How to Create and Publish a Photo Novel

According to the introduction to this instructional book about the creation of photo novels, these novels tell a story in photographs. Graphically and structurally, they are very close to the strip cartoon or to cinematic production. Because of the potential to use photo novels in literacy education and health education programmes, the guide recommends that the publishers and/or the writers should either themselves be members of the community that the novel addresses, or should have researched its audience closely and tested their interests in order to adapt the subject and style to the intended readership. The guide intends to help in the production of a photo novel, including budgetary and production requirements.

There are, as stated here, dangers of "purveying 'rose-tinted' stories, stereotyped, conveying dubious values, seeking so much to prettify reality that they end up lying about it." The introduction carries the message that publication can be costly and is likely to need funding or underwriting: "The requirement is the stronger in the case of photo novels in that the use of photographs firstly means that there are more team members to pay and secondly calls for a higher quality of digital processing, printing and paper than is needed when publishing text alone."

The guide takes into account the West African context for which it is written. Particularly in regard to budgeting and distribution, it emphasises the need for a high rate of distribution in order for printing and production costs to be spread through a high volume. It suggests partnering with literacy non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which may be effective partners in distributing this kind of document, especially as a post-literacy training tool. Alternatively, "another possible track is to use school libraries. A secondary outlet may also be sought through national-language newspapers, which may buy the serialization rights (publishing a page per day or per week), as a way of retaining their readership. Lastly, [a possible source of financing might be a] publicity partnership deal under which the outside back cover is reserved for one or more advertisers..."

The contents include the following:

• Introduction What do we mean by a photo novel?
  1. A popular and useful genre;
     
  2. Knowing your readership;
     
  3. The challenge of quality; and
     
  4. Budgetary questions
• The team needed:
  1. The publication team;
     
  2.  The writer;
     
  3. The actors;
     
  4. The producer;
     
  5. The photographer;
     
  6. The support crew; and
     
  7. The printer
     
• The script:
  1. A particular form of story-telling;
     
  2. The qualities of a good scrip; and
     
  3. The script as a complete working document
     
• How to organize a script-writing workshop:
  1. One solution among many;
     
  2. The workshop members;
     
  3. Facilitating the workshop;  and
     
  4. Selecting the script to be published
• The photo shoot:
  1. Organizing the shoot;
     
  2. Preparing the basic design;
     
  3. Selecting the order of shooting;
     
  4. Scenery and costumes;
     
  5. Lighting;
     
  6. Taking the photos; and
     
  7. Selecting the photos
• The design and the production:
  1. Picture format and digital processing;
  2. Starting the page composition;
     
  3. The balloons;
     
  4. Tricks of composition;
     
  5. The final file; and
     
  6. Printing and binding
     
• By way of conclusion
  
• Conditions for success
  
• Distribution ideas