Introduction
The structure of our modern books have a lot of static parts that extend across genres and age groups. Pick up any book in a book store and chances are good if you flip it over you'll find a bar code, ISBN, and the price on the bottom right corner. Another standard aspect of books is the obligatory Author's Photo. This can be on the back cover, the inside of the back page, or on the inside of the dust cover if the book has one. But pick up any book and chances are you will see the good old author staring out at your from someplace near the front or back of the book.
But why is it there? Their name is on the cover, the money gets deposited into their account, so why do we need to see the author's photo? The fact that he has glasses or she has freckles won't make a bit of difference in how well I enjoy the contents of the book. But at the end of the day, that isn't the point. In point of fact, it might not even be true. There are three places on a book that have the chance to grab your attention, to set the stage for the contents, to, hopefully, make you take that book to the cashier instead of setting it back on the shelf. The first is the cover, with the art, the title, and the text's font chosen carefully to create a specific mood. The second is the contents of the back cover, chosen just as carefully. But the third is that author photo. You're about to enter into a relationship with this person, however long or short it is, and the contents of the author photo tells you what kind of relationship that will be.
The author, then, isn't merely the author. They are the mood, the theme, the feel of the book as a whole. They are the cover and the plot in human form. Which, if you think about it, is a lot to put on a person whose main skill up to this point has been sitting alone in front of a desk, typing furiously.
So why author photos? Why are they there? What do they mean? When did they start, and how? To find out the answers, even a little, please read on.
But why is it there? Their name is on the cover, the money gets deposited into their account, so why do we need to see the author's photo? The fact that he has glasses or she has freckles won't make a bit of difference in how well I enjoy the contents of the book. But at the end of the day, that isn't the point. In point of fact, it might not even be true. There are three places on a book that have the chance to grab your attention, to set the stage for the contents, to, hopefully, make you take that book to the cashier instead of setting it back on the shelf. The first is the cover, with the art, the title, and the text's font chosen carefully to create a specific mood. The second is the contents of the back cover, chosen just as carefully. But the third is that author photo. You're about to enter into a relationship with this person, however long or short it is, and the contents of the author photo tells you what kind of relationship that will be.
The author, then, isn't merely the author. They are the mood, the theme, the feel of the book as a whole. They are the cover and the plot in human form. Which, if you think about it, is a lot to put on a person whose main skill up to this point has been sitting alone in front of a desk, typing furiously.
So why author photos? Why are they there? What do they mean? When did they start, and how? To find out the answers, even a little, please read on.
