The 2007 Big Cat Calendar
Click here 2008 Big Cat Calendar to see our 16 month calendar featuring 16 artist's renditions of our lions, tigers, cougars and more. To buy call our gift shop at 813.920.4130
The Making Of The 2005 Big Cat Calendar
Rarely seen without her camera, former volunteer Beth Stewart was always looking for the perfect shot. Even when cleaning cages she kept her camera backpack nearby in case someone did "something interesting". To Beth, something interesting was anything from Chloe the Serval napping in a ray of sunlight to Sylvester, the cougar bounding around in the upper branches of his play tree. But always in the back of her mind was the idea that somehow photography was the way she could give something back to the cats.
After relocating to Bethlehem, PA, her digital photos became her virtual sanctuary. She traded her cage cleaning tools for a book on how to sell photography. And after much research the answer came in the form of a calendar. A carefully worded query letter proposed the idea of a Big Cat calendar that was different from the all the others. This calendar wouldn't feature the same old nameless albeit beautiful stock photos. Instead it would profile the lives of 12 real cats living at a sanctuary. Animals with real stories and personalities that readers could get to know and love year after year. They could even go visit them in person if they wanted.
In March of 2004, just days before the deadline for 2006 calendar proposal submissions, Beth Fed Exed five sample photos with each cat's story to TideMark Press. Fully expecting to have to send out many more such proposals to other publishers, she was shocked to receive a phone call from an editor at TideMark Press just five days later. They loved the calendar idea. And wanted to see more images. That's when the panic began. Did she really have enough good images for a national calendar? Using frequent flier miles she booked a flight to Tampa to shoot more photos - just in case. BCR was happy to accommodate and Beth was able to add to her calendar photo pool as well as get a much needed feline fix. Ultimately, the cover photo for the Saving Big Cats calendar came out of this shoot.
There's a reason calendar concepts are chosen a full 18 months before the calendar year. It takes forever to get one produced. Here's an abbreviated 2006 production schedule:
- 3/31/04 All proposals due
- 4/30/04 All images due
- 5/15/04 Calendar design begins
- 5/30/04 All inside copy, artist bios and sidebar text due
- 6/30/04 Sell Sheet copy must be approved
- 8/1/04 Sales materials sent to printer for final printing
- 12/1/04 Calendars OK to print
- 12/1/04 - 1/1/05 Sales materials delivered to customer list
Once the calendar concept was accepted and contracts were signed, a larger selection of images was then sent to TideMark for review. Beth submitted over 65 images for the art director to choose from. While she obviously chose which images to submit, she didn't have complete creative control. Ultimately, the art director and the publisher selected the images they felt were most saleable. A total of 24 images were chosen, twelve features and twelve insets to be included on the grid pages. 24 big cat stories in all. Beth did not take the copywriting task lightly. To her the stories were as important as the photos. They not only had to educate but also entertain. Although, all volunteers at BCR know each and every cat by name, they invariably have their favorites. To make sure her words captured the essence of each cat's personality, Beth enlisted the help of their favorite keepers. Each story gives a little insight into the life and personality of the featured feline.
Once all the calendar images are selected, the art director designs the front and back covers. These two pieces along with a sample month are used as a sales tool called a blad. ( B ook L ayout A nd D esign) This sales tool is sent to buyers in December so they can place orders for the stock they want to carry in their stores (Barnes and Noble, Borders, Walden Books, etc.) the following year. This is an extremely important part of the process. Tidemark only prints 3000 copies of a new calendar title. However, if they receive enough pre-orders there's a good chance they'll produce the title again the following year.
The rest of the calendar production takes place over the next few months. There is much back and forth between author (in this case, Beth) and art director. And a lot of back and forth between Beth and Carole at BCR. The calendars are printed in Korea. So, slides are sent overseas for scans. Color proofs go back and forth for approval. Copy is proofed and proofed again. Budget is always a consideration and changes are expensive.
Finally the blads go out in December and there's nothing left to do but wait. And wait. And wait. In spite of the production schedule, the calendars didn't print until well into 2005. Beth received an advance copy in May. And Saving Big Cats became available for sale online in July. We're extremely grateful to TideMark Press for choosing to share BCR's story with the world. And hopefully, with your help they'll continue to share our story in the future.
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