On vanity

I’ve got a new author photograph. You can see it on my About page. I had photos taken by a professional photographer.

Is that vanity? What, indeed, is vanity? ‘Inflated or excessive pride in one’s appearance’ – or indeed qualities, abilities or achievements – is the dictionary definition.

I think that as a writer it is no bad thing to have a pride in all those things. Nay, as a human having pride in oneself is not in itself a bad thing. I don’t think we should decry it . False modesty is, to my way of thinking, a way of actually calling attention to yourself.

So the key words are ‘excessive’ and ‘inflated’. I don’t think there anything excessive about having photographs taken by a professional, for professional purposes. And, let’s face it, as part of becoming a published writer – an author – is promotion, and for all that we are promoting our words, images help hugely with that.

A professional photographer’s job in taking portraits is to bring out the best of a person. I wanted an author pic which makes me look professional, but also approachable and friendly. I’m very happy with this one. All credit to Artist Photographer Toril Brancher.

Coming next: A guest post on public speaking tips for writers