IWSG: How to Pic

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: 
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the the September 2 posting of the IWSG will be Julie Flanders, Murees Dupé, Dolorah at Book Lover, Christine Rains, and Heather Gardner! 

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         How to Pic

One of the most insecure aspects of writing, for me, is self promotion. Everyone knows that in today's ever-changing marketplace, unless you are Stephen King or Nora Roberts you don't have a squad of publicists pushing your every achievement, thought or activity into the public eye. Authors HAVE to self promote. 

One of the most insecure things about self promotion is getting yourself "out there," and that includes a photo. If readers like to know something "real" about an author, they certainly expect to "see" what they look like.  I, myself, have seen cartoon sketches in place of a real "author" face in an author profile and wondered what they had to hide. 

There are so many varieties of author pics out there. Some of the bigger writing conferences even have magic photographers who, like the big name authors' photographers, can trim the chub off a chin, the wrinkles off a neck, glowing tan airbrush any flaws and even do an eye lift or nose shade. But those kind of pictures cost mucho moulah.  Not all budding authors can afford to be Kardashian Kandid. So what's a starving artist to do?

Personally, I like to see pictures of people in motion, or at least doing something. Some of the most cherished pics in my own collections are pics in which I am doing things in fun or exotic places with friends or family. In the pic above, I am on a Garden District tram in New Orleans with some writing buddies on a research vacation. It's one of my favorite memories. That's why I chose it. But, I have on sunglasses and a big hat, and in that way it might not be a good choice-though it's the one I currently use.

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I have thought about this many times, and back when I first got into writing, I took one of those "glamour" pics because I had a coupon from a pic party. I thought it was romantic and would be a good pic for a romance writer. Looking back, I realize it was a pic of the times and by today's standards, pretty cheesy (not that I don't wish I still looked like that-minus the "big" hair!), but it is not the type of pic I would want to represent my professional writing now.
I see pics of all types on author profiles, from professional and artisitic head shots, to full on activity shots of horseback riding, dog frolicking, scuba diving buddy pics, kite flying or mountain hiking, to free teacher school pics to office directory pics (do the authors think we don't recognize that?), and even pics where authors just did a selfie. What's your favorite type of author pic? Any suggestions? How did you decide what to use on your own profile?

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