At long last, after a lot of encouragement from friends at both Facebook and WordPress; I finally got myself to convert a photo essay into a coffee table book!
Kindergartens in the Middle of Nowhere, was originally published at WordPress in October 2012. The blog post was an instant hit, got me my first Freshly Pressed post, and brought in almost 5,000 hits on a single day. Thus, reflecting on what would be the best storyline for a photography coffee table book; it didn’t take long for me to realize that “Kindergartens…” was my best and safest bet. The photo essay stimulates the universal appeal of children and childhood innocence set against the backdrop of the exotic nomadic life in the Mongolian steppes. I also belatedly realized, after examining the profile of my visitors and commentators, that the story also has a very strong appeal to educators, particularly those engaged in early childhood development (ECD). Heck, it could even be a great case study for ECD scholars and an inspirational material for the service providers of ECD. Most of all, being my first post ever featured on Freshly Pressed; “Kindergartens…” definitely deserves to be in a book form — this is also what I tell myself when I get anxious that the book may not sell.
The coffee table version is definitely a much improved version. It provides a clearer context about the Mongolian steppe, the traditional ger or yurt, the nomadic lifestyle, and life of the children in the ‘Ger Kindergartens’ through an expanded photo essay (now more than 30 photos in 22 pages) using some of my most favorite images of Mongolia. For the cover, it also took me a while to select from my 300 or so photos of the Mongolian steppe and ger before finally deciding that the above photo deserves to grace the cover. And, for my publisher, I chose blurb (I’m now a blurbarian!) because of its great book-making options (since I really want to personally work on the book) and the convenience of not having to directly manage ads and sales. The book preview, pricing and other details can be found in this link or the “Kindergartens..” widget on the side bar. Have fun!
Now, on to my next book project.
