“Dad, you look like you got out of jail.”
Those were the words I wasn’t expecting to hear out of my six-year-old son, unsolicited. He made me laugh. It’s funny to see someone, unfiltered, just speak their mind and blurt out whatever thought races to the surface. Maybe he’s right.
I had just gotten a haircut. Ok, more of a scalping. It was a buzz-cut, where the barber uses his electric clippers to mow down any hair longer than a quarter-inch. I looked a little like a skinhead. All that was missing was a scar on my cheek and a tattoo on my arm.
I am not sure what my son knows of jail or the people who are sentenced there but somehow he concluded from his limited life exposures and experiences that I fit the profile of a convict. If you didn’t know what a softie I am on the inside, you may judge my exterior, complete with a goatee, as a tough guy.
My bulldog is the same way. She looks like a junkyard dog who could appear to be threatening with her snaggle-toothed glare, but in reality, she’s as rough and tough as a stuffed animal. She’d probably lick an intruder and sellout to the first snack tossed her way.
Looks can be deceiving.
We know to never judge a book by its cover, and yet isn’t that what we do every day? We judge how people look – their face, their body, their age, their clothes, their appearance. We make snap judgments and never look back.
And when it comes to books, many of us are drawn to cover images and visuals. No matter how good the content of a book or one’s character is, be sure to still make the best visual impression possible.
Otherwise, even those closest to you might think you just escaped from jail.
– Brian Feinblum, the chief marketing officer for Planned Television Arts, has been promoting and marketing authors since 1989. Call: 212-583-2718. Email: feinblumb@plannedtvarts.com. Web: http://www.plannedtvarts.com.
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