Why you should write that author bio now
by Ruth Harris
The book you poured your heart into languishes on your hard drive like the wallflower at the dance — slumped shoulders, wilted corsage and all.
Your crit group tries to be encouraging, but the message is clear. Go to plumbing school/welding school where you will learn how to do something people actually need. Or maybe go to beauty school and learn how to create a great hairstyle. Which grateful clients will actually pay you for — and add a generous tip.
Right now, your ego is crushed under an avalanche of rejections.
Or, even worse, non-responses from the agents, publishers, writing contests you’ve been entering.
Nothing you try works.
No one is interested in your memoir about your experiences as James Bond’s Number One fan.
OR:
- The time you won a tap dancing contest in the sixth grade.
- Your 200K word epic fantasy.
- That steamy, scorching hot romance.
- Your sensitive, coming-of-age novel.
No wonder you don’t feel like an author.
But.
Whether it’s the thin envelope or the out-of-the-blue phone call telling you your story/novel/memoir has won that contest you’d given up hope for or even forgotten you’d entered, there are times the earth does move. Really.
Congratulations!
OR:
- The agent of your dreams — you know, The One — loves loves LOVES your book. Your voice. Your characters. Plus the title, plot, and setting.
- Publishers are salivating for exactly what you’ve written.
- Yay! And double yay!
BUT.
Remember, there’s no second chance to make a first impression
When you sober up and come back down to earth, you come face to face with the gotcha: the request that accompanies the triumph — please send a bio.
No biggie. You’re thrilled, out of your mind excited. So you take five minutes to dash off a quick bio.
You hit send.
Sit back, and wait for the money to roll in.
Really?
Not so fast!
Remember: Every word you send out is a writing sample.
So what’s the poor but about-to-be-rich writer to do?
Definitely don’t think that a few lines about your great books and your own general wonderfulness will do the job.
Instead, slow down, park your ego and think it through, because the author bio is not about you. It’s about the reader.
What do you want to say, how do you want to say it, and what do you want to leave out?
How do you sound interesting and professional even though, right now, you’re a nobody?
1. How to write an author bio when you don’t feel like an author. Yet.
Start slow, and write the d*mn author bio. Now.
Even before you get the email or the Call that Changes Everything. Even though you’re discouraged and the horizon looks dark. Before you send off another query or enter another contest.
Even though you’ve never published anything but the gossip column you wrote for your high school newspaper. You know. Stuff like, Did Tyler ask Susanna to the Junior prom? And did she accept? Or not?
Anne gives us the basic GPS directions to help us steer toward Author Bio 101.
- Title it with your name. Period. Don’t be cutesy or clever.
- Write in third person.
- Keep to about 250 words: one page, double-spaced–or 1/2 page single-spaced,
- You’re aiming for a style similar to book jacket copy. The purpose is to make yourself sound professional and INTERESTING.
- A formula for writing a short author bio
- What to include — and what to exclude
- How to be interesting
- The kind of tidbits that make you stand out
What you have now is most likely something that resembles a draft or an outline. You’re ready to take the next step.
2. The author bio for any occasion — Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Anne details the happy place(s) between the police blotter “just the facts” and the overkill of an ego run rampant on a field of dreams. Here is where she answers more basic, essential questions—
- Who are you and what do you call yourself?
- Novelist?
- Author?
- Writer?
- Waiter?
- The ideal bio to include with your guest posts?
- Now that you’ve achieved an author bio that sounds and feels professional, don’t forget FB and Twitter and those pesky hashtags.
By now, you’ve built the foundation. Time to take the next step(s).
3. Why every author needs 6 author bios. At least. And how to write them.
Nate Hoffelder, WordPress wizard, Slayer of bugs, and Error code breaker, goes into chapter and verse detail about author bios.
Advising us not to stress out over our author bio, Nate shows us how his own author bio has changed and improved from draft to draft and over time.
He shows how we can start with “pretty good” and get (much) better from there. Using his own experience — and his own terrific author bio — as a case study, he reminds us that he has revised his own bios at least ten times. Remember that viewing your author bio as a WiP will take a lots of stress out.
In addition —
- Nate includes a handy chart about the optimum word-count of author bios on FB, Twitter, Goodreads and more.
- Valuable, pro advice about where you should put your author bios on your website.
- Name dropping — when, where, and whose
- Do’s and don’ts for your podcast (or webinar) bio
- Differences between Amazon/Goodreads profile bios
4. The Number One way to turn off readers.
Does your author bio scream “amateur?”
Anne goes into the Number One way authors turn off readers.
Or does your author bio inspire readers to click that Buy Button?
Readers want to be entertained/thrilled/chilled/
They will not buy a book from a beginner. Trust me, as someone whose first job at Bantam was reading the slush pile, no reader will pay to read beginner’s drivel. They won’t even download it for FREE because readers don’t want clutter. Readers want professional.
