Saturday 9 August 2014

Tour de France - Souvenir Book





Seeing as today is a bicycle day within the progress of my August Challenge, it seems appropriate to do a second post.

*Warning* I am about to do a bit of shameless promotion of my new venture into publishing!

Following the amazing day when the Tour de France came to town and the subsequent posting of the images from the day on my blog, I had so many people stop and say how wonderful they were (thank you everyone) and ask if they could buy a copy or two, and even several suggestions of "Are you going to turn them into a book?" I didn't think anything of it to start with but I did mention to a few more people that the idea had been suggested to me.
"Great! - you've got to do it!!"
Really? I thought about it and then realised that perhaps it wasn't such a mad idea after all. At first I wanted to do a lovely coffee table book but looking into even the 'self publication' production costs, it was going to be a bit of a tall order to 1. Find a sensible producer. 2. Turn the whole thing around in the space of a few days before I was due to set off on my own 'Tour of France'

With much encouragement from those around me and from the wonderful folk in the Saffron Walden Tourist Information Centre I quickly re-adjusted my goal and set upon a souvenir booklet that would be affordable to everyone. With that decided, the next step would be to produce the artwork (putting on my other hat as a graphic designer) and find a printer. Thankfully, what I needed was right on my doorstep. Harts Design and Print came up trumps with the print solution and I left it in their capable hands as I set off to our Gallic neighbour.

Publication day, and I wasn't there to see my first book in print. I felt a little sad but also anxious and I have to admit, a weenie bit excited. Thankfully the lovely TIC folk were again kind enough to handle affairs until my return.

Now, I would just like to sell the books that everyone encouraged me to produce!
Twenty pages, full colour A5, limited edition adaption of my blog from the 7th July, with extra unseen images. They are available from the Tourist Information Centre in Saffron Walden for just £7.95.
If you can't get there to buy one in person, then you can order one (or as many as you like!!) from my Website

Even got a little plug in the local press!!


A big thank you to Mark at the TIC and also Rachel for doing fab tweets.
And a thank you to Eve and her team at Harts.

...and a biiiiig thank you to all of you for your support with the sales - I know I can count on you... ;-)



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