Signed with a designer.
Since 2020, I’ve worked with two designers. Both of whom I ended the partnership with. Not because they weren’t good, but because they weren’t great. A few months back, I decided I would hire the world’s best designer. To me, that’s Jony Ive. The legendary designer of the Macbook, iPhone, and iPad.
Jony Ive was essentially Steve Jobs’ right hand at Apple. And since I’m also a huge fan of Jobs, I thought that if Ive was good for Jobs, he would be good for me (how naïve I am).
So I tried to contact Ive, which felt like contacting Beyonce. I couldn’t find his email. And unlike Beyonce, Ive doesn’t have social media (or email?). I tried with his colleagues too—but that went nowhere. Since Ive quit Apple, he started a company called LoveFrom, but not even his company has a contact form.
Amidst my growing frustration, I started journaling (pen and paper is all you need to solve your problems). I jotted down what skills the ideal designer for my project would have. Such as deep knowledge of paper materials, binding and printing techniques, as well as a track record of designing beautiful art books (among many other things that would make this email far too long to mention).
That’s when it became clear to me that Ive, despite all my admiration for him, was probably not the best designer for Table of Gods. I guess my desire to hire Ive was rooted in meeting him personally, rather than a rational decision to hire the best designer for my book.
After sourcing over a hundred designers, emailing 28 of them, and meeting 12 of them (in person and digitally), I’ve finally found the right one.
I can’t disclose who it is yet. But trust me, this time, it’s not good. It’s great.
Got a publishing deal
I got a publishing deal from one of the most renowned art book publishers in the world.
Most authors get a publishing deal before they start writing their book. It means the publisher pays the author an advance (like a salary) to write the book, and helps with everything from editing and design to printing and distribution.
Since the Gutenberg press was invented, that’s how most books have come to life.
But the last two decades, this has started to change. Today, it’s possible for anyone to self-publish a book, although it means you need to start your own publishing house and do everything a publisher does (if you want to do it professionally).
Choosing to self-publish or go the traditional route depends on the author’s goal for the book. To me, that has always been to create the greatest book possible. And that’s why I initially decided to self-publish Table of Gods when I started writing it in 2019.
By self-publishing, I could hire anyone I wanted to photograph, design, and edit the book, regardless of their price (as long as I could afford it). I could also print the book in a larger format with expensive paper and packaging, regardless of shrinking profit margins. And I could decide most everything else about the book (like adding The Royal Game of Ur in the book box), since I would own all rights and have total creative freedom.
The time and money I’ve spent on making this book (six years and six figures in USD) would have been unreasonable for most publishers. Like any corporation, they have to make profits to survive. I don’t. From a financial perspective, I made a horrible decision to quit my banking job to make this book. But that’s also my edge.
I don’t care if I don’t earn back the money I’ve spent. My goal has always been to make the greatest book possible. A book that will impact the lives of people with ties to or interest in ancient Mesopotamia. And I will go any length to realize that goal. Even losing money. Which a reasonable publisher would not.
And that’s why I humbly declined this publishing deal.
Got more professors to read the manuscript
If you’ve followed me for a while, you already know that professor Simo Parpola, Brad Hafford (whose YouTube channel you should check out), and Salvatore Gaspa have fact checked my manuscript.
The reason is that I want my manuscript to be factually correct. Despite using reliable sources, they may be outdated or I may have misinterpreted them.
The last couple of Assyriologists to fact-check my manuscript are Sophus Helle, Eckart Frahm, Jack M. Sasson, and Tate Paulette. These gentlemen would all make the modern Assyriologists' All-Star Team.
Guested the Assyrian podcast
The Assyrian Podcast recently published an episode we recorded a while back. I just listened to the episode (because I forgot most of what I said) and it was good. I rambled on too much and said 'you know' a few too many times. But it’s only my second podcast interview, so I beg your forgiveness :)
If you want to know more about my background, why I quit my job to make Table of Gods, and the purpose of the book, listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple, or wherever podcasts are found.
PS: ”No one walks for a second time at the place where a lion has eaten a man.”
— Sumerian proverb