29 November 2020

What Does It Say About You?


Almost every author has at least one of what I'm going to talk about. And, some of what I've seen are better than others. I'm referring to the photo you use on your book cover, or on your blog site and/or submit to the writers conferences so the committee can include that photo of you in their conference booklet.

Unless you are hiding out from say, bill collectors or the drug cartels, you want people to recognize you for several reasons. Readers may want to say hello to their favorite author and perhaps to discuss one of your story characters or maybe ask questions about you latest story which really impressed them. Agents, editors, publishers and booksellers passing by at a conference may decide they'd like a congratulatory business word with you. Other authors, upon recognizing you, may want to meet their competition or discuss aspects of the writing craft. All of these are missed opportunities to network if no one knows what you look like or who you are.

Well, says you, I already have a photo for all those purposes. Good for you is my reply, but not so fast there. Per chance there is a question or more you should ask yourself.

Does it still look like you?

How old is the photo? Have you changed your hair style in the meantime? Do your clothes date you to a certain time period? When you look in the mirror every day, any change in the appearance of the person looking back is probably minimal, but over the passage of time, the change from the photo may become very distinct. We've all seen that conference booklet photo of the author who tried to stay young forever. At those times, it can become jarring to see the reality in person. So, make a more current photo when needed. These days, it's easy to update photos to have a gradual transition in appearance.

What does your photo say about you?

Obviously, if you write Westerns, you'll probably be dressed in cowboy gear. And, if you write Romance, then you'll probably have your hair done, have professional make up and wear a classy dress. Readers have expectations as to what their authors should look like. Do your best with what you've got, but try to fulfill those expectations as best you can You only get one chance to make a first impression and that impressions can make a difference in sales.

With the digital cameras we have these days, you don't need to go to a professional photographer, unless maybe you're a big-name author. The rest of us can keep taking digital photos until we get the look we like, one that says "this is me and I'm a professional at what I'm doing."

It's up to you to decide what goes into your photo. If you have a background in what you're writing, then you may want to reflect that in your photo, whether it's through a prop or a staged backdrop. I've also noticed that some authors will pose with their dog or cat. I assume they are appealing, in a subliminal way, to other dog or cat lovers. Kind of a "We have a common bond here, so you'll like my book" approach to advertising.

For me

My first three appearances in 1990's writers conference booklets showed a profile caricature in trench coat and fedora rather than an actual photo. You see, I had a few felons (one of whom had gone down twice for homicides before he brought me a kilo of coke), who had done their time and were getting released back into society. (The kilo guy was on the streets less that a month before he was revoked for choking someone.) Anyway, I didn't need them finding me from a photo and causing a disruption at the conference.

My first real photo was back when AHMM used to publish photos of their authors when they had a story in the magazine. I also used that same photo for the MWA Board of Directors when I attended my first board meeting in NYC. It showed me in a black cowboy hat during the time I did ranch things on the Front Range of the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The next photo, which I still use, is me in an EDGE ballcap, glasses and a bandido mustache. None of that has changed over the years, except that the real me has acquired some crow's feet around the eyes, but that change wouldn't show up in my photo anyway.


And, lastly, the photo I use for SleuthSayers is one I originally made for a non-fiction book I wrote under an alias. Under the terms of the contract, book signings could be held simultaneously on both the East Coast and on the West Coast and neither one of them would be me. I used a navy watch cap, dark sunglasses and had my wife dye my sideburns and mustache with black shoe polish. I guess you could say this photo reveals one of the many personas I've adopted in my past.

For you

So, tell us what your photo says about you.

Does it reflect your background?

Does it go with your genre?

Does it distinguish you from other authors?


Got any author photo tips or insights for others?

24 comments:

  1. I once saw a concert pianist stride onstage, not quite looking like her photo in the program which had been taken about thirty years earlier!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jeff, yep, 30 years should require a new photo, unless the person is somehow frozen in time.

      Delete
  2. The older I get the less I want to see my face on anything. I need a good line drawing of my face.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Back in the 90's, I explained to the conference committee why I didn't want to submit a photo, so they inserted the drawing. I don't know if it was clip art or someone did a quick pencil sketch.

      Delete
  3. My favorite photo is the one I use here. That and my FB image, which is my shadow on the ground. Both I took myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eve, I see you as a very intellectual person, so I would be curious as to why it is your favorite photo. To some degree, it implies you are only showing us part of yourself. At the same time, it definitely distinguishes you from others.

      Also interesting about your shadow photo. If you go way back to my first SS post when they first started, I used a full-length shadow of myself on concrete.

      Delete
    2. R.T., I suppose it really is because I'm only showing people part of myself. ;)

      Delete
  4. Love this post, RT. And yes, when we first met, years ago, I DID recognize you from your photo, so you're doing it right.

