20% discount on my book of photos of Indy's Old Northside Neighborhood

I received an email notice today from the self-publishing website Lulu.com indicating that it would offer a 20% discount -- at its expense (not my very slim profit margin) -- to anyone who purchases a copy of my book of photos taken in the Old Northside Neighborhood of Indianapolis last summer. For almost a full year it never even occurred to me, until I read Lulu.com's email, to do my own publicity and mention not only the availability of the book but also this short-term sale.

So, in light of the discount offer, here I am. This is my first book, and it's self-published. In fact ... and don't laugh now ... I've had the only copy of it for the past year. That's because when I put it together last August, I rushed through it. I did it, intending merely to have a physical, page-flipping memento of what was then -- and still is -- a very special investment of my photography energies in what I would learn to be a very special neighborhood in Indianapolis.

I created a gallery of my images from my shoot there over a two-month period, early June to early August. You can find all of the pictures that are in the book in that gallery; the book version has the added touch of the artist's design, with pictures in varying sizes, including many full-page photos.

My work photographing the neighborhood actually was part of a group project of the Indy Meetup Photo Club, of which I am a member. I uploaded a post at this blog about the Old Northside project at the time, an experience that culminated in two exhibits of club members' work -- one on Aug. 21, 2011, at the Propylaeum (first photo below), 1410 N. Delaware St., and two-and-a-half months later, in early November, for the First Friday Art Walk at the Indiana Landmarks Center, (second photo below), 1201 Central Ave. Both venues are in the Old Northside Neighborhood.

Before getting back to the discount offer ... in the spirit of being totally upfront ... it cost me quite a bit to make the copy of the book. And I say "quite a bit" relative to what you'd expect to pay for a mass-printing book by a Big House publisher like Simon & Schuster, Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, etc. My out-of-pocket-cost for the one and only copy was almost $90, including shipping. But as I've told a few people with whom I've shared knowledge about the book, the project was such a labor of love, it was worth it to me. I still pick it up from time to time and flip through it to remind me not only of the joy I felt back then, but the inspiration it gave me when in the throes of the project. So to me, as the commercial says, the cost was priceless.

Until recently, I'd kept the book off the public market. Partly, I didn't think there'd be much interest in its narrow-focused subject matter. And also, as mentioned above, because I rushed through it faster than I should have, it really wasn't in what I felt was optimum design. I've kicked around several ways I would like to revamp it, if I had the chance. Then two weekends ago, the book was part of the photo club's display at an Old Northside Neighborhood outing at Indiana Landmarks, where several neighborhood residents expressed interest in it when they picked it up and flipped through it. I wasn't surprised to learn that they shied away when they learned its cost. I get it; I'd react the same way. But at least I can honestly say that I had no real control of the listed price,

Well, for anyone who might still have an interest and feel that getting almost $20 off the listed price is worth another look, I've removed the 45-page book from its private status and made it available for purchase by the general public -- with a very minimal markup (13%). And through this Friday, July 27, you can get it for 20% off, none of which comes out of my pocket.

Just follow this link: The Old Northside Neighborhood of Indianapolis book to check out the book itself. Click on the "preview" link under the book image, and you can preview the first 10 pages. Unfortunately, the first two pages are the cover and title page, and the 10th page -- curiously -- is the empty back cover. Again, out of my control. Then, if you're interested, go to the Lulu.com homepage, where they will have the name of the savings coupon you can add to your cart to enjoy the 20% discount (if I recall correctly, the trick is simply to enter the word SILVER as your coupon code in checkout). And if the price with the discount still doesn't appeal to you, well ... I still will understand! Honest.