Photobooks

There's no cut and dry method for determining if a photo publication is a zine or a book. However, there are a number of factors one can consider. Typically a zine only has 1 signature making up the text block whereas a book will have multiple signatures stitched together to comprise the text block. What does the author call it? That's a pretty good indication. Is it more like a pamphlet or does it have a hard cover? Photo zines are usually self-published. Photo books are more difficult to make and labor intensive and they are self-published with less frequency.

I started out calling my second publication a photo zine ("One Man's Body and Vicinity"). OMBV's edition of 100 were made from archival road maps, so there was no structure that you would typically associate with a book or zine, like a spine, fore-edge, head or tail. Me calling it a zine confused people, so I switched to calling it a handmade art object.

I maintain a comprehensive archive, updated weekly, of my process on Patreon. The most recent 6 months of the archive are free and accessible to the public. Anything prior is available with a pledge. I recommend it to any student or artist who likes to learn behind the scenes. www.Patreon.com/NathanCordova

My online shop is a great place to purchase anything I self-publish. I recommend the online platform Big Cartel. They make it really easy to sell your work online. https://nathancordova.bigcartel.com/