Custom-Made History

New book by Rick Smolan '72 ushers in new era in publishing

by MaryAlice Bitts

Rick Smolan '72 is about to redeem a VIP pass to a gloriously geeky affair.

“I’m a total junkie for this stuff,” he enthuses via cell phone as he drives to the widely anticipated Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, where he’ll view the unveiling of Apple’s new iPhone model from a much-coveted front-row seat. “I tell my two kids, ‘This is Christmas for me.’ ”

If that’s true, then he’s basking in a sleighful of holiday cheer these days.

Smolan is a forward-looking publisher and former Time Life and National Geographic photographer who has made a fine career out of creating high-end coffee-table books depicting daily life around the country and the world. In 2004 he staged the largest collaborative photography project in publishing history; two of his books have sold millions of copies; and his From Alice to Ocean was the first illustrated book with an accompanying CD-ROM. But his latest publication, made possible through partnerships with tech-industry giants, is his most ambitious and tech-savvy project to date.

A personal touch

The Obama Time Capsule is a 200-page coffee-table publication that chronicles Barack Obama’s bid for the White House and first hundred days in office with an Information Age twist: Each copy of the book is printed separately, so that individual buyers can incorporate personal photos and comments into their own copies.

“People feel a personal connection to this election, and this book lets them weave themselves and their family into this important event,” Smolan says. “It reminds them of where they were in that exact moment in history.”

The book, which includes more than 140 photos by Obama-campaign-trail photographers, has attracted a flurry of national media attention as the first mainstream, customizable—and, potentially, best-selling—print-on-demand (POD) publication to hit the market.

Using online software, consumers can upload photos and type text that will be seamlessly integrated into nine customizable areas in the book.

"If someone tells me a project is impossible, I want to do it. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be interesting."

Rick Smolan '72

Specifically, the book includes layouts with optional spots for personal photos; a customizable dedication/inscription; a commentary page that allows consumers to display their thoughts side-by-side with the writings of noted authors and public figures; and an area that is appropriate for displaying a child’s Obama-related artwork. Consumers may also list themselves as one of the co-authors of the book and insert their own names into a picture of a BlackBerry message sent by Obama. And there is an image of an engraved inaugural invitation that can be personalized, as well.

“The name of the person isn’t just printed—it’s actually engraved,” says Smolan, with obvious delight. “It’s state-of-the-art.”

When consumers have customized their books to their liking, they simply click the “publish” button. The order is sent to a print-service provider and printed on HP Indigo presses. And voila!—a one-of-a-kind memento is created.

From cell phone to print

Smolan conceived of the idea for the book while watching the 2008 election on television with friends.

“My friends seemed to be much more emotionally involved in this election than ever before. They didn’t just show up to vote. They actually took a week off of work to sign up voters; they called their aging parents in Florida and encouraged them to vote,” he recalls.

The same was true of many Americans, he mused. And when his friends captured the moment that Obama won the election by taking pictures of the television screen with their cell-phone cameras, inspiration arrived. 

Smolan struck up a partnership with Hewlett-Packard, which agreed to waive profits for the project, and secured 20 tons of donated paper from a paper manufacturer, to keep costs of the first wave of copies at a minimum.

Of course, he notes, POD publishing is cost-cutting—and sustainable—by nature. Because books are printed singly, there are no unsold copies lurking in bookstore back rooms and no wasted paper or ink.

The "Yes, we can!" connection

This high-tech print method is perhaps particularly fitting for a book about a BlackBerry-wielding president who galvanized an impressive cadre of volunteers to become personally involved in his campaign—in part, by sending campaign messages to individuals via texting, e-mail and Web-site marketing—and whose considerable collection of Facebook “friends” seems to expand by the day.

And Smolan seems just the right guy to employ it. The POD book is published by Smolan’s Against All Odds Productions Inc., which was co-founded by Smolan and his partner Jennifer Erwitt and is best known for the New York Times best-seller A Day in the Life of America and the Oprah-endorsed America 24/7 series. Named by Fortune magazine as “one of the coolest companies in America” for its innovative work, the aptly named company seems to abide by the same basic philosophy touted in President Obama’s “Yes, We Can” campaign.

“People are always saying that something will not work,” says Smolan, who identifies with Obama’s perseverance in the face of what some have viewed as improbable odds. “I believe that with hard work and good will, good things can happen.

“If someone tells me a project is impossible, I want to do it. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be interesting,” he says.

Inspired by Dickinson

As he puts finishing touches on his next project—a book depicting home life in China—Smolan envisions a time when professors can order custom-designed textbooks composed of excerpts from different sources, eliminating the cost and waste generated by ordering multiple texts that include unread, unassigned chapters.

And, as he looks to the future of publishing, he also turns an eye to the past. After all, he says, his most celebrated project to date would not have been possible if it weren’t for a yearbook he helped design with fellow photographer A. Pierce Bounds ‘71 while both were Dickinson students.

“We designed it with the idea that even if you didn’t know the people in the photograph you would have found them interesting, because of the personal feel of it,” says Smolan, who was named one of the 25 most influential Dickinsonians by Dickinson Magazine in 2007. “It had the feel of a family album—which is precisely the idea behind this book.

“I can’t believe that Dickinson administrators gave me the freedom to do it at 18 or 19 years of age, but they did. And now, all of these years later, our idea has resurfaced. It’s amazing.”

Published September 16, 2009