Yesterday, I paid a friend to shoot me. Fortunately, he used a camera.

Okay, so my photographer isn’t just a random friend. He happens to be Jaren Wilkey, the 2011 Photographer of the Year for the University Photographers’ Association of America. (Just in the 2011 UPAA print competition, six of his photos also won prizes/honorable mentions including two 1st place finishes.) I’ve seen him take lots of pictures before—and had him take some great pictures of my family—but after working with him yesterday, let me tell you, the man knows his stuff. I mean, just check me out (and these are just straight from the camera):

(okay, I photoshopped fixed my hair a little in this ^ one)

These are three of the just under 500 photos we shot in 90 minutes. I am now armed with reaction shots for any possible blog topic. For example, murderous rage:

I will say this a thousand times: if you have the money or the contacts, get a professional to shoot your author photos. (And the same thing goes a million times for your wedding photos. Still grumbling about mine.) There is no substitute for someone who understands how to really work a camera and use lighting and backgrounds and poses to make you look your best.

In case you’re wondering, taking your author photos is pretty cool and can be a lot of fun, but no, it doesn’t make you feel like the real deal (yet).

Any faves here? How do you want to do your author photos?

In case you missed it, photos by Jaren Wilkey

Over the month of January, I collected the stories I found on Twitter and in my feeds that were just too good to miss and put them together for you! Welcome to “Thinky Links“!

Author Janice Hardy offers some good advice on how to cut a scene without hurting your story

Kristen Lamb gives a really good example of how to start in medias res.

The Editors’ Blog looks at the use of coincidence in fiction, why it’s bad—and how to fix it.

I’ve been working hard on revising my Nano novel, so I’m really far behind on my feeds, but I did happen to see two good posts on EditTorrent recently, the kind that make me want to run around telling people “I’ve been vindicated” in an imaginary battle I was having with no one. The first covers showing versus telling in an interesting way (i.e. not writing 101), including that was is not always bad and is not the same thing as passive voice, and the role of telling in exposition.

The second is how to avoid that obnoxious “As you know, Bob” (or Alphonse) dialogue by slipping in backstory, characterization and other information through subtle cues. I LOVE working on this, and Alicia gives great examples!

Although I’m now with a traditional, regional publisher, I still find self-publishing very interesting. So for two different perspectives on that this month, Daniel J. Friedman takes a hard look at the numbers behind self publishing: what they make, what they’re worth, and what they’re selling. On the other hand, Joanna Penn interviewed Adam Croft on How To Sell 130,000 Books Without A Publisher. And for some perspective on both sides, Future Book looks at Why Amanda Hocking Switched, with some interesting notes on how her publishers are working for her.

And to close, here are a few of my favorite posts on this blog from Januaries past:

• A perennial favorite of mine, how to spot and avoid the most common (empty) gestures in writing
• Another one I still use extensively, creating and editing with a scene chart
• And a few from the series on tension, suspense and surprise:
  • Choosing whether plot elements should be set up strongly to create suspense, or should remain a surprise
  • One I should probably study a little more: creating suspense in Act I
  • What creates tension and suspense?

What’s the best writing/marketing/publishing advice you‘ve read lately?

Photo by Karola Riegler

Some links I’ve come across lately that have made me think:

So I worked in search engine optimization (SEO) and Internet marketing for several years, and I know Google can be daunting. Rick Daley has a good guest post on using SEO for authors. My favorite tips are that you need to go beyond your name and book title. You should be ranking for those anyway! Think about what people who are looking for a book like yours might type in to search. You can use tools from search engines to see if people really are using those keywords or similar ones.

Want to really up your productivity? Check out how one author quintupled her daily output. (via @LuisaPerkins via @AnnetteLyon) I’m trying these methods out and I have to say I really like the idea of making all those tiny little decisions BEFORE rather than DURING the actual writing process.

I’m having a lot of conversations with one of my critique partners about setting lately (it’s something we’re both working on), so when I saw this article on active vs. passive backstory/description tweeted, I had to click. Great examples from published novels, too. (Sorry, I couldn’t find who’d tweeted this in my stream .)

Edittorrent blogged about Dean Wesley Smith’s latest article on the history of literary agents and whether we need them today. The comments on Smith’s article lead me to Laura Resnick’s website and her three-part series on agents as well as her article on experiences with the agent-author business model. OTOH, I know lots and lots of people who really like working with their agents—people who are getting big book deals, too. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that I’m so glad I don’t have to make this choice right now.

What links are making you think right now?

It’s a little hard to go on after teh best author bio EVAR, but this is way too tempting to pass up.

I learned a new word as I was writing this post: “Grandiloquent.” And that’s exactly the style of the real life author bio I shared on Monday. I just had to make up a biography of myself in the same style. It would go like this (with a little extra snark, of course):

Kind of like how some blessed few possess the combination of musical talents that launch them to rock superstardom, so some blessed few possess ALL of the genius for the literary arts—only, you know, in a single person. Praise be that Jordan McCollum is one of those chosen few. . . .

Life-altering truths, heart-pounding suspense and utter delight await the reader who . . . um, reads this thrilling novel. The book presents a timeless love story, a twist-packed mystery, thought-provoking parallels with vivid, seamless prose.

(Yeah, I’m not asking much of my future self, eh?)

Okay, I did skip a little of the bio, but the middle part is just too good to do all by myself. How would you shift this bombast from culinary to literary? Here’s your example (the ellipses are in the original):

Blessed with a rare combination of abilities . . . a super-sensitive palate which can uncannily detect the most subtle nuances of flavor and texture, a vivid and highly creative imagination, and perhaps most important, a love of good food which has grown from a hobby to a consuming passion, Yvonne Tarr is admirably equipped for the task at hand.

Photo by David’s digits

One of these days, I’m going to have to write a real author bio. You know, that will run on an “About the Author” page. In a published book.

But no matter how awesome I make that, somehow I think it will pale in comparison to this book. (This book is a perfect example of why I LOVE both buying cookbooks and shopping at thrift stores.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Just as some people have a rare ability at painting or music, so some lucky ones have a genius for the culinary arts, and happily Yvonne Young Tarr is one of those chosen few. Blessed with a rare combination of abilities . . . a super-sensitive palate which can uncannily detect the most subtle nuances of flavor and texture, a vivid and highly creative imagination, and perhaps most important, a love of good food which has grown from a hobby to a consuming passion, Yvonne Tarr is admirably equipped for the task at hand.

A confirmed, practical and creative gourmet — as happy users of her best-selling 10 Minute Gourmet Cookbook and 10 Minute Gourmet Diet Cookbook will attest — Yvonne Young Tarr is dedicated to the proposition that cooking can be a delicious experience, and in this, her third cookbook, she proves it!

Fame, good fortune, and gastronomic delight await the hostess who prepares these tested, failproof, irresistible desserts. The book presents simple and elaborate dessert recipes for little dinners, memorable lunches, and gala gatherings.

Former model, radio writer, and author (book and lyrics) of a delightful musical which graced off-Broadway several seasons past, Mrs. Tarr, mother of two young sons 13 and 17, is currently engaged in writing serious drama.

(Though I’ve tried [a little], I haven’t been able to determine how her serious drama panned out.)

The book is 101 desserts to make you famous (apparently the SHIFT key was stuck at the typesetter), and the cover is almost as good as the backliner:

The recipes include such exotic treats as carrot cake, cherry pudding and chocolate fondue. (Okay, I’m teasing a little—there are a lot of more exotic desserts in here that do actually sound pretty impressive and tasty.)

And because I know you’re wondering: it’s © 1970.

What’s the “best” author bio you’ve ever read?