I cared to see the authors face when I finished the book and when I'm spellbound by their work I want to put a face to the words but that's about it. I'm more concerned that they don't use their platform to hurt others or be bigots . One author photos I know is Xiran Jay Zhao they're author photos of them making funny faces in cosplays that's neat. If it helps Soman Chainani I think your very handsome
I don't care how the author looks. I care more for their art. As long as their writing doesn't go sour or their writing go bad, I'm good.
And while people have the right to undergo plastic surgery, especially if they feel insecure about something (I know someone who did just that with a facial deformity) many times it seems to harm them or it looks so obvious and they were fine before.
I think you have been aging nicely and you look really young! I'm sure a lot of people would guess your age wrong haha!
Ok. This is a full-on Cher in 'Moonstruck' moment. Snap out of it.
First off, you're a handsome man who has aged well. Stay out of the sun for long periods, use sunscreen, moisturize, preserve yourself. Do what Paul Newman did... eschew soaps and plunge your face into very cold water every night. Chemicals and surgeries may eliminate certain issues in micro, but the macro effect is that you don't look like *you* anymore... and I think that will be harder to deal with as time goes on. Think Joan Rivers or *gasp* Michael Jackson. (And once you start, exactly *where* does 'too much' begin?)
But the bigger point is that young people do not necessarily expect someone their age to have the wisdom necessary for them to navigate a very difficult world. Did the gray hair and flowing gray beard make Dumbledore an inaccessible, irrelevant character? Was Professor McGonagall less effective because she wasn't 25?
I know you well enough to know that even you respect and seek the experience of someone older in giving advice or generating blueprints for becoming a successful human. Give your audience and fan base some level of respect and don't assume that the only reason they like your work is because they think you're close to their age. I think this really is more about your own insecurities as you look in the mirror.
I think the model I hope to follow on this is ironically actors--specifically, comedians. Certain of them, anyway. Comedians who seem fearless about posting very unfiltered, silly, ridiculous versions of their faces. Actors (I'm thinking Ricky Gervais off the top of my head) can get away with this a little easier than actresses, but then there are people like Kiersten Wiig or Melissa McCarthy, who have played wildly unkempt or ridiculous looking characters, and we love it. But then Melissa will *also* post absolutely stunning photo shoots. So really, I think what happens when we're fearless about our faces is that we realize that its just that--faces. We don't have one face, we have many, and that includes the unfiltered, flared-nostril, wrinkly ones.
Think about looks this way when you go to a play unless you studied the cast beforehand your going in blind on how they look/ sound but once the curtains go up and you hear the vocal range on the singers. The way they dance even if they're costumes in some cases are rags you are gonna loved them for their talent not their looks
I don't usually think about an author's face unless I'm trying to remember a name and I look and see if that's the same face I remember on "whatever that other book was" that I remember liking. As regards to YOUR face specifically, what I remember best isn't the flashy photo ops. What I remember is a kind smile at Y'allFest giving me a chance to ask a question of a budding new author you had on a two-person panel about how characters seem to have a mind of their own (and that I wasn't alone in experiencing that phenomenon!). I daresay most authors would love to be remembered mainly for their work and their kindness.
Sometimes we as humans think to much of what we may look like in someone’s eyes that we forget that to truly see someone you need to see their inside not the door
Soman, this resonates with me so much! I think about how people perceive me physically all the time. Like, all the time. I don't know what that says about me, but I think it has something to do with how strongly certain looks/physical attributes are put on a pedestal in the world at large, but especially within the gay community. We're shown time and time again how much power a specific look can have, and I think it's natural to try to get some of that power when you have a public facing job, even if looks are fleeting, etc. etc. etc. And then to have that backed up by the social media sector of the book world where often the writers going viral are really pretty. Or look approachable, or relatable, or like a friend in some way. It's a ton of pressure for people who just want to tell stories and have that be the thing the public can relate to rather than our faces, but then are encouraged to market ourselves along with our books where the only way to do that is to constantly show your face. Ugh.
But ultimately, I'm with you and all the folks commenting here, that the art matters most. There are actors and writers and public personalities who I can point to and say are gorgeous, but what comes to mind for me first is what they've created and how that art made me feel. And I'm saying this as a person who regularly gets Botox, who touches up his balayage every handful of months, who's had a nose job and a hairline transplant and is considering blepharoplasty. Anything aesthetic should be for the person getting the procedures, to make them feel like their truest self, not to please anyone else. Just like our art should come from something within us, rather than writing toward external factors or trends we can't control.
Anywho, I'm rambling now, and all this is to say thank you for sharing this post. I can really really relate.
