Lingering Images by Andy Scheer

The impression you make can last a long time.

Whenever I agree to teach at a writers conference, I send the director a current photo. But nearly every time, they use another shot—often one that’s several years old.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been in the business awhile, and because once-current photos have a way of lingering on the Web. No matter that I’m a decade older and working in a different job, that image of a once-me keeps appearing.

It’s like the way our reputation follows us. At a conference this past weekend, I caught up with several longtime colleagues. No matter their changing job titles, their personal qualities remain a constant.

That’s good and bad. Some have earned a great reputation. This weekend as I met a new colleague, I added one more person to that list. Unfortunately, a few encounters with others reinforced the opposite impression.

As people in a relatively small field, we get to know one another. Not just through what we publish, but also through everything we post, the way we do business, and the way we treat others, we build a reputation that lingers—like our old portrait photos.