In a small unscientific poll, conducted prior to starting this thread, to discover the importance of having a photo on an author's page on Amazon or other platform, the results were conclusive:
- 90% of respondents said they expected to see a photo on a page about the author, and would probably not buy that author's book(s) if the photo was not present.
- Of the 10% who said it didn't matter 100% were writers
Despite a small sample, it included females and males (60/40), ages 22-67, and with an annual income of less than $100,000. When asked why they wanted to see a photograph respondents said, basically, "The page is about the author no matter how many books he/she has written", and it makes them wonder what the writer is hiding if they can't/won't include that detail."
Considering the number of books with poor formatting, grammar, spelling, writing style, etc., sold on Amazon (based on any given book's standing as provided by Amazon on each book's sales page) the picture might just be the factor that saves some author's bacon. (Bacon! story idea!)