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One to watch...

You won't have heard of Noelle McManus just yet, unless you've encountered her as an architect, or a jeweller.

But she's written her first book and is looking for the right publishers for it. I was asked by a friend to put together a set of portraits to show she's serious about her work - the logic being that if you are investing in your own work then a publisher will do so as well.

And publicity pictures are well worth it. I've seen many books where the jacket portrait has been something taken on the writer's last holiday. Or one from ten years ago.

But more important than that is if you can provide a set of pictures then you break a crucial barrier to press coverage. All papers and most magazines beyond the top sellers have limited budgets and reducing staff as redundancy bites. So if you can make it easy for them to publish an interview, a feature or a column about your work by having pictures they can use, the papers will love you that little bit more.