# Attractive authors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965 "2007-07-24T14:55:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/21 "2007-07-24T17:47:12Z")
One of my favorite book covers is for Jack L. Chalker’s **Dance Band on the Titanic**. The cover shows (apparently) the author at his word processor or typewriter, surrounded by miniature versions of characters from his stories. A pretty common type of cover… …until you open the back cover and are confronted with the following: “The guy on the cover isn’t me. It’s \_\_\_\_\_\_, who paints my book covers. This is Me:” Below this is the picture of author Jack Chalker (It’s him – I’ve seen him a couple of times) with a mean scowl on his face, looking as unphotogenic as possible. So evidently you CAN become a successful author without looking nice and inviting. For what it’s worth, I think my jacket photo looks impressive, and friendlier than I am in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/22 "2007-07-24T17:49:02Z")
Also, agreed with J. K. Rowling here she is on the back cover of the adult edition of Deathly Hallows [http://gallery.the-leaky-cauldron.org/picture/129925](http://gallery.the-leaky-cauldron.org/picture/129925) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/23 "2007-07-24T17:50:10Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] I was under the impression that for non-established writers, looks mattered, in the sense that they were part of the marketing presentation for the book. Just as it’s sort of true that succesful pop musicians have to be good-looking, I think it’s also sort of true that authors have to be reasonably good looking. Maybe **Exapno Mapcase** can shed some light. [/QUOTE] Not so. The picture of the author is never a selling point. No one ever has to see the author (other than the photo on the back flap). A rock star, OTOH, has to perform, so looks are important. Here are a couple (the photos don’t do them justice): [Terry McGarry](http://www.sff.net/people/terry_mcgarry/bio.htm) (not a good picture, though) [Joan Vinge](http://conclave.sf.org.nz/Joan_Vinge2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/24 "2007-07-24T17:54:14Z")
The artist’s name on the Chalker books is Darryl Sweet, I just recalled. So if your cover artist looks pretty, maybe your books will sell. ---
**Author:** ![straykat23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@straykat23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straykat23)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/25 "2007-07-24T18:02:50Z")
Robert Crais. Yum! [Robert Crais](http://www.robertcrais.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/26 "2007-07-24T18:59:15Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Not so. The picture of the author is never a selling point. No one ever has to see the author (other than the photo on the back flap). A rock star, OTOH, has to perform, so looks are important. [/QUOTE] But what about book tours? What about TV? And what about the notion that if an author is good-looking, he/she is more likely to be covered in the media, which helps sell books? I mean, why else would they even have a picture on the jacket flap? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/27 "2007-07-24T19:06:01Z")
I’m not an expert on my own sex, but my fiancee thinks [Jonathan Safran Foer](http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2005/bioimages/foer.jpg) is “Dreamy.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Hildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Johnny\_Hildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Hildo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/28 "2007-07-24T19:06:48Z")
I’ve always thought that Bethany McLean, who co-authored _Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room_, was quite the [looker.](http://images.google.com/images?q=bethany+Mclean&hl=en&safe=off&um=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/29 "2007-07-24T19:10:32Z")
The original rock star author! [Bret Easton Ellis](http://www.enotes.com/images/contemporary-literary/clc_0001_0117_0_img0004.jpg) is pretty cute. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/30 "2007-07-24T19:24:49Z")
No votes for Cecil? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/31 "2007-07-24T19:32:03Z")
And let’s not forget that lady that wrote [Star Struck](http://www.amazon.com/Star-Struck-Novel-Pamela-Anderson/dp/0743492838/ref=sr_oe_2_1/104-6472712-6667113?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185305417&sr=1-2) ([amazon.com](http://amazon.com)) ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/32 "2007-07-24T19:35:11Z")
