When we were compiling years of work on our Stories Behind the Image series of essays, trying to piece together whether this would be a book we would self-publish, I had no idea how to calibrate my expectations.
“How many of these do you think we could sell? A hundred? A thousand?” I asked my friend and ghost-writer, Andrew Bisharat.
“Yeah, a thousand seems about right,” said Andrew. “But who knows? I think this book is pretty good!”
We went back and forth, trying to calculate whether it made sense to self-publish, and if we had the bandwidth to handle not just the publishing but also the distribution. A few hundred would be doable. A thousand or more would begin to feel overwhelming.
Ultimately, we pulled the trigger and signed a book deal with The Mountaineers, banking on the fact that regardless of how well the book would do, that we wouldn’t want to handle all of the distribution ourselves. We discovered that not only were they helpful with distribution, but their editorial team was amazing to work with and lifted the book to the next level.
I recently received my latest royalty check in the mail, and as I look at the statement and see the numbers and realize the book is well into its second printing, I’m so grateful that we made the decision to work with a publisher on this project!
I’m really humbled to see that Stories Behind the Images continues to sell—thank you to everyone who has supported this project and read the book!
More than the numbers or the money, the real reward of this project has been to reflect on my past and share my stories with so many people—and then hear from them about how they have enjoyed reading about these many adventures.
Thank you, all, who have purchased a copy of the book and taken the time to read about my life, career, and philosophy toward adventure.
Stories Behind the Images: Lessons from a Life in Adventure Photography
“Stories Behind the Images: Lessons from a Life in Adventure Photography” is not your typical photo book. This compendium of images, captured over the course of my career as an adventure photographer and filmmaker, isn’t even a portfolio of my best work (though I am proud of many of these pictures). Instead, this book is about the amazing people, the incredible places, and the wonderful memories I have of creating these 56 pictures. I put this book together as a testament to what it means when you follow your passion. For me, that was being a 13 year old kid, picking up my dad’s camera for the first time and learning how to rock climb. What, where, and who came next … well, I wouldn’t trade that for the world.
