A week or so ago, I started down the path of choosing a headshot for my next book of poetry, Tree Fall with Birdsong. After taking tons of pictures using my Nikon and the self-timer, I narrowed them down to four that I thought were decent, and then decided to get some more opinions. So I hopped on Substack and set up a poll with a post about needing a new picture, not wanting the poet glam shot, and instead wanting to look like a normal person on my book’s cover.
The nice thing was that quite a few people took the poll and others commented on my cross-posts on other social media platform. I even got some more subscribers to my free Substack, which I’m planning to use mostly to get out news about the book and book events. And even nicer, the voting clearly favored the picture that I was leaning towards, too. But the comments, which got into some issues of exposure and balance, did make me ultimately decide to try again. So I added a new post and another poll with four new pictures, plust the option to stay with the first choice.
Of course, my publisher will undoubtedly have the final say, and that choice may depend as much on other design choices for the cover as it does on the photo itself. I had seen authors give readers choices about cover design or author photos in the past, though, and this seemed like a good way to drive some engagement and get people excited. No matter what happens with my photo, even if my publisher ultimately tells me I just need to get a professional photographer involved, letting people in on the process and on the decision can’t hurt, and it’s actually fun. So I highly recommend having a poll or asking for comments about your headshot the next time you need one.
If you’re not on my Substack already, please go there and help me choose the best photo!
Kendall Dunkelberg 