    I sincerely hope most writers put more thought into their photos that I have done. All the headshots that I've used, for FB and conference booklets and publications, etc.--and I'm serious, here--were taken when my publisher called or emailed and said, "Look, I really really need that photo I asked you for, to go on the book cover, and this is the last day for it," and my wife and I ran out to the back yard and she took one and I sent it to him. So much for planning the clothes, background, mood, etc.

    O'Neil, let me know when you find the guy that can do those line drawings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John, sometimes you just do what you have to do, go with it and hope it works. Seems like it's been working good for you.

      Delete
  5. Booksellers and librarians have always recognized me by my photo since the glory days of Death Will Get You Sober. The one I use on SleuthSayers and all current work is fairly recent, and it does look like me. I no longer trust photos I don't take myself. And I confess that like many women, I always ask two additional questions: Does it make me look young? and Does it make me look thin?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liz, I know how you feel. I always wear a hat and make sure my mustache is on straight. It can get a little wild when the wind is blowing strong.

      Delete
  6. Once in a while I come across an old photo of me floating around the internet and wonder if I ever looked like that (young, thin, naive). Of course I'm not satisfied with my photos, but occasionally my husband or a relative takes one, and I'm glad to use that. I hope they make me look friendly and approachable, but beyond that I have no idea what a writer is supposed to look like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My wife says writers come in all sizes, shapes and flavors, so you do what you can with a photo. And, yes, yours does make you look friendly and approachable, so good job.

      Delete
  7. Oh, the most scary thing in all of authordom! Retiring the old author photo. I was given the opportunity to be witty once at a big event. 200 people in the audience, all clapping thank GOD, and one young lass in front puts her hand up and says, voice dripping with disappointment, "You don't look anything like your protagonist."
    I said, "Not only that, sweetheart - I don't look anything like my author photo!" grin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bad Girl, there are times I think I should get my 14 year-old grandson to teach me the finer arts of photo shopping a picture.

      Delete
  8. Two suggestions to piggyback onto R.T.'s excellent advice, and I offer them because of all the problems I face getting musician photos when I'm generating publicity material for the orchestra where I'm employed part-time as marketing director:

    1. In addition to the standard headshot, also have a good horizontal and a good vertical photo that offers more than the headshot. For musicians, I recommend shots of them in action with their instruments. Authors need to be more creative else they wind up with cliche shots of them sitting at a computer or a typewriter. Having multiple photos to choose from benefits the designer putting together the website/flyer/brochure/etc. promoting you and/or your event.

    2. Ensure that high-resolution versions of your photos can be downloaded from your website. This provides a source for anyone who needs your photo a way to get it, especially if you are not responding to their email requests or if you are away from your home computer and unable to send a photo in a timely manner.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I put a Sim I made of myself in Sims 2 on my Facebook page.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elizabeth, as time goes by, I may have to look into a SIM.

      Delete
  10. Elizabeth, post your FB address!

    RT, anyone who saw me today would say, "What's with the hair?" I haven't had a haircut since the coronavirus started wreaking havoc. It must be 15 inches long. Surprisingly, it doesn't show much grey, but it's not my favorite look.

    Mostly, I opt for fun or storytelling in a photo, so I'm up for the props and settings. I recall Clive Cussler, who was an avid classic car collector, often featured an automobile in his stories and included a back cover with him and that motorcar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leigh, my hair started going AWOL in Nam, therefore the hat, but a hat can say a lot about a guy depending upon the type and/or what's stitched on it.

      Delete
  11. https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.dearborn.792

    Leigh, since I got sick in the summer of 2019 my hair was hardly growing at all. After I came home I started taking two kinds of vitamins, one a regular multi & one for hair, skin, & nails. My hair was mostly coming in gray or even white before & now it's coming in brown again. I told my sister this & she said I must be getting younger!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Elizabeth, I can see if I do a good SIM then I may not have to learn Photo Shop.

    ReplyDelete
  13. R.T., do you have access to the Sims? I've only ever played Sims 1 & 2, but versions 3 & 4 are out now. If you have the Sims, I think the best website to look at is modthesims.info ... lots of information & all kinds of stuff to download, all for free.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome. Please feel free to comment.

Our corporate secretary is notoriously lax when it comes to comments trapped in the spam folder. It may take Velma a few days to notice, usually after digging in a bottom drawer for a packet of seamed hose, a .38, her flask, or a cigarette.

She’s also sarcastically flip-lipped, but where else can a P.I. find a gal who can wield a candlestick phone, a typewriter, and a gat all at the same time? So bear with us, we value your comment. Once she finishes her Fatima Long Gold.

You can format HTML codes of <b>bold</b>, <i>italics</i>, and links: <a href="https://about.me/SleuthSayers">SleuthSayers</a>