I recently passed the 1 year anniversary since my book was published and I was thinking about how I might mark this event. Regular visitors to the site over the past few years will know that I’m somebody who is up for running the occasional experimental or creative activity with my readers and followers. So, I have had an idea. It might backfire but what the hell, let’s go for it.
The challenge I have set myself – well, that I’m setting for you good people – is to crowdsource photographs of every double-page spread of my book so that I can piece the parts together to form an animated gif ‘flipbook’ of every page of the book.
The photographs will be taken by you, the kind owners (or library renters) of my book. You will take and submit one photograph of a scene incorporating into the view my book opened up at a double-page spread of your choosing.
For the benefit of creating consistency, as a guide, aim for a standard landscape photo layout and try to position the book so it occupies between a half and two-thirds of the vertical space. Here are some examples, with a green-screened book in place, of photo opportunities at the beach…
**UPDATE (22 July): The task of taking a landscape photograph whilst holding a book can involve a high level of digit dexterity, especially with certain phones, so I am now thrilled to announce portrait layout photos will now also be gratefully received.**
…maybe near a charming lake…
…or perhaps sat contemplating life from the Lincoln Memorial steps?
The more unique, varied and unusual the locations the better but I’m primarily concerned with just getting the numbers of submissions!
There are 181 double-page spread combinations in the book (as well as a few additional double-page blank pages but let’s forget about them) from the preliminary book information pages (contents, acknowledgements) through the chapters and right the way to the index pages at the back. There is also a front cover and a back cover but I’m going to lay claim to the covers, sorry!
With the aim to limit the submissions to one per person, this does mean that I am targeting 181 people who own my book, who are reading this, and who are enthusiastic and willing to participate: I hope I can summon sufficient people! If things are going slow, to save my reputation I might choose to relax the rules and invite second submissions but let’s cross that bridge if we come to it.
To send me your photograph you can use social media, attach to an email or upload your file and share the link with me. Here is a link to a Google Sheet where I will organise the allocation and collection of your photographs. Inevitably, your specific pages of choice may also be the pages of choice of another person so there is something of a race to the line here that will merit a little bit of organisation. If you want to ‘book out’ your preferred page, please enter your name against the appropriate record and then come back later to complete the details including the link.
**UPDATE (20 July): Sorry, I forgot to make the google sheet editable, it is now open to edit.**
Thank you so much in advance to those who take part and indulge this nonsense (but totally worth it) idea. I will inform you all (if) when the project is closed and will publish the final piece shortly after.
**UPDATE (22 July): I am going to leave this project open for plenty of time as I have heard from a few people that they need longer to actually be in the place they want to take the photo with the book. It finishes when it is finished, simple as that.**