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New York, 10:20 AM
Wed Nov 11
68 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos

    Blogging Towards Bethlehem
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of gangey gangey
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    When I worked at the library we used to amuse ourselves at the desk by trying to one up each other and find the most ridiculous author photo in the library. Sadly, many of our biggest winners were attractive middle aged women trying too hard to be sultry and sexy. The simple, classy headshot or casual "sitting in nature" shot seems too often to be eschewed in favor of the "diaphanous dressing gown with bedroom eyes" shot, or if its a mystery writer, the "dark and sexy eccentric" shot.


    For an example, see Diane Setterfield in the 13th Tale bookflap. That photo was actually the inspiration to start the game.


    Of course, there were plenty of hilarious shots of male authors too. Leather jackets and yellow labs seemed to be a common and highly mockable theme.

     Reply
    gangey was starred gangey was unstarred
    Image of roodles roodles
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    I admit it, if my dissertation ever gets finished and then published and I have the opportunity to have a pic on the jacket (unlikely I know) I'm choosing the hottest yet most respectable picture I've ever taken.


    I hate, hate, hate, how I look in pictures and it would be traumatic for even a meh pic of me to be circulating in public for god knows how long. So if a picture HAS to be attached I'm sparing no expense to look awesome. That's all.

     Reply
    roodles was starred roodles was unstarred
    Image of paperbackwriter paperbackwriter
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    Ok... my first author photo, I was sent to a photographer who has done gazillions of them, and is renown in the trade (over here in the UK, anyway).


    I spent all morning picking what to wear (not too formal, not too frivolous), putting on the right amount of make up (somewhere between bluestocking and harlot), and practising my "intelligent smile face".


    He took one look at me, and announced:" You're not as fat as I thought from the picture they showed me."

    Me: "I was seven months pregnant".

    Him, peering out from behind camera: "Don't smile. You must never smile. It makes your face go lopsided"


    This is why authors may look a little self-conscious on the back of their cover sleeves.

     Reply
    paperbackwriter was starred paperbackwriter was unstarred
    Image of bowleserised bowleserised
    03/17/09

    @paperbackwriter: Oh my. That plus the startled, owlish look of someone whose main source of light for the past year and a half has been a laptop screen.
     Reply
    bowleserised was starred bowleserised was unstarred
    Image of PromQueen PromQueen
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    I HATE having my photo taken--I got Xanax to take for my photo shoot--and though I chose a not-horrifying straight-on headshot, my (large house) publisher went with a more sultry, over the shoulder pic. That was not as disturbing as the (women, only) who asked me if I slept with my editor to get my book published.
     Reply
    PromQueen was starred PromQueen was unstarred
    Image of bowleserised bowleserised
    03/17/09

    @PromQueen: I'm taking notes.
     Reply
    bowleserised was starred bowleserised was unstarred
    Image of PromQueen PromQueen
    03/17/09

    @bowleserised Congratulations on getting published!
    Don't read any of your reviews, or at least not right away. They are effing creepy. Even the positive ones I found very unsettling. I write about fairly personal matters, but I do not write memoir; pretty much every review drew strange and (to me) extreme conclusions about my personal life based on my work. An older, wiser told me to have my boyfriend read my reviews and summarize them for me (it sounds incredibly patronizing when I type it--but I think he really meant, protect/insulate yourself). I don't have a boyfriend and my cat cannot read, so I just waited. Still creepy! But eventually, I had to know.
     Reply
    PromQueen was starred PromQueen was unstarred
    Image of bowleserised bowleserised
    03/17/09

    @PromQueen: I was planning to steer clear of any reviews I might get, so what you're saying makes absolute commonsense.

    Still at the stage of having to knuckle down and write the darn thing. Actually, I'm trying to avoid reading *any* book reviews (though I have one to write next month) because I'm sure it'll ruin my writing. Can't form deathless sentences while thinking, "How would a reviewer sum this up?"
     Reply
    bowleserised was starred bowleserised was unstarred
    Image of Majrhoulihan Majrhoulihan
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    Guess what?


