People love to read and share creative flipbooks
Plus they have become one of my favorite learning processes
As writers, if we’re lucky, we attract a few loyal fans, those avid readers who always seem aligned with our writings and who we are. Sadie is one of those precious fans for me. She sent me a note recently telling me she was “savoring” the 30 Days of Klee Curated Daily Inspiration flipbook, even watching one of the short videos included.
In the midst of glowing over her words, it occurred to me that it’s time to post about the making of flipbooks … the why and how I make them.
Flipbooks (aka digital magazines) offer a simple way to combine images, words, and creative layout in order to deliver a unique reader experience that fits into a link for easy sharing.
Think about “icebergs” and email “rules”
Every post you make is an encounter with your readers, a chance to share with them your stories, your thinking, your message as well as all the amazing, wonderful things you might want to share from others. However, you only have so much space and reader time and attention.
Flipbooks can help you deliver a more engaging experience for your readers … something that could take them into the underwater world that your posts don’t have enough room for. Depending on your context, they might also offer an “add on,” a deeper dive into your content that might make them want to subscribe or buy the flipbook.
How I got into flipbooks
I started making “little books” years ago for friends and family. It started with photocopied pages handbound with covers and then progressed to Costco books. During the first seven months of Covid, I created a daily impression of the strange, new world we were in with just a few words and a piece of my art. It wound up being 127 pages and I did a low volume print using a pdf file.
However, since it was a relatively pricey full-color book, I wanted a version I could send out more broadly and found Issuu, the flipbook platform where I have my 56 published flipbooks. Here’s a page spread from Corona Wisdom. (Currently available from me for $40 should anyone want a copy).
After that, I just kept experimenting with the format and discovered that I could do beautiful, simple pages using Keynote (Power Point0 software that can be exported to a pdf and then popped into Issuu. I’ve used it to tell stories, create birthday party memories, document trips, and in January, I launched the Curated Daily Inspiration series where paid subscribers receive the full month flipbook and readers of Substack Notes get the inspiration for each specific day.
You may have seen the May wildflower version which highlighted my favorite wildflower book and was made available to all my subscribers. Here it is in case you missed it … and you can feel free to share it with anyone who might enjoy it … just click the image to open and download.
Flexible, multi-media, engaging … the possibilities are endless
Once I began to see the flexibility of flipbooks, they were suddenly, potentially everywhere. I’m now making them as a volunteer service for non-profits and anything else that I want to document. They have even become a part of my learning process. The Daily Curated Inspiration series started out as just a way to share some of my favorite quotes, but now I use the monthly focus as a way to direct my attention to something I want to learn more about. The focus for June is the art of Paul Klee who had always been a favorite; however, making the flipbook helped me better understand his work and place in the world.
Coming next: July: 31 thoughts from 31 books (gathered from my favorite tiny app: Readwise; August: Ask Yourself (great questions); September: Following a Pilgrimage Trail.
The digital magazine world is exploding and there is no limit to the creativity of layout and subject. While I tend to do simplistic layout, one of the most beautiful magazines (subject plus layout) I’ve discovered comes from the Ilan-Lael Foundation … here’s the issue I fell in love with three years ago: (click image). The layout is exquisite and it’s still a flipbook … just magazine sized. A layout like this can be done in Affinity Publisher plus talent and skill.
Recap of logistics and how to make a flipbook:
Choose: Pick a subject rich in images and information.
Organize: Chunk it into pages of words and images and begin to think in 2-page “spreads” so they look good together. Size can vary from a few pages to many … normal for me runs in the 10 - 30 page range and each of my pages is a Keynote slide.
Add sparkle: adding links, videos or music can make your flipbooks more engaging for your readers.
Layout: Create a captivating cover. Organize the pages in a way pleasing to you and number them. Add copyright notices and contact information if it is going out to the world.
(Affinity Publisher is great for complex layouts, Keynote or PowerPoint works fine for simple layouts. Any software that will make a pdf can then be converted to a flipbook. (The pros will tell you to use InDesign … I failed miserably at it.)
Convert to flip book. Issuu is the platform I use. There are others and all the ones I know about charge a monthly fee in order to create a flipbook without platform ads … I learned the hard way that the freebies with ads are horrid.
Share to your subscribers with a cover graphic and a link. See the Wild Beauty example above. Also, be sure to intrigue them enough with what’s inside your flipbook so they want to open, enjoy and share it.
Flipbooks can be used in the same way you might use video, however, it gives the reader more control since they flip the page once they have finished looking or reading. Also, you can incorporate more text in a flipbook.
Here are some uses I’ve thought of for how flipbooks can be used with newsletters:
Curated subject or category series.
Photo and art galleries too extensive for email.
Monthly digests.
Deep dives into a subject that warrants more than one post.
Home or studio tours.
Lessons or simple classes.
Poetry chapbooks.
That’s probably enough for now. So, here’s a quick poll:
A reminder about the business aspect of this adventure:
Subscribing brings you free twice-weekly posts delivered to your email inbox. If you find that my posts bring you stories and ideas that inspire or enlighten you and want to chip in the annual paid subscription amount to support my work … thank you buckets! (Plus you will receive my monthly flipbooks (small digital magazines) as a special thank you.)
Or … you could also “buy me a coffee” when a post delights you.
However, whether you subscribe or buy me a coffee or not, I’d love to hear from you and I answer every comment and question … (one of the benefits of not being an overloaded STAR. ;-)
Joyce, I see two huge opportunities here for you. #1, you should totally be in charge of Substack branded images 😂 First, that crazy hair doll with the bikini top and now the iceberg with a flag? Brilliant!
#2, Why not explore making these books FOR people? I bet they'd love to have their own but don't want to mess with the creative process. About 50% of my clients pay me to do my work simply because they don't feel like it or don't care to learn!
Just a thought.
Thanks so much for this, Joyce. I loved reading about your process of how you got into flipbooks, and the making of them - what inspires and motivates you, and the invitation for us to imagine how we might use flipbooks in order to share our works or our loves/passions, even causes. This can be done on substack or on a smaller scale of just for family and close friends. I might try, next winter, to put together a flipbook. Right now I don't have the money for monthly paid subscriptions due to being sole caregiver for an old sick cat - and poor. So - no Issu for me; not this year. I'd be more inclined to subscribe to your substack. But you ignited my imagination and inspiration with this post - as so many of your posts do. Your corona wisdom book is beautiful - I loved reading the poem, the Rumi quote, and seeing what images you put with them. (i have to keep correcting typos that come from tiredness and going too fast.)