating something that’s more than a simple showcase.
Richard, that’s great to know! I don’t suppose you saw if the book was written in Czech?
Corie, I appreciate you picking-up a copy, and for recommending it. Brilliant.
Thanks a lot guys, and Rachael, Rishi, John.
David, thank you for sharing the insights on your first published book. Congrats on what the book achieved and looking forward to your second published writings! Maybe a suggestion for your next title… “IDLove” Keep it up!
Hi David, no I didn’t see if its was in Czech but I will drop by later and have a look.
Congratulations on your first year in print! I just want to point out that royalties typically run about 18 months behind actual sales. I manage my (deceased) mother’s literary estate (she was a romance writer), and that’s what it has been for her. Since you’ve more than sold out your initial print run, your publisher must be very happy with you, and you can look forward to some sort of payment as long as the book is in print.
My recommendation to you, should you decide on a second book, is to negotiate a much better advance and royalty, since you have a proven track record. If you don’t have a literary agent, I also recommend looking into getting one as they can frequently get you much more than you can on your own (unless you are also have some personal connections in the publishing world).
Nice Job David! I didn’t realize it had already been a whole year since the first came out. And selling out the original run is a great accomplishment and like Wendy said, should definitely help you with higher payment on the second.
I agree with a couple of the other commenters about an Identity/branding book, I think that would be a great resource. Corie’s mention of history would be interesting as well. Either way, I’m sure it will be excellent. Keep it up!
I LOVE your first book and would love to see a second book! Beyond just your knowledge, the tone and ease of reading the book made it even more of a favorite. Also, I have recommended it to college students and young professionals looking to freelance and design logos. They love it just as much :)
I’m very curious about identity redesign. For instance, gap and the failed re-design, Tropicana’s bottle and logo redesign, yellow pages logo update, or even Mtv’s updated identity recently.
I’m interested to see if there’s some sort of formula, or necessary culture or time period, that makes one redesign more successful than another.
Just some thoughts fueled by my curiosity.
Thank you for the first book and I’m hoping for a second!
Whooo it’s been a year already? How time flies. Great book though, don’t know why it took me so long to getting round to picking it up.
I’d be might interested in a second book. Question is with whether you go broader or more niche? LDL was a top introduction with a nice focus on the process. As you say, 2nd book will likely be more of a research study.
Do you look more at the history of logo design, more of a case study approach, or perhaps look more to the future, there’s not much in the way of how to manage brands cross-platform, a lot of books only seem to focus on print, or web, but not about maintaining consistency whilst playing to the different rules of online vs offline etc.
Oooh nearly started rambling!
Nathan
Hey David, I really enjoyed your book. As far as ideas for a second, personally I love to read your articles on how you were able to launch a very successful freelance business. Maybe a book that focused on getting started in freelance and your experiences.
Another topic that I would enjoy learning about is how to market for certain niches of design – ex: identity design. You seem to have a very narrow focus of the type of client. Many designers, including myself, struggle with how to find and attract their preferred client.
This reminds me; rally need to finish the book ;)
I’m glad the sales are doing well David…
Yep it’s in Czech!
I would like to here advise for working with internal clients. Working within a large corporation can pull your design time to perform meaningless birthday cards, t-shirts, and for some reason department logos which do not support the overall brand of the company. While this is fun and a good excersize how can designers justify denial of a project for the greater good or better use of our design time.
How sub-brands/ icons/ internal initiative logos can support the main identity, and how to assist the client in the understanding of this principle.
big thanks for LDL, it gave me a lot in my tiny graphic designer career, and I’m looking forward to read your next book in polish :)
If you’re thinking about writing one, of course :)
Congratulations on the impact you have made David. Well deserved and surely just the start….
What’s next?
It’s got to be less logo — more BrandWorld… a book on brands that explore and exploit the benefits of a deeper designed brand palette… from Coke, to Adidas, O2 to Expedia — you might even want to feature our new work for Eurostar…
There’s a shift… Brand 2.0 is well and truly underway — adaptive branding is taking hold of the smart businesses… digital is finding its voice… traditional logos don’t work as favicons, they are repetitive and restrictive… guidelines just say no… and creative people hate that… digital ignores it… so things are adapting, changing, evolving…
I’d love to get involved in it!
Congratulations David. Well deserved indeed.
