And the alternate theme is for each GalleyCat to link to the other’s outside stuff, so in that spirit, it’s eerily appropriate that Ron’s article in the October issue of Writer’s Digest has made it online. He polled several female writers, including E. Lockhart, Laura Lippman, Lisa Selin Davis and Sonia Singh, about how important it is to look pretty for the author photo and whether it makes any marketing difference. Singh’s approach met with Ron’s approval especially: “As long as I’m on the right side of clean and presentable,” Singh says, “back fat in evidence or not, the publisher is happy.”
Crown editor and debut thriler writer Jason Pinter also asks how much looks matter, if at all, for regular readers looking to pick up a new book by a new author, using Marisha Pessl – whom he doesn’t find to be all that hot – as a good example. “If I’m Marisha Pessl, I’m thrilled my novel is getting so much attention. Considering how publishers and authors fight tooth and nail for every word of coverage, I’d be thanking my lucky stars they took an interest in my book at all. But I’d also hope that the attention to the superficiality crosses over and sells a few copies.” For Pessl, it seems to be working, as she debuts at #27 on the NYT Extended list next week…