Author photos. We all have them - hi-res, 300 DPI, colour for preference, smile optional - for a whole range of things. It's one of the first things a new author is asked when they sign the contract: 'Have you got a photo we can use...?' So you might scurry around your hard drive or your camera, looking for something vaguely professional looking. Maybe you'll actually find one. Perhaps you're the kind of person who has an author photo taken every year, so you have a selection that you can send off. but I think it's more likely you won't even have one. Or if you do have one, it's from ten years ago,when the world of publishing seemed so bright and shiny. None of this matters to the harsh world of editors and Sales People. They're probably just after something bright and energetic to put on the AI sheet.
 |
| Dorian wondered why the school bookings weren't coming in like they used to... |
At a party I attended recently, some of my fellow writers started discussing author photos. Did it matter if you didn't look exactly like the photo any more? Should it be a recent picture? How old can a picture be? Do I look better now or then? If you use your best photo are you just setting yourself up for disappointment when people meet you and discover you are not the suave\attractive\young version they expected?
I got very lucky with my photos - I happened to have had some taken in 2008 (well before I got my first book deal) and I happened to have paid for the copyright to use them where and when I wanted to. Without planning to, I ended up with a selection of pictures I could use on my website, on Twitter - anywhere, really. And those photos have stood me in good stead because I have used them a lot. The trouble is that they are seven years old and I've...well, I've changed a bit since then. The example mentioned at the party I went to cited a photo that was thirty years out of date. So my question to you is: Does it really matter if your author photo is old? How often should you get a new one? As authors, are we getting unfairly judged by our covers?
Tamsyn Murray's new book, Completely Cassidy: Accidental Genius is out on 1st March 2015 (Usborne)
7 comments:
When I got my first contract, I was asked for a photo. A friend of mine was a wonderful photographer looking to make a career of it. This was before the Internet, before digital cameras. My friend was very excited, as was I; we thought it might end up on a book cover. Not only was it not on a book cover, it wasn't even on publicity; the publicity department lost it. Fortunately, I kept a copy, which I've since scanned and yes, I do still use it, because it's the best photo of me ever taken. I don't look all that different, just a bit heavier. Hey, there are people who still know me from our SCHOOL days! The one on this profile was taken in 2010, at my first novel signing. It's not bad, but too informal to offer a publisher.
I once had a photo of me wearing a full-head werewolf mask. I wanted to use it, titled, 'The Author At Home.' Nobody would let me, and now it's been lost.
Anybody know where I can get a full-head werewolf mask these days? (Silly me: Amazon, of course. They'll probably deliver you a werewolf tomorrow.)
Similar story, Sue - I was asked for a photo by my first publisher. I'm usually behind the lens, so there aren't many pictures of me, and this was a really nice one - they didn't use it, and then they lost it! Then I got my neighbour to take one with his new digital camera, and that's the one I still often use - but yes, it's ten years old now. But it has a life of its own - the local newspaper has it on file, so they use it still. I do use others, but that one still stands up best to being reproduced.
I was just thinking about this! It's not just how out-of-date we should go - it's should we have different photos for different target audiences? The photo I'm using at the moment (NOT the me-and-the-horse one) is recent enough but shows me as a chirpy cheerful grandmother type you'd be happy to invite to your primary school. With a YA novel coming out in May I think I should have one that's a bit more broody and cool. Black and white. Maybe some atmospheric/gently concealing fog ...
P.S. I mean to lose the me-and-the-horse photo but not sure how!
Wouldn't worry about it, Joan. As long as the kids are impressed by your talk, that will be fine - I say this as a secondary school teacher librarian. Of course, it might help to be a good-looking young man, but that's not something you can do anything about. ;-) We once had Will Kostakis, a young, attractive YA novelist who wrote his first book at 19(I gave him his very first rave review). There was a group of admiring girls around him, and one very jealous boyfriend looking daggers at him. Still - we had positive responses to even the older female writers who gave interesting talks. I'd just put up a book cover and blurb if you preferred that.
Good advice, Sue, though I do hanker a little for some dry ice and a wind machine!
Sue - glad you had a copy. And lucky you, looking much the same as the years go by. I had a baby and now look like Medusa's less-coiffed sister most days.
Susan - shame! (Amazon Prime gets you a werewolf by 9pm tonight)
Joan - good point! I have a lovely moody shot from the same photo shoot in case I ever want to write crime but I will be a huge disappointment in the flesh!
It's probably a bit late to be good-looking young man...
Post a Comment