Oh, I feel you on so many levels. I think you pinpoint that thing that makes us nervous — the power and access that a look can give you, which used to have no effect in the literary world. Until now! So it becomes scary when success is suddenly tied to vitality and looks or at least appears to. But I still think those careers are short lived if the quality can’t keep up… you can’t hide behind the page. The words are exposed! And I’m happy we relate on a lot of levels here!
I don't care about the authors face, I just want a story that's real, honest, and beautiful. I don't want a author to have to act just to be liked. I like authors for stuff like these diaries, not the pictures.
You have incredible genes, my friend — Sheila is basically Isabella Rossellini in Death Becomes Her: AGELESS. I’ve been meaning to ask for her vitamin routine — she could make a fortune as an influencer (as if she’d ever).
And you? You’re a stunner, inside and out. As someone who regularly nudges the Zoom filter just a little further to the right, I get the pressure more than I care to admit. But at the end of the day, it’s the work, the relationships, the adventures that matter. The fine lines will eventually deepen into something richer — maps of laughter, loss, passion, and purpose — evidence of a life well and truly lived.
Let the world see both the beauty and the truth. You’re already offering both — as imaginatively and prolifically as ever. x
I'm laughing at many things -- the fact that I, too, shift that Zoom filter to the right a little too much sometimes... that my mom would actually be an amazing vitamins and skincare influencer but also make a total mess of the experience... and most of all, the joy at having you as a friend to grow old with...!!!
I’m pretty sure a large percentage of your readers are ageless as is your writing
What a wonderful thought.
Honestly, I don’t feel like people care much for authors’ looks even nowadays… I feel like the quality of the writing is still what matters the most.
Amen!
I cared to see the authors face when I finished the book and when I'm spellbound by their work I want to put a face to the words but that's about it. I'm more concerned that they don't use their platform to hurt others or be bigots . One author photos I know is Xiran Jay Zhao they're author photos of them making funny faces in cosplays that's neat. If it helps Soman Chainani I think your very handsome
You're too nice. But I appreciate the idea that you're focused on the words and actually don't want a face attached. Very reassuring.
preach on, my friend. it's the work that matters.
just one more way we can rebel against capitalism and consumerism and the disposability of youth and wealth and fame...
we make art that matters whether or not people see our faces. do we miss the days of no author photos required in the back of the books? sure.
but do we also still worship and admire the great judy blume, judi dench, meryl streep, helen mirren, kate dicamillo, et al?
age with grace: by doing good work. being poised when necessary.
you've done it well already. so just keep doing it.
and we are STOKED (or whatever the "youths" are saying these days) for that TWO DAY PHOTOSHOOT of BURN IT ALL DOWN.
my inner popstar is posing alongside you in the studio and relishing the makeover chair...
You're right... there was a time when there were no photos at all!!!!! OMG. But we will coexist with image by making the work better and better...
looking forward to it! even if my author pic is four years old…. 😹💙😎
Don't care for looks...it's a fact we all will grow old. It's the story that counts
I hope that continues to be true as time goes on!
I don't care how the author looks. I care more for their art. As long as their writing doesn't go sour or their writing go bad, I'm good.
And while people have the right to undergo plastic surgery, especially if they feel insecure about something (I know someone who did just that with a facial deformity) many times it seems to harm them or it looks so obvious and they were fine before.
I think you have been aging nicely and you look really young! I'm sure a lot of people would guess your age wrong haha!
I love the idea of writing going 'sour'. I suspect if one focuses too much on their looks... it might!
Ok. This is a full-on Cher in 'Moonstruck' moment. Snap out of it.
First off, you're a handsome man who has aged well. Stay out of the sun for long periods, use sunscreen, moisturize, preserve yourself. Do what Paul Newman did... eschew soaps and plunge your face into very cold water every night. Chemicals and surgeries may eliminate certain issues in micro, but the macro effect is that you don't look like *you* anymore... and I think that will be harder to deal with as time goes on. Think Joan Rivers or *gasp* Michael Jackson. (And once you start, exactly *where* does 'too much' begin?)
But the bigger point is that young people do not necessarily expect someone their age to have the wisdom necessary for them to navigate a very difficult world. Did the gray hair and flowing gray beard make Dumbledore an inaccessible, irrelevant character? Was Professor McGonagall less effective because she wasn't 25?
I know you well enough to know that even you respect and seek the experience of someone older in giving advice or generating blueprints for becoming a successful human. Give your audience and fan base some level of respect and don't assume that the only reason they like your work is because they think you're close to their age. I think this really is more about your own insecurities as you look in the mirror.
