Photographer and best-selling author Joe McNally shares stories and lessons from a life in photography.

When Joe McNally moved to New York City in 1976, his first job was at the Daily News as a copyboy, “the wretched dog of the newsroom.” He was earning the lowest pay grade possible and living in a cheap hotel in Manhattan. Life was not glamorous. But with a fierce drive, an eye for a picture, and a willingness to take (almost) any assignment that came his way, Joe stepped out onto the always precarious tightrope of the freelance photographer—and never looked back. Fast forward 40 years, and his work has included assignments and stories for National Geographic, Time, LIFE, Sports Illustrated, and more. He has traveled for assignments to nearly 70 countries and received dozens of awards for his photography.

In The Real Deal, Joe tells us how it all started, and candidly shares stories, lessons, and insights he has collected along the way. This is not a dedicated how-to book about “where to put the light,” though there is certainly instructional information to be gleaned here. This is also not a navel-gazing look back at “the good old days,” because those never really existed anyway. Instead, The Real Deal is simply a collection of candid “field notes”—some short, some quite long—gathered over time that, together, become an intimate look behind the scenes at a photographer who has pretty much seen and done it all.

Though the photography industry bears little resemblance to the industry just 10 years ago (much less 40 years ago), what it really takes to become a successful photographer—the character traits, the fundamental lessons, the ability to adapt, and then adapt again—remains the same. Joe writes about everything from the crucial ability to know how to use (and make!) window light to the importance of creating long-term relationships built on trust; from lessons learned after a day in the field to the need to follow your imagination wherever it takes you; from the “random” and “lucky” moments that propel one’s career to the wonders and pitfalls of today’s camera technology. For every mention of f-stops and shutter speeds, there is equal discussion about the importance of access, the occasional moment of hubris, and the idea of becoming iconic.

Before Joe was a celebrated and award-winning photographer, before he was a well-respected educator and author of multiple bestselling books, he was just…Joe, hustling every day, from one assignment to the next, piecing together a portfolio, a skill set, a reputation, a career. He imagined a life—and then took pictures of it. Here are a few frames.

In a small town called CLIMAX COVE lives a bunch of SINGLE DADS. THIS BOX SET INCLUDES: Jailbait (Single Dads Club #0.5) Who is Marcus Kent other than the first single dad to find his one true love? This is a prequel to Real Deal where Marcus first meets Caterina which spurred their enemies-to-lovers relationship six years before. Real Deal (Single Dads Club #1) She’s too young. She’s my client’s daughter. She’s my five-year old’s camp counselor. When we’re together all the complications fade away and I have to keep reminding myself, even if I can have her— I can’t keep her. Dirty Talker (Single Dads Club #2) She might say she can handle being friends-with-benefits, but I’m not sure she can. Unfortunately for her, I’m too selfish of a prick to care—until I do. Sexy Beast (Single Dads Club #3) There’s a list of reasons why I shouldn’t give into what I feel—she’s my best friend’s little sister, she’s seen me at my most vulnerable, and the biggest one—she’s the first person in eleven years who has the potential to break me. Sex Weeks (Single Dads Club #3.5) Get a glimpse into Charlie and Garrett’s life years after we left them. Now a family of five, they’ve waited the dreaded six weeks since their last blessing entered the world. Too bad nothing goes as planned when you have a house full of kids. PLUS a Halloween BONUS SCENE in DANE’S POV! But you get a snapshot to where all the single no more dads are now! "Piper Rayne completely blew me away.” ~ The Romance Bibliophile “ Ava and Dane are on fire together!! I mean I was sitting by the pool reading this beauty and I was getting hotter than just having the sun beating down on me!” ~ Amazon Reviewer " Piper Rayne is just awesome! These two authors have come up with a magical formula for marvelous books.” ~ Amazon Reviewer

Get ready for your next favorite romantic comedy, THE REAL DEAL, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely! April Hamilton wants you to know she hasn’t been on GigsForHire since that time she sold her futon after college. She doesn’t even spend that much time online. And even if she did, she would not be looking up personal ads. But going home alone for her family's summer reunion is an invitation for every single relative to butt into her personal life. She simply can’t handle another blind date with the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker from her hometown. So when she finds the GigsforHire ad for a boyfriend-for-hire, she’s ready to pay to play. Heading Home and Need a Buffer? I’m the REAL DEAL. Theo Banks has been running from the past for years. He’s this close to finally settling all his debts, and one more job as a boyfriend-for-hire will do the trick. He’s no gigolo. Please. He’s something of an actor, and he knows how to slip into any role, including pretending to be April’s new beau -- the bad boy with the heart of gold. Even if it means sleeping in close quarters in that tiny little bed in her parents’ inn. Even if it means spinning tales of a romance that starts to feel all too true. What neither one of them counts on is that amid the egg toss, the arm wrestling, and a fierce game of Lawn Twister that has them tangled up together, they might be feeling the real deal. She only wanted to show her family once and for all that she had no need to settle down. He didn’t expect to have the time of his life at her parent’s home. They didn’t plan on loving every single second of the game. But can a masterful game of pretend result in true love?

