Unicorn Writers’ Conference
~ Early Morning Edition ~
Notes about the Keynote
On
Saturday, March 9, I attended the Unicorn Writers’ Conference. It was held at
the beautiful St. Clements Castle in Portland,
Connecticut, where the snow
glistened brightly in the early morning sun. It was the morning after an all
day snowstorm that brought more than six inches of snow to many places in Connecticut.
The
conference breakfast started at 7:30 am and it was a great time to grab some
much needed fuel for the long day. It was also a terrific time to meet new and
interesting authors, writers, agents and editors.
The
keynote was presented by Matthew Pearl, the author of The Dante Club, The Poe
Shadow, The Last Dickens and The Technologists and he gave a wonderful
presentation on author identity. He gave amusing insights as to how he reacted
when he saw people reading his book and how he was hesitant to tell people that
he was the author. Matthew even sat next to a man on an airplane who was
reading his book and Matthew never told him that he was the author. I reflected
on that comment and I think that if I was in that situation, I would probably
force myself to say something to that person. It could be a great way to
promote your work!
Matthew
also discussed how important it was to have a true author picture on the back
or the inside of your book. He gave an anecdote about how he walked into a
bookstore one day and offered to sign copies of his book. The man at the
customer service desk looked at Matthew and said, “Do you have ID?” Matthew was
puzzled and was about to reach into his pocket for his license, when he
remembered his author photo. He held up the book, pointed to the photo and said,
“See? That’s me!”
Having
an updated and accurate photo on your book will prove to people that you are
actually the author of that book. It’s especially helpful if you are using a
pseudonym and your license or other form of picture identification does not
match your author name!
It is
never a good idea to promote yourself using an old or outdated photograph.
People are expecting you to look like the picture you display and it could
provide negative feedback for you if you if you’re presenting an image that’s
not current. I know of one author who is using an old photo (quite possibly by
10 years!) in all forms of media (social media, press releases, new articles, conferences,
etc). It looks like she’s trying to hide her current appearance and it makes
one wonder why she is being dishonest. It instantly makes me distrust an author
when they try to mislead their readers with deceptive information. If an author
is untruthful about this, what else is the author hiding?
As for
me, I have decided not to display my picture on my blog or on social media just
yet. I am branding myself first with my name and then, when my book is ready to
be released into the hands of the public, I will have a professional photo
taken that displayed on my book and on my website. I do believe that an
accurate author picture is important for media relations and it’s what readers
look for when they pick up your book.
When I
shop for books, I look at the front cover first (yes, I admit it; I judge a book
by its cover), then I read the blurb on the back or on the dust jacket to see
if it’s something I would like. Next, I check out the author’s photo and read
about the author (I want to see what this person looks like, where the author
lives and what may interest him/her). Finally, I read the first few pages of
the book to see if it grabs my attention. I have to say that I get very
disappointed if I do not see an author photo located in the book because I need
to have that connection to the author.
How do
you handle your author identity? Do you let people know that you wrote a book
or that you’re in the process of writing something? Do you display an accurate
picture of yourself? If not, why?
Until
next time ~
