Got Work? Get Published

by Peter Chapman, Senior Editor, The Taunton Press

In any profession, it’s a natural desire to have your work recognized by your peers…and, better yet, by the wider world. For architects one of the best ways to gain this recognition is to have your projects published in books and magazines. Another option is to find an outlet for your ideas: in other words, to write a book or a magazine article.

Taunton’s books program has been running since 1978, but it wasn’t until the late 1990s that they found themselves on the home design-publishing map. The first book that made a splash was The New Cottage Home (by Jim Tolpin), which sold 75,000 copies in its first year and has gone onto sell over 170,000 copies in all. In the same year (1998), Taunton released The Kitchen Idea Book, which launched the best-selling Idea Book series (with total series sales to date in excess of one million copies). But the one book that made a name for Taunton (and opened up a new publishing category) was The Not So Big House, written by Sarah Susanka, FAIA.

So Where Do You Come In?

The foundation for all these books is great residential design projects. A typical Taunton home design book features about 25 homes, which are presented either portfolio style (for example, A House on the Water by Robert Knight, AIA) or as a concept book (such as Patterns of Home). Either way, Taunton is always looking for new projects. Taunton books publish about 200 houses a year; in addition, Taunton’s Fine Homebuilding magazine (and in the two special issues Houses and Kitchens and Baths) typically runs about 25 to 30 projects a year .

So how do you get your work published in a book or magazine? Essentially, there are two ways to do it: either submit projects in response to a specific call for entries, or submit projects that you think deserve to be published. The first approach is usually the best way to go, through editors certainly won’t turn away a great house that doesn’t have an immediate apparent home in a book.

Where should you look for calls for entries? Try the Taunton Press Website at www.taunton.com; additionally, you can find calls for submissions in the pages of Fine Homebuilding magazine.

Submitting a Project

The number one way to have your work recognized by a book or magazine publisher is to send in good photographs of the project. The call for entries may say that snapshots are OK, but without a doubt the projects that are going to get noticed are those that are shot by a professional photographer. Most publishers expect photos or color printouts by mail, though increasingly electronic submissions are acceptable (and even sometimes preferable).

How many photos should you send? Editors don’t want to be deluged by hundreds of photos of one house, so think carefully about what best represents the project. Ten to 15 photos should be enough to show representative exteriors and interiors, including whole room shots and interesting details and materials. If it’s a remodel, don’t forget to include before shots.

Along with the photos, also send a one-page typewritten description of the project, focusing on why you think the house is right for the book or magazine. And always keep in mind the publication you are submitting to: If the call for entries is for a book on small houses, the editors probably aren’t going to be interested in the 8,500 sq. foot home you just finished. Include floor plans if you have them—but on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, not rolled floor plans. It’s also a good idea to indicate the approximate square footage and cost per square foot. Be honest about whether the project has been previously published or submitted to other publishers. Previous publication doesn’t exclude a project, but most publishers would prefer not to run a house that has just appeared in a competitor’s home design book. Also, presentation counts. A submission delivered in a well-organized binder is much more likely to catch an editor’s eye than an envelope of snapshots accompanied by a hastily hand-written letter.

Why You Should Have a Website

While submitting a project is a great way to get your work noticed, sometimes it works the other way, and editors will come to you looking for projects. Editors are constantly on the lookout for new architects, and one of their primary tools is the Internet.

Having a Website devoted to your practice is a hugely effective marketing tool for your firm. It’s a great way for editors to keep track of your latest projects, so it’s invaluable to keep your site updated. Also, the quicker the access to the projects, the better.

Getting Your Ideas Published

If having your projects published isn’t enough of a thrill, another avenue to the world of publishing is to have your ideas published—either in a magazine article or in a full-length book. If you submit a proposal for a book on small houses, the editors at Taunton will probably be under-whelmed (it’s been done before). But if you have an idea for a book, say, on affordable green design, they’ll likely sit up and take notice. You’ll need to be able to articulate what makes the book unique; what is its “unique selling proposition?” If you were proposing a new book on kitchen design, why would readers want to buy your book instead of the 20 other books on kitchens?

Above all, write with clarity.

To submit projects to Taunton publications, contact:

• Kevin Ireton, editor of Fine Homebuilding magazine, at kireton@taunton.com
• Chuck Miller, special-issues editor of Fine Homebuilding magazine, at cmiller@taunton.com (submission deadline for annual Houses issue is July 1; for annual Kitchens and Baths issue, February 1)

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