Author Photos: Best If You Look Like a Young Truman Capote
Friday, June 20th, 2008
Thinking back, a bandanna may have helped persuade me to buy Infinite Jest. Had David Foster Wallace not looked so impossibly grungy on his dust jackets and back covers, I may have assumed the book to be the work of a pretentious jerk who was published at an age alarmingly close to mine. But knowing that this heft of footnoted irony came from a long-haired, affable-looking guy gave the book a hard-to-define appeal. (Yeah, I only got to page 37. There are lots of big, big words.)
Ideally, the way an author looks should have no bearing on the content of a book, but it’s natural to wonder what someone looks like after becoming wrapped up in the workings of his or her mind—and there’s no doubt that a little sex appeal goes a long way when it comes to book promotion. (Some claim that it’s not uncommon for big publishers to ask for a headshot before striking a deal; others say this isn’t the case.) Fortunately, readers usually size up their authors from little thumbnail-sized windows on back covers and flaps, and—unless you’re Thomas Pynchon or something—it’s hard to look too bad. continue reading