    Authors rarely get to choose their own author photos!


    Publishers get the final say!

     Reply
    Majrhoulihan was starred Majrhoulihan was unstarred
    Image of Pesti-Esti Pesti-Esti
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    Anna says if she ever wrote and published a piece of literary fiction, she thinks she'd "demand a straight-on headshot - no pouty lips or bare shoulder shots."


    This edict apparently does not extend to other forms of writing.


    From: [jezebel.com]


     Reply
    Pesti-Esti was starred Pesti-Esti was unstarred
    Image of Samanthrax Samanthrax
    03/18/09

    @Pesti-Esti: What does this have to do with anything??
     Reply
    Samanthrax was starred Samanthrax was unstarred
    Image of whynotshesaid whynotshesaid
    03/18/09

    @Pesti-Esti: Um, yeah, she said a book of literary fiction, not a web site. I agree, what's your point?
     Reply
    whynotshesaid was starred whynotshesaid was unstarred
    Image of Red-headed bookworm Red-headed bookworm
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    Huh, well, I don't usually look at the author's picture unless the book summary is continued onto the back flap and their picture is there. Silly me, I thought the actual writing was more important than their looks.
     Reply
    Red-headed bookworm was starred Red-headed bookworm was unstarred
    Image of bowleserised bowleserised
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    I'm not looking forward to this part of being an author. I've already needed to provide a photo for my agent's website, and there's a dinky little clause about the author helping the publishers with promotion that's nice and elastic.


    Also, I worked at a literary festival a few years ago, and some of the authors looked so unlike their promo photos that the volunteers sent to collect them at the train station didn't recognise them.

     Reply
    bowleserised was starred bowleserised was unstarred
    Image of HereComesMyBaby HereComesMyBaby
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    Meh. Men's headshots can be sexy too. It's just that our idea of a man being sexy is not them sitting on a bed or pouting their lips.


    When a publishing house has a hot dude author around, they will blow that headshot up.


    People like pretty people. Pretty people sell.


    I know too many literary fangirls of hawt guy authors for me to feel differently about this issue.

     Reply
    HereComesMyBaby was starred HereComesMyBaby was unstarred
    Image of kithkin kithkin
    03/17/09

    @HereComesMyBaby: Yeah, they sexed up David Foster Wallace, too:


    aaaaand when you google you can also find this picture, which to my knowledge did not make it onto any book covers.

     Reply
    kithkin was starred kithkin was unstarred
    Image of kithkin kithkin
    03/17/09

    @kithkin: GOD DAMN IT. no preview button, you see what this does to me? Oh well, here are links:

    sexy photo one

    sexy photo two


    aaaaaand

    photo that didn't make it onto any book covers as far as I know.

     Reply
    kithkin was starred kithkin was unstarred
    Image of HereComesMyBaby HereComesMyBaby
    03/17/09

    @kithkin: @Pesti-Esti: @seejanerun: OMG people agree with me for once. YAY.
     Reply
    HereComesMyBaby was starred HereComesMyBaby was unstarred
    Image of braak braak
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    This is why, until I get arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct and can use my mugshot for an author's photo, I use this:


     Reply
    braak was starred braak was unstarred
    Image of kithkin kithkin
    03/17/09

    @braak: I think I have a crush on you. My husband will be so upset.
     Reply
    kithkin was starred kithkin was unstarred
    Image of braak braak
    03/17/09

    @kithkin: See all those beers in the back? I drank those.


    I was not the one that used all the paper towels, though.