For the second book, I would also like to see a more detailed exploration of visual identity creation and less emphasis on static logos. Research studies could work quite well – perhaps Identity Designed could act as a kind of springboard to get this going.
Whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best of luck mate.
Really love the first book and looking forward to the second and so on (I wish). English is my second language, and sometimes I have a difficulty understanding some contents due to writing style of a author, but your writing style is beautiful. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience in the book!
Agree with what others are saying. I think a second book focused on visual identity design would be great and is a logical follow up – and one I would buy.
Other than Alina Wheeler’s Designing Brand Identity, there’s not much out there I’ve come across that explains in practical terms how to develop and design visual identity.
Specifically, what I would like to see is a chapter or a few pages devoted to explaining how to extend the brand beyond just the logo using secondary graphic elements to support and express the brand.
I agree with Ian, a book on visual identity design is a logical followup, and a huge asset to new designers like myself. I feel it’s more beneficial to write a book about something that one “cannot learn in school.” For example, one can learn about the history of logo design in a book, but it’s difficult to learn exactly what goes into making a complete identity package for a real client until you are in that real world experience and see for yourself.
Writing a book on this would be helpful and would also be a seamless transition to your ID website and would probably attract a lot of customers.
Congratulations David and if you are thinking of wrting another book please go for it, the graphic design worls will be all the better for it.
Best wishes
Graeme
David,
I’ve read your first book and referred to it a few times. Very helpful. However, there are so many “good logo/bad logo”,”good design/bad design” books out there with a ton of examples and case studies. Coming up with a second book focused on identity systems might be interesting but have you considered writing about something completely outside the box?
You mentioned maybe something more research based. I immediately thought about identity design as a deep human experience. Maybe you could explore how human’s and cultures react and rely on identity design or how it can affect and change a culture. Or how design has the ability to connect emotionally and intellectually with anyone if done right. Or maybe focusing on the fundamentals of identity design as real solutions to real problems?
These are just rough ideas of course but I would encourage you to look at your next book as something that could attract a wide and large audience including businessmen, politicians, and just working professionals in general instead of just designers. It would be exciting to see the general population catch on and start to talk and discuss design as something that actually matters.
Hey David. Your first book was amazing! Probably your second book should be a more comprehensive followup – maybe something along the lines of Tufte’s ‘Visual Design of Quantitative Information’. That would required some research! Although if you go along this path you might not be able to make as much money as by writing more broad based books on general design principles :)
I second Aaron’s comment. It would be great to see a book that appeals to non-designers that helps them understand the enormous role good design plays in their everyday lives, whether they are conscious of it or not.
Richard, that’s great news. I knew that a Czech translation was planned for 2011, but had no idea it was done already. Thank you.
Wendy, I appreciate your thoughts. I’d already heard that any subsequent deal would remain the same as before.
Taryn, the recommendations you pass to students and young pros are brilliant. Sincere thanks.
Simon, worth repeating your thoughts for those who might miss them:
Aaron, I like your idea of expanding the readership.
Thanks a lot, everyone. Excuse my brevity.
David, I love your book. I agree with earlier postings about possibly extending it into the application of the complete brand identity. It might be interesting to contrast failed applications vs. successful. I teach first year graphic design students and your book will be on my syllabus next year!! I have worked in design for 20+ years and this is a great book for students and professionals alike.
Self-publish :) You’ll make the exact book you want, have a lot of fun making it, and make far, far, far more than you ever would with a publisher. Queue Seth Godin and yours truly. And you have a huge audience. Write me offline, I’ll tell you more :)
You should feel very proud to have a book out there that you have had published and is for sale in the public domain. I am surprised when you say you income from it has been very low. Is this due to the cost of actually designing and getting it published in the first place? I agree with Douglas that you should try self publishing. You seem to have the subscription base already in place through your sites and I believe you could be very successful. Good luck whatever you do.
Superb, Regina. Thanks very much, and I hope the book is of help with your students.
Andy, it’s due in part to the rate of commission I receive on each sale. I’ve heard from a few first-time authors that you shouldn’t expect too much.
Good luck with the book. I hope it does not take any power off from your page – I love it here.
PS definitely self publish
I just finished your book. Thank you very much for a great piece of advice and shared experience. This was truly very pleasantly spent time. Information and the way your book is written creates a masterpiece.
Congratulations, and I will recommend it to every other designer and marketing person involved in design process.
Speechless.