Snap out of it. (whack)
WELL SAID. Officially snapped out :)
I think the model I hope to follow on this is ironically actors--specifically, comedians. Certain of them, anyway. Comedians who seem fearless about posting very unfiltered, silly, ridiculous versions of their faces. Actors (I'm thinking Ricky Gervais off the top of my head) can get away with this a little easier than actresses, but then there are people like Kiersten Wiig or Melissa McCarthy, who have played wildly unkempt or ridiculous looking characters, and we love it. But then Melissa will *also* post absolutely stunning photo shoots. So really, I think what happens when we're fearless about our faces is that we realize that its just that--faces. We don't have one face, we have many, and that includes the unfiltered, flared-nostril, wrinkly ones.
So well said. And I have the same fear. Try 52 on!!! Love your work and you. I’m still 13 in my brain…
Think about looks this way when you go to a play unless you studied the cast beforehand your going in blind on how they look/ sound but once the curtains go up and you hear the vocal range on the singers. The way they dance even if they're costumes in some cases are rags you are gonna loved them for their talent not their looks
I don't care about the looks, as long as they do not use it to be gallant and self-righteous. sadly, some do.
I don't usually think about an author's face unless I'm trying to remember a name and I look and see if that's the same face I remember on "whatever that other book was" that I remember liking. As regards to YOUR face specifically, what I remember best isn't the flashy photo ops. What I remember is a kind smile at Y'allFest giving me a chance to ask a question of a budding new author you had on a two-person panel about how characters seem to have a mind of their own (and that I wasn't alone in experiencing that phenomenon!). I daresay most authors would love to be remembered mainly for their work and their kindness.
Sometimes we as humans think to much of what we may look like in someone’s eyes that we forget that to truly see someone you need to see their inside not the door
Soman, this resonates with me so much! I think about how people perceive me physically all the time. Like, all the time. I don't know what that says about me, but I think it has something to do with how strongly certain looks/physical attributes are put on a pedestal in the world at large, but especially within the gay community. We're shown time and time again how much power a specific look can have, and I think it's natural to try to get some of that power when you have a public facing job, even if looks are fleeting, etc. etc. etc. And then to have that backed up by the social media sector of the book world where often the writers going viral are really pretty. Or look approachable, or relatable, or like a friend in some way. It's a ton of pressure for people who just want to tell stories and have that be the thing the public can relate to rather than our faces, but then are encouraged to market ourselves along with our books where the only way to do that is to constantly show your face. Ugh.
But ultimately, I'm with you and all the folks commenting here, that the art matters most. There are actors and writers and public personalities who I can point to and say are gorgeous, but what comes to mind for me first is what they've created and how that art made me feel. And I'm saying this as a person who regularly gets Botox, who touches up his balayage every handful of months, who's had a nose job and a hairline transplant and is considering blepharoplasty. Anything aesthetic should be for the person getting the procedures, to make them feel like their truest self, not to please anyone else. Just like our art should come from something within us, rather than writing toward external factors or trends we can't control.
Anywho, I'm rambling now, and all this is to say thank you for sharing this post. I can really really relate.
Oh, I feel you on so many levels. I think you pinpoint that thing that makes us nervous — the power and access that a look can give you, which used to have no effect in the literary world. Until now! So it becomes scary when success is suddenly tied to vitality and looks or at least appears to. But I still think those careers are short lived if the quality can’t keep up… you can’t hide behind the page. The words are exposed! And I’m happy we relate on a lot of levels here!
I don't care about the authors face, I just want a story that's real, honest, and beautiful. I don't want a author to have to act just to be liked. I like authors for stuff like these diaries, not the pictures.
Real, honest, beautiful. The same things we look for in a person — inside, not out!
I agree 100%
You have incredible genes, my friend — Sheila is basically Isabella Rossellini in Death Becomes Her: AGELESS. I’ve been meaning to ask for her vitamin routine — she could make a fortune as an influencer (as if she’d ever).
And you? You’re a stunner, inside and out. As someone who regularly nudges the Zoom filter just a little further to the right, I get the pressure more than I care to admit. But at the end of the day, it’s the work, the relationships, the adventures that matter. The fine lines will eventually deepen into something richer — maps of laughter, loss, passion, and purpose — evidence of a life well and truly lived.
Let the world see both the beauty and the truth. You’re already offering both — as imaginatively and prolifically as ever. x
I'm laughing at many things -- the fact that I, too, shift that Zoom filter to the right a little too much sometimes... that my mom would actually be an amazing vitamins and skincare influencer but also make a total mess of the experience... and most of all, the joy at having you as a friend to grow old with...!!!