I'm back from the author retreat I hosted, and we had a blast — everyone got a ton done.

I probably took 1,000 photos between the 5 authors' photoshoots. Photos inside, photos outside. Photos reading, photos writing. Sexy photos, silly photos, professional photos.

Sending these authors home with a full bank of photos to use for marketing? That was one of my favorite parts of the retreat. Some are now their author profile photos. Many are already on social media. Several have made it into newsletters this week alone.

It's hard to describe how happy that makes me. Yeah, I'm weird.

Here's the deal: if you're an author, I encourage you to show your face in your marketing.

I know that's hard for a lot of reasons:

• Don't like how you look

• Never have "good" photos

• Not sure of your brand or what you want to portray

• Being introverted and wanting to hide

Here's what I think: we're harder on ourselves than anyone else is. Readers don't care if your hair is a little messy, or if there's a muffin-top sticking outt, or if your background is a messy office.

Readers DO care that you put in the effort to share yourself with them. Readers WILL remember you more clearly when they see your face.

If a full photoshoot isn't in the cards right now, you don't need one to start. A few low-lift ways to get real photos into rotation:

• Ask a friend or family member to snap 10-15 casual shots next time you're out and about — coffee shop, bookstore, walking the dog

• Set your phone on a tripod (or a stack of books) and take 50 photos in 5 minutes at your desk — you'll get at least 2-3 usable ones

• Batch it: one afternoon, a few outfits, a few settings, and you'll have a photo bank that lasts months instead of scrambling every time you need one

So please — be confident, be you, and show your beautiful face to the world. I promise people will be delighted to see you. Me included.

How does this sit with you? Are you someone who hides from the camera, or do you already show up boldly?