I should have expected that I would fall behind on these posts eventually. I feel guilty doing anything, even blogging, when there’s work to be done on the book.

It’s quickly becoming apparent that the actual writing part of the book is going to be a cakewalk compared to getting the photos in order. I didn’t write a word of the book this week. Instead I spent my time organizing the cosplay photos my publisher has already given me, plus searching for and contacting talented cosplay photographers all over the world.

After all, this isn’t a book that’s primarily written. My words will add context and captions, but the best way to explain cosplay is through photos, and the more the better. For every thousand words of the book, there will be 50 or 60 cosplay photos.

So far, the biggest obstacle is diversity. My first 500 photos were almost all of white and Asian women. The major priority is showcasing awesome cosplay, but it’d be nice for a book that professes to be about cosplay as a whole to be more representative than that. I’m encouraging photographers to send me more photos of men and people of color, too.

This week has taught me that there’s a lot more to writing a book than, well, writing. I’ve gotten fast at the churning out words part, but I have lots more to do. I have to get photos and permissions for those photos. I have to make sure everyone is compensated for their work. And there’s a lot of research and email-writing that goes into making all of that happen.

If you can recommend a talented photographer or cosplayer, let me know!

Writing a book in seven weeks, part 6

Writing a book in seven weeks, part 5

Writing a book in seven weeks, part 4

Writing a book in seven weeks, part 2

Writing a book in seven weeks, part 1

Photo by Moyan Brenn