So here’s the deal—
If you’re writing non-fiction:
Your prospective reader is looking for expertise. Your bio should tell them why they should pay attention to what you have to say — and why it’s worth paying for.
- If you’re an expert on big wave surfing and are offering tips, tell them when, where, and how you became a Mavericks surf contest star or conquered that 78-foot (23.8-meter) wave in Nazaré, Portugal.
- If you’re giving craft advice to starting writers, include the titles of your bestsellers, the prizes you’ve won, your education (if it’s relevant), and praise from critics, reviewers, and readers.
- Credentials matter whether you’re an historian, a biographer or an expert wood carver, so be sure to highlight your prizes and accomplishments in those areas.
If you’re writing fiction:
Readers want to feel they’re in the hands of a pro who knows how to tell a story — and how to tell it well. Here is where reviews from critics, readers, and matter so be sure to include them in your bio. Even a few powerful quoted words in a brief bio will convince readers/agents/publishers of your professionalism.
Expertise matters, too, so if your heroine solves the mystery via her knowledge of botany, include mention of your prize-winning petunias and horticultural cred.
Endings matter.
Readers relate to characters.
Settings are powerful.
Reviews that mention these can make the difference between a sale and a pass.
5. Don’t forget marketing.
Internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert, Penny Sansevieri is an Adjunct Professor who teaches Self-Publishing at NYU.
Reminding us to pump up our bio to sell more books Penny explains how she approaches the author bio from a marketeer’s point of view.
She advises regularly reviewing and updating your author bio.
In addition, Penny advises making your author bio a crucial element in your branding and book marketing plan.
- Work in some appropriate keyword strings specific to Amazon
- Show your expertise
- Check your ego
- Do be personal — Penny tells where, when and how
- Don’t forget to include your website address, FaceBook page, and Twitter handle so readers will know where to find you
6. Ban the boring author bio and have fun!
Now that the basics — you present yourself as professional and interesting — are in place, it’s time to do what you do best which is to get creative and tell your own story in an interesting and creative way. Think of what you create as an uber sample of your writing.
This is the opportunity to show — not tell — agents/publishers/readers why they should pay attention to you and your work.
If you write romance, why not write your bio as a romance? Skip the steamy, scorch-the-sheets stuff cuz there’s the right time and place for everything and your author bio is not it! However, be sure to have the meet-cute, inevitable misunderstanding, and HEA or HFN readers are looking for. 😉
Horror? Your early rejections the basis of a great horror story? Definitely!
Mystery? Tell your reader how you got here from there, dropping clues and red herrings along the way which would include the maybes, almosts, and oopsies every writer has experienced.
Sci-fi. You’ve got aliens, right? Another galaxy, right?
Except here aliens are called editors and that strange planet is publishing.
by Ruth Harris (@RuthHarrisBooks) May 29, 2022
***
What about you, scriveners? Do you have author bios ready in a file so you can pull one out for different occasions? Have you read your Amazon bio recently? Does it concentrate on your need to be published instead of why you’re qualified to write this book? Does it say “amateur” to prospective buyers?
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Thanks, Ruth.
Author bios, book blurbs, and elevator pitches are the nemeses of writers. This structured post will help with at least one of those headaches.
Thank *you* Kathy. You’re soooo right: Those *are* the Big Three. Except, of course, writing the d*mn book. Aaaargh. ????
Your bio isn’t about you. It is about the reader. Wow… Exactly. And of course.
Thank you for this helpful advice, Ruth.
Leanne — Thanks. Yes, it’s all about the reader. Keeping that in mind will help focus you — and your bio. Knowing who you’re writing for will make the job a bit easier.
Great tips, Ruth! And a good reminder to me that it’s time to update the bio.
Thanks, Kay, thanks too for the reminder. Just remember: Anything worth doing is worth redoing. Especially if you’re a writer. 😉
“Remember, there’s no second chance to make a first impression.” Words to live by, Ruth & Anne. I have two bios – one short and one much more detailed but not quite a resume or a CV. Tip time – I include links to my Amazon Central page and my Twitter show at the end of the bios. Enjoy your Sunday!
Thanks, Garry. Excellent tip! Thanks. 🙂
Thank *you* Kathy. You’re soooo right: Those *are* the Big Three. Except, of course, writing the d*mn book. Aaaargh. 🙂
OK just to be honest- first you came with that 200k-epic-fantasy crack and now I feel attacked.
But then I realized- this is spot-on, and now would actually be a great time to whip my various bios into shape. I’ve had several mostly because of life-changes over time, and if you’re saying that you never really settle on a single bio, I’m with you.
Good summer project, and now I have the perfect compilation guide, complete with links. Thanks Ruth!
Oh, Will, So sorry! Nothing personal, but happy you understood my point. In a way, the author bio is a perpetual WiP, always open to rewriting/revision. That’s how we keep it fresh and up to date.
