Bios Made Easy: Tips for writing the perfect author bio for each purpose #amwriting #writing #writetip #writelife #author

Writers need bios, for query letters, on websites, for conference brochures. If we are writers surely we can write about ourselves. Yet while coordinating writing conferences, I discovered that even published authors often write poor bios, whether through modesty, carelessness, or overwriting. Many bios are entertaining, but don’t do their job.

The job is selling yourself and your books. Keep that focus in mind and the rest will follow.

Content: List the genre you write and perhaps name a couple of your publications. If you have many published books, you can mention the number but only go into detail with two or three – perhaps the most recent or popular. Specify the genre, as titles aren’t always clear by themselves. If you don’t have published books, mention your other credentials – “Cub Newshound’s articles appear in Slate,” for example.

Don’t get carried away listing awards. If each book has four or five minor awards, the reader bogs down in dull details. List the most prestigious, or combine them – “Ms. Inkslinger’s books have received five Readers’ Choice Awards from various states.”

Relevancy: If someone is considering buying your book or signing up to hear you speak, they want to know your success as a writer or speaker, not the names of your pets. Put your professional information first. Don’t start with your hobbies or childhood, unless something directly relates to your book. (For example, you’re a nurse and you wrote a hospital drama or you have seven cats and you write mysteries featuring cats.) Don’t thank your family for their support. Save that for your book dedications.

There’s another reason to put the key information up front. If you are submitting news to a media site or a quick bio to a conference coordinator, the editor may cut to save space. Make it easy for them to keep the first couple of sentences and cut the rest.

Style: You may need different bios for different uses – playful on a book flap; professional for a newspaper article; focused on teaching experience for a conference catalog; praising your popularity with readers for a book signing. Regardless, focus on information. Humor and lively writing are fine, but don’t get too wrapped up in sounding “literary.”

In a large conference brochure, the designer probably wants consistent style. A touch of formality may be appropriate – you’re trying to portray yourself as a professional. Pretend you’re someone else writing about you in the third person. “Bard Wordsmith is an award-winning author….” For a query letter, use first person. A website could go either way, but be consistent.

Length: Keep it short and to the point. If your bio will stand alone, on an individual brochure or flyer, try 100-200 words. If your bio will appear along with others, 50-100 words is plenty (or whatever they request). Many people will skim anyway. Include your website for more information.

I keep several versions and cut and paste as needed. A longer bio may have a sentence or two about each of my series. A shorter one may focus on a single series or provide general info on the kind of books I write. If I’m promoting my critiquing/editing business, I would focus on my experience as a teacher and workshop leader, noting that people can get recommendations and rates on my website. The details depend on what I’m trying to sell.

For example:

Kris Bock writes romance, mystery, and suspense. (Seven words)

Sweet romance bio under 150 words:

Kris Bock writes romance, mystery, and suspense. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery. Who wouldn't want to be a billionaire? Turns out winning the lottery causes as many problems as it solves. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats.

Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie.

Get a free 10,000-word story set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café when you sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter. Learn more at www.krisbock.com. (142 words)

Mystery Bio under 100 words:

Kris Bock has lived in ten states and one foreign country but is now firmly planted in the Southwest, where many of her books are set. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Kris’s romantic suspense novels feature outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Readers have called these novels "Smart romance with an Indiana Jones feel." Learn more at www.krisbock.com or sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter and get a free Accidental Detective story and more. (88 words)

If I’m promoting my children’s books, I have a different set of bios for that name. I can also include the following with my Kris Bock bio if I’m targeting writers:

Kris writes for children under the name Chris Eboch. She is the author of two books on the craft of writing, Advanced Plotting and You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers. Learn more at chriseboch.com. Check out her self-paced writing classes or The Ten-Minute Writer series on YouTube. (58 words)

In some circumstances, I might mention that I live in New Mexico and enjoy hiking, or that my husband and I keep ferrets. Those are nice personal tidbits, but they don’t prove I’m writing books people want to read.

Any of these options keep the bio to under 200 words. I want to make sure I’m including links to learn more if it’s going somewhere online, and beat simplest version of my website URL if it’s in print.

For a digital site, I might give readers the direct links to Amazon in the United States and Amazon in the United Kingdom, plus a “genius” link that will take people to their local site. That means fewer clicks before someone has a chance to buy my books.

So what about you?

To get started, make a list of the facts that you want to share. Then write a simple, straightforward paragraph that includes them. Next, decide if it’s appropriate to dress it up, but as in all good writing, communication comes first.