The Real Deal tells the story of how a young man, Faisal Susiwala, against all odds, rose from childhood tragedy to the highest peak of professional real estate success and a life of wealth beyond his dreams--and for the first time reveals to readers the Susiwala System: a step-by-step way to generate maximum real estate wealth for professional real estate agents, brokers, and everyday investors both young and old.Follow Faisal's inspiring story, from losing his family home in childhood to foreclosure, through selling chocolate bars door-to-door, to starting out without so much as a car as possibly the youngest real estate salesperson in Canada, to traveling the world, owning a fleet of elegant luxury sports cars, and having a real estate portfolio that includes multimillion-dollar homes across the world. You'll learn how he battled back from bankruptcy as a young man, and narrowly escaped death at the World Trade Center on 9/11.But in addition to the fast-moving story of one of the world's most successful real estate agents, brokers and investors, The Real Deal also shows how each step helped Susiwala develop the crucial insights and powerful principles behind what works now in real estate and what doesn't, and shares with you his clear easy-to-follow blueprint for professional and personal real estate success.Today, after more than 30 years in the business, Faisal has been honored as the Number One RE/MAX agent in Canada and been credited for ranking fifth in the world for selling properties, after having sold well over a billion dollars worth. In The Real Deal he shares his secrets with his fellow colleagues, with those just starting out in real estate, and with everyone who would like a rich and secure financial future. The Real Deal isn't a "get-rich-quick" book filled with fluff, but a clear statement of the tried and true lessons that made the author wealthy, and that, followed properly, can give you the reader a solid financial footing, and carry any real estate professional or investor young and old comfortably into retirement, and ensure their children's security as well.

From the age of five, when he helped his deaf father negotiate advertising contracts, Richard Desmond has always had an eye for business. In The Real Deal he offers a no-holds-barred account of an extraordinary career that has taken him from cloakroom attendant at a north London club to billionaire media owner. En route he tells of his early life as a rock and roll drummer, his first steps in the world of magazine publishing as a purveyor of leisure and top-shelf titles, and finally, after decades of paying his dues building smaller brands, his arrival in the big league with the launch of OK! magazine and the acquisition of Express Newspapers, his purchase and sale of Channel 5, and his £80 million investment in the Health Lottery, combining business innovation with help for good causes. Along the way, he imparts many of the secrets of his astounding success, as well as giving his forthright opinion (and he always has one) on such diverse subjects as politicians, religion, and the similarities between being a rock and roll drummer and running a business – as well as his views on a cast of characters ranging from Alan Sugar to Victoria Beckham and from Simon Cowell to Jennifer Aniston. Often controversial, frequently revelatory, always entertaining, The Real Deal is the brilliantly frank account of a life spent at the sharp end.

Inspired by magazines like Mad and traditional superhero comics, Real Deal magazine was a self-published,independent comic book created in the 1990s by Lawrence Hubbard (a.k.a “RawDog”) and H.P. McElwee (a.k.a. “R.D. Bone”). Peopled with a cast out of a blaxploitation movie ― convicts, hustlers, drug addicts, crack whores, car thieves, and murderers ― these cult-classic comics straddle the line between satirizing and showing the harsh realities of urban life.

"Shortly after we set up shop, the four of us and our wives convened at Arthur's home on Long Island to celebrate. It was a festive occasion, and we all openly shared our aspirations. To this day, I remember the others stressing over and over their desire to become wealthy. Given that Joanie and I were raising two toddlers and lived nearly hand-to-mouth, the talk was certainly seductive. Still, what I remember most from that dinner was my declaration that the money should be secondary-what mattered more to me was to build a great firm: one that would lead the industry, employ lots of people, endure over many years, and, importantly, command respect. Over the next forty-three years, I never altered my priorities."-- The Real Deal The Sandy Weill story is truly one for the ages. Starting with $30,000 in borrowed cash in 1960, and relying on uncanny entrepreneurial instincts, Sandy created one of the leading securities firms in the U.S. and became one of the best known businessmen in the world. After selling his company to American Express and becoming its president, he experienced a professional setback. Undaunted, he cannily parlayed it into a second career, starting over with a sleepy consumer loan company called Commercial Credit, which over the next seventeen years he transformed into the leading global bank, Citigroup. During this span, Weill as chairman and CEO delivered an astounding 2,600 percent return to investors-better than legendary CEO Jack Welch or investor Warren Buffett during that same period.Yet success is never an easy path, and Weill divulges the highs and lows. His ascent to power has been documented by the media over the years, but never before has Weill revealed the brutally honest and unvarnished side of an astonishing life and career.And Weill goes further, sharing his love of philanthropy, a journey that took him "from a mediocre bass drummer in my high-school marching band to the chairmanship of Carnegie Hall." He brings readers into his personal life, introducing them to his wife, Joan, his daily inspiration, and discussing his relationships with competitors and colleagues alike, including proteges like Peter Cohen and Jamie Dimon. Along the way, he shares the most important lessons he learned in business and in life. From a middle-class Brooklyn childhood to corporate legend, philanthropist, financier, and chairman emeritus of Citigroup Inc., The Real Deal tells a remarkable story-that of a financial superstar who always loved the game more than the gold.