     Reply
    braak was starred braak was unstarred
    Image of kithkin kithkin
    03/17/09

    @braak: Oh, braak, you don't have to convince me! A mensch like you would replace the roll, even 8+ beers deep. I just know it. That said, you can use my paper towels any time.
     Reply
    kithkin was starred kithkin was unstarred
    Image of Penny_Esq Penny_Esq
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    Leaving legitimate criticisms of Twilight aside, Stephenie Meyers got raked over the coals for having a "hot" author photo and then turning out to be "fat" in real life. The whole practice, whether you're Danielle Steele writing shitty formulaic romances or Professor Prestigious Lit Fiction Author, is absurd. When on earth has the attractiveness or lack thereof of an author ever (a) convinced you to buy a book, and/or (b) affected your enjoyment of it? In particular, if I flip a paperback over to read its synopsis, I do NOT want to see a photo. I want a description of the plot, so I can decide whether it's worth ten bucks to read the stupid thing on the airplane.
     Reply
    Penny_Esq was starred Penny_Esq was unstarred
    Image of EdnasEdibles EdnasEdibles
    03/17/09

    @Penny_Esq: Similar to the Elizabeth Gilbert issues, I'm sure. Although I will say that I did google Elizabeth while I was reading the book because she talks about how she's hit on so much I did want to see what she looked like. Normally I don't care what an author looks like.
     Reply
    EdnasEdibles was starred EdnasEdibles was unstarred
    Image of Titania Titania
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    I will just say that I work at a men's magazine and they whine like little babies when you can see their double chins in photographs. They also are the only ones who ask if their images will be retouched, often over specific points--they forgot to wear dress socks or didn't shave that morning. We all want photos of us that other people are going to see to be flattering.


    It is entirely unnecessary for a reviewer to discuss the author photo when they should be discussing the writing, but I think we should blame the reviewer, not the writers, all of whom try and take the best photo they can. And hey, a bag-on-head shot could be pretty provocative, although Jezebel would probably call you out for being unwilling to show your face as a promotional tactic, as if your words couldn't stand on their own and you needed to drum up controversy with an intentionally "controversial" photo. I agree with you here, but it's hard to win with you ladies sometimes.

     Reply
    Titania was starred Titania was unstarred
    Image of GeorgeFayne GeorgeFayne
    03/17/09

    @Titania: You know a quick way to undermine an otherwise good point? Using, "you ladies."
     Reply
    GeorgeFayne was starred GeorgeFayne was unstarred
    Image of Hana Maru Hana Maru
    03/17/09

    @GeorgeFayne: ? The Jezetors use "ladies", as do many commenters. They also call us "guys" Titania made a legitimate criticism here. Why get hung up on two words, unless you want to go around calling everyone out?
     Reply
    Hana Maru was starred Hana Maru was unstarred
    Image of Kivrin Kivrin
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    Y'know how some authors choose to publish under a nom de plume? I think I would opt to publish under a photo de plume. I am not photogenic.
     Reply
    Kivrin was starred Kivrin was unstarred
    Image of PantyWaist PantyWaist
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    "Marisha Pessl" is surely one of the ugliest names ever. Is that a mitigating factor in her hotness? Didn't think so.
     Reply
    PantyWaist was starred PantyWaist was unstarred
    Image of Samanthrax Samanthrax
    03/17/09

    @PantyWaist: What the shit?
     Reply
    Samanthrax was starred Samanthrax was unstarred
    Image of NellMood NellMood
    03/17/09

    @PantyWaist: What?
     Reply
    NellMood was starred NellMood was unstarred
    Image of BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
    03/17/09

    In reply to Book-Hot-Or-Not: More On The Sexual Politics Of Author Photos
    Dude, when my book is finally published, I want a picture of me on it. I deserve to have my picture on it. I want a picture that'll say "Ha ha I published a book. Who's a failure now, high school classmates?!" It will be me in Victorian underwear, posing atop a muscular man whilst two more fan me with giant peacock feathers.
     Reply
    BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) was starred BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) was unstarred
    Image of Lizawithazee Lizawithazee
    03/17/09

    @BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): I'd buy that book.
     Reply
    Lizawithazee was starred Lizawithazee was unstarred
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