And, BTW, I think blurbs should also be under frequent review/updating. Maybe something could be improved: the headline, the body, maybe there’s a great new review that could be included in your bio/blurb.
We should consider this as an opportunity….something impossible in TradPub but so easy to do with digital publishing. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity!
What an interesting post, Ruth! I particularly like your point about needing more than one bio. I have a 70 word bio, a 100 word bio, a 200 word, and then I have a separate 100 word ‘fun’ bio that is for reading in public (and invites questions – sort of the like the red herrings you talk about.) So it depends on the audience. I’m always tweaking it. For instance, if the bio is for professional ‘authors’ at a major event, I’ll list my awards, as they will mean something to this audience. Other authors may come up to me after and say, “I was shortlisted for that award in 2015!” It gives us a point of reference. If it’s for readers, I’ll just say “winner of ten qwards” as they won’t know them, most likely. Great post.
eek! That should be ten awards, not qwards! What’s a qward, and where can I get one?
Melodie—Authors, play attention to Melodie. Thanks for the great guidelines! From “I’m always tweaking it” to “Depends on the audience” gets right to the point of customizing your bio depending on the audience for whom it is intended.
“Every word you send out is a writing sample.” That’s so true, Ruth!
That’s why we have to compulsively proof even casual emails and (gulp) comments we make on public blogs.
Here’s a suggestion: ask your critique group write your author bio. They are more objective and may notice qualities or accomplishments you don’t consider important. Of course, reciprocate when they need help with their bios.
Debbie—Excellent suggestion! Always helps to get outside eyes, doesn’t it?
As to proofing, you tawkin’ to me?????
I’ve got a few author bios in the can: “brief bio”, “brief bio focused on writing”, “brief bio focused on non-writing”, & “longer bio”. Whenever I need one, it gets a tweaking/update. Thanks for the post.
CS—Good for you! Authors, here’s another great idea: I love the way you’ve organized your bios. Makes the relevant one easy to find and ready to be tweaked on the spot!
This post comes at a very fortuitous time for me because I haven’t changed my bio in ages. Thank you, Ruth, for your helpful post.
Patricia—Thanks! Since it’s been a while, I bet you’ll find stuff to rethink/add/reorganize. Good luck!
Time to go and check out my bios, methinks. Thanks for a most informative and helpful post.
VM—Glad to hear the timing of my post came at a good moment for you. You’ll most likely find ways to improve/update your bio! Good luck!
Melodie—Authors, play attention to Melodie. Thanks for the great guidelines! From “I’m always tweaking it” to “Depends on the audience” gets right to the point of customizing your bio depending on the audience for whom it is intended.
Melodie—If you get one of those elusive qwards, then you’ll have eleven! Go for it!
CS—Good for you! Authors, here’s another great idea: I love the way you’ve organized your bios. Makes the relevant one easy to find and ready to be tweaked on the spot!
Patricia—Thanks! Since it’s been a while, I bet you’ll find stuff to rethink/add/reorganize. Good luck!
VM—Glad to hear the timing of my post came at a good moment for you. You’ll most likely find ways to improve/update your bio! Good luck!
I rewrite my bio all the time, and still I’m not 100% happy with it. A couple weeks ago a book blogger used my bio from last year. I cringed when I saw it, but because I mentioned being a guinea pig mom, that bio sold the novel. Go figure!
Sue—”100% happy?” And you’re a writer? Get real! 😉 lol
As to guinea pig mom, let’s just say when it comes to selling a book: “Whatever it takes.” Now, if only we could customize for “guinea pig moms”…
Brilliant! Helpful for every author, no matter how many books they’ve published. Thank you, Ruth!
Alexandra—Thank you! Your flattering words elevated Monday morning!
So glad to hear the post resonated and hope it will help other authors. 🙂
Great tips, Ruth! I love that the bio is about the reader, and also structuring your bio like your genre, great idea. And it’s good to have all bio formats at the ready so you can just send when requested.
JM—Thank you for taking time to let me know this post was helpful. I appreciate your kind words and hope some of the ideas will make writing and organizing your bio easier for you and more relevant to your readers.
I love your tips on writing 6 types of an author bio. I have my standard bio and a word doc with all kinds of bios for different purposes. I haven’t tried to categorize them. Always something to do! 🙂
Thanks to Anne pointing out that I need to read this Blog Post, I finally did, and loved all the great advice. Now my next bio will be done correctly!
I totally agree that a writer/author needs several versions of their bio, depending on whether they’re approaching agents or publishers, entering a contest, being published in an anthology, or publishing their own book. My bios range from shortish to super-short, and I’m always fiddling with them.
BUT, I have to say this: as a reader, I have never decided to buy or read a fiction book based on the author’s bio. When I finish reading the book, and either really like or dislike it, that’s when I want to know more about the author.
If it’s non-fiction, the author’s qualifications and expertise are of interest right from the get-go, but in fiction, the book itself tells me more than any bio.