For Writers

So, yesterday I did something kind of fun — I finally got an official “author headshot.”

I know, I probably should have done this a couple of years ago. But I’m weirdly superstitious at times. And I never really wanted to get one until I actually needed it.

(As it turns out, this may not be the best strategy. Especially when your agent asks for a high res photo and the only recent ones you have are your Facebook profile pictures and a collection of selfies from the Pitbull concert you went to Saturday.)

Luckily, my very talented photographer friend Jennifer Smetek was available on short notice (and also kindly didn’t insist I pose with a pimp cane).

Instead, she had the cool idea to do our photo shoot at the Workhouse Arts Center, a former prison site in Lorton, Virginia. Lots of neat distressed brick, overgrown vines, inmate-painted murals, etc., to use as backdrops. I’d highly recommend it. (Heck, even if you don’t need a headshot, it’s worth checking out — in addition to now housing dozens of working artists, the site has a fascinating history, including the (in)famous imprisonment and force-feeding of more than 70 hunger-striking suffragists in the early 1900s.)

Anyway, after spending an hour and a half posing all over the former prison grounds (and thankfully not getting kicked out… or jailed), I made a few stray observations about what to do should you ever find yourself standing awkwardly in front of a camera:

• Put your arms down… Yeah, it’s really hard to know what to do with your hands when there’s a camera in your face. I found myself desperate for some pockets to stuff mine in. Or maybe just the opportunity to detach my arms for a few minutes. They felt weirdly in the way. All. The. Time. I spent a lot of time swinging them around like a monkey until I settled on crossing them, keeping them at my sides or putting them behind my back. Having something to lean on helps, too. But for Pete’s sake, don’t look like you’re trying to flap yourself airborne.
• Put your true self forward. Me — I cannot pull off a serious face. At. All. While some people look great all thoughtful and brooding, I look like I just sat in something cold and wet. Or was given a very uncomfortable wedgie. I’m going to stick with smiling because I don’t look like a serial killer that way. Or, at least I look like a very nice one. Do what makes you comfortable.
• Photo editing software is AWESOME. I know, I know — it’s really annoying when magazines photoshop a model’s arms right off (although, now that I think about it, maybe they were swinging them like monkeys…). But seriously, I don’t want to add a “thigh gap.” And I don’t need to look like Jennifer Lawrence (though that would be nice). Really, I just want to look like my best self. Not the one that’s been drinking too much coffee and hasn’t slept more than five hours a night for a week. A good photographer can do this without making you look like someone your own mother wouldn’t recognize.
• Have fun! The best pictures we got were the ones where I was relaxed (and smiling and not flapping my arms). It may have taken a little while — poor Jenn probably had to discard the first 100 shots. But hey, that’s the beauty of digital.

Now that the pictures are done, I’m not really sure what I was waiting for. It’s kind of nice to have a professional portrait. So if you haven’t had yours done, go for it! And in case you’re curious, here’s how mine turned out. I may not be JLaw, but I’m happy… At least my arms aren’t waving around and I’m smiling. Really, all that’s missing are some laser beams and a cat and it would be perfect… 🙂

In April, my second middle grade novel, The Summer I Saved the World…in 65 Days, came out. A few months before my “book birthday,” I had a moment of panic. Actually, several moments of panic. I was going to have to leave my writerly cave at some point, wasn’t I? I was going to have to put on actual clothing and go out into the world. I was going to have to PROMOTE. The word that strikes fear in many writers I know. Some authors say they LOVE promotion but I question their sanity.

All joking aside (sort of), many authors aren’t very comfortable switching from writing mode to publicity mode. We’re much more comfortable in our made-up worlds where our characters can do anything we want them to do. And of course we can do this while wearing pajamas, so all the better.

But as I’m sure you know, both online and in-person promotion are pretty much a necessity in today’s author world. And so is the worry that comes along with it. The basic nightmare of sitting at an autograph table, Sharpie in hand, waiting for people to show up. (Besides your relatives.)

Amie Borst’s post yesterday outlined numerous opportunities available for authors to promote their work, and I’d like to expand on one of those ideas — bookstore visits.

At an Illinois SCBWI writer’s conference last fall, I started chatting with author Kate Hannigan, who had a middle grade book, Cupcake Cousins, coming out about the same time as my novel. We discovered that we shared the same publicity worries, and after we were done with our little therapy session, Kate came up with the brilliant idea of joining forces with other middle grade authors and doing group bookstore events this spring.

Out of our discussion that November day, Middle Grade in the Midwest was born. Energizer Bunny that she is, Kate put together a group of middle grade authors including Amy Timberlake, Wendy McClure, Crystal Chan, Emily Ecton, Liesl Shurtliff and me — all of us live in the Chicago area — and we began approaching Indie bookstores. Not only were they thrilled to host us, we learned that there truly is strength in numbers.

After our first event at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois last week, we agreed that group author events are not only a great idea for pulling in attendees, they’re also way more fun! During our panel discussion, we were able to interact and bounce questions off each other, and this gave our talk more depth and insight. There weren’t any awkward silences because one of us always had something to share.The event was productive, energizing, and inspiring — both for the attendees and the authors.

And, I remembered what I always take away after I spend time with middle grade authors — they’re pretty much the nicest people on the planet. Many of the writing crises that I think happen only to me were echoed among our group. It’s always comforting to hear that other authors write terrible first drafts, think they’re never going to write another book, and question every single plot turn.

From left: Liesl Shurtliff, Kate Hannigan, Crystal Chan, Anderson’s Jenny Gerard, Michele Weber Hurwitz, Anderson’s Anne Swanson, Emily Ecton, and Wendy McClure.

So here are some of our tips for lining up group author events:

1. Contact the bookstores at least 3-4 months in advance with a succinct email. Create and attach an online “flier” with author bios and book covers. We began contacting bookstores in January for our May events.

2. Brainstorm with the bookstore the best time and day to pull in the intended audience, and be flexible with scheduling. We had so many email threads going back and forth, Kate actually created an Excel document to keep track of everyone’s schedules. It’s a good idea to have a point person who’s the master scheduler and all-around organizer.

3. Plan to meet for lunch or dinner! Sharing a meal before the event breaks the ice if some of the authors haven’t met.

4. Provide the bookstore with author website links, author and book cover photos, and contact information. Help them out as much as possible!

5. Promote the event on your own social media, and tag the other authors as well.

Later this month, we’re visiting the Book Cellar in Chicago, The Book Stall in Winnetka, Illinois, the Lake Forest Bookstore in Illinois, and doing a panel discussion at Chicago’s Printer’s Row event as well. Thank you to all of these fabulous Indie bookstores that have graciously agreed to host our Middle Grade in the Midwest group.

Michele Weber Hurwitz is the author of The Summer I Saved the World…in 65 Days and Calli Be Gold, both from Wendy Lamb Books/Random House. Visit her at micheleweberhurwitz.com and on Twitter @MicheleWHurwitz.