[QUOTE=HelloNinja] I’m not an expert on my own sex, but my fiancee thinks [Jonathan Safran Foer](http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2005/bioimages/foer.jpg) is “Dreamy.” [/QUOTE] Agreed. Rowr. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/33 "2007-07-24T19:46:42Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] I think Donna Tartt (author of _The Secret History_ and _The Little Friend_) is good-looking. > **[Cure writer's block with writing prompts, creative writing exercises, poem...](https://www.languageisavirus.com/?album=1)** > > How to cure writer's block with writing prompts, poem generators, creative writing exercises, & more [/QUOTE] Yeah, except for the severe, Ayn Rand thing she has going on with her hair. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/34 "2007-07-24T19:52:45Z")
I’d like to hereby cast my votes for [Carolyn Kepcher](http://www.amazon.com/Carolyn-101-Business-Apprentices-Straight/dp/0743270347/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-8339181-9968666?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185306577&sr=8-1), [Amy Henry](http://www.amazon.com/What-Takes-Modern-Success-Business/dp/0312349009/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-8339181-9968666?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185306679&sr=8-1) and especially [Kendra Todd](http://www.amazon.com/Risk-Grow-Rich-Millions-Estate/dp/B000MG1ZBA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-8339181-9968666?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185306718&sr=1-1). ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/35 "2007-07-24T19:53:31Z")
A couple more I thought of: I haven’t seen recent pictures of her, but I think Joyce Carol Oates is pretty (some photos here [Celestial Timepiece – A Joyce Carol Oates Patchwork](http://jco.usfca.edu/pictures/index.html) - scroll down to see all the photos) and also Susanna Clarke, the author of _Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell_ ([photo here](http://www.jonathanstrange.com/copy.asp?s=1)) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/36 "2007-07-24T20:09:36Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] But what about book tours? What about TV? And what about the notion that if an author is good-looking, he/she is more likely to be covered in the media, which helps sell books? I mean, why else would they even have a picture on the jacket flap? [/QUOTE] 95% of books never have book tours. And 99% of authors never appear on TV. And those who do have tours and do go on TV are established best-selling authors, not young writers starting out. By the time they are established, people are interested in them because of their writing, not their appearance. The media coverage of authors generally centers on book reviews (where the author’s picture isn’t often included), with the occasional human interest article (“Jane Author spent 20 years in a cave while writing her novel on a stone tablet.”) Since most authors don’t have particularly interesting stories (“Jim Author wrote for an hour a day for six months to complete the first draft”), most do not get any sort of feature articles in major media until they’re established (local media is different, of course). In my case, the marketing consisted of ads in appropriate magazines, review copies sent wherever they could be, and giving them a list of local media contacts so they could mention I was a local author (which counts as enough human interest to get into the paper in most places). I also contacted local bookstores and media outlets myself; I had a radio interview on WGY. I’m convinced that wll my work probably increased my sales by less than 50. This is probably typical of most first novelists and midlist authors. As for the picture in the flap: it’s mostly for the author’s ego and to give a face to the author. But when was the last time you looked at the picture on the flap and decided, “That settles it. I’m buying the book because that author looks hot.”? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/37 "2007-07-24T20:14:07Z")
If I may tout the homegirls, [Margaret Mitchell](http://www.gawomen.org/images/honorees/mitchellm.jpg) was a hottie, and [Flannery O’Connor](http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/1/18/200px-FlanneryOConnor.jpg) was quite pretty in her younger days. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/38 "2007-07-24T20:15:15Z")
Hmm…has anyone ever seen J. K. Rowling and Felicity Huffman together? ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/39 "2007-07-24T20:17:27Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] Hmm…has anyone ever seen J. K. Rowling and Felicity Huffman together? [/QUOTE] I’ll be in my bunk. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965/40 "2007-07-24T20:56:11Z")
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers] How about [J V Jones](http://www.jvj.com/)? [/QUOTE] I wrote to J.V. Jones back in '97 about her Book of Words triology telling her what I liked and what I didn’t like. She was nice enough to reply. Marc [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attractive-authors/412965.md?page=3)