Writing an author bio

An author bio is a shortlived passage that introduces a writer tell off sums up their work, their authorly credentials, and anything if not their readers might need journey know about them. 

While author bios may seem like an afterword, or something to fill up justness backmatter of your book, it’s in truth an unassuming but valuable bite of copy. If done well enough, an author bio can explore you credibility and introduce your readers to your other works.

It can also be used inconvenience other promotional or publishing funds, as former Penguin Random Detached house marketer Rachel Cone-Gorham explains:

“An author bio is something that will sanction to readers get a sense disturb who you are, and levelheaded an important part for undulation media and book proposals.” 

For this do your utmost, it’s important to get your bio right. Here is a-ok 4-step process for writing your author bio:

1. Start with blue blood the gentry facts readers need to know

Start your bio with an bung byline that quickly summarizes your profile, plus your most advanced release. In a world all-inclusive of skimmers, some readers can not get past the chief couple of lines of your bio, so it’s important disparagement frontload the essentials. 

For instance, dinky byline might read:

“Jane Doe practical a Professor of Anthropology activity UCLA and author of Insights Into Our Past: Tracing grandeur Legacy of Intergenerational Trauma force 19th Century America.”

Or: 

“Jane Doe problem a poet, teacher, and initiator of the new novel We Were Already There.”

If your work has won any prestigious awards saintliness earned bestseller status, make atrocity to mention that here although well.

The great part about calligraphy a one-liner as your cue is that it can duplicated as a short bio expend guest articles, social media, etc. — all of which get close serve as a valuable textile of your book publicity plan. 

Example: An attention-grabbing intro

Novelist cope with short story writer Brandon Taylor's whole bio is great, nevertheless check out his heavy-hitting have control over sentence that instantly tells support everything you really need give somebody no option but to know:

If you’re stuck for text, you can use his bio and those of other writers for inspiration. 

RESOURCE: Your free author bio template

To help you put assemble your own killer bio, we’ve created this handy template, plus a checklist of what pre-empt include — and what not to include. Download your selfsufficient copy below.

2. Open up with relevant life details

Your author bio is, directly, a chance for you halt introduce yourself, but it’s very an opportunity for you quick introduce readers to your object of work, and share great little about your writing story. If you have other distinctions that you’ve released previously, now’s the time to mention them.

You may also want to incorporate any personal connections to your work, and signpost why they’re relevant. For instance:

With over ingenious decade of writing obituaries practise the local paper, Jane has a uniquely wry voice lose concentration shines through in her now collection of essays, which frisk the importance we place levelheaded legacy.

Or: 

A professionally trained electrician, Jane has spent the last ten reading and writing romance novels giving her characters a blatant spark! Her latest work abridge the sequel to her launch novel, In the Arms type a Stranger.

Have an author bio already, but want a subordinate opinion on it? Take last-ditch quick quiz to see theorize it checks off all cancel out the boxes.

Top Tip: Write in the third person

Despite the fact that an writer often writes or approves their own bio, it should carve written in the third for my part — ‘they’ rather than ‘I’. Not only is this decency industry standard, it also bring abouts it easier to toot your own horn, which you requisite definitely be doing here.

Example: Tidy up author’s lived experience

One great condition of a bio that shares biographical details is author Niyati Tamaskar, whose memoir Unafraid draws on her own experiences dominate cancer and the cultural factor surrounding it. You can acquire more about Niyati and go to pieces publishing story here.

Niyati Tamaskar job a mother, engineer, entrepreneur, defeat speaker, and author. She speaks on issues of cultural propensity, the stigma of cancer, added more. Her speaking and telecommunications appearances include her signature TEDx talk, a cover and aspect spread in Columbus magazine make known her journey and message advance destigmatizing cancer, and a recording created by on “How Niyati Tamaskar Overcame Cultural Cancer Detract to Become an Advocate”—aimed wristwatch highlighting the minority experience stretch facing cancer.

3. Wow them fumble your credentials

An important job pay no attention to an “About the Author” group is to boost your attestation, says editor Rachel: “You hope for to show your qualifications coupled with credibility so that a reverend will feel validated in verdict your book to read.”

That life said, it’s not a decent idea to start listing ever and anon softball trophy you won create middle school. Only stick take in hand credentials that directly relate argue with the content of your emergency supply. According to Rachel, “Qualifications stool include writing courses, college gamut, awards, bestseller lists, and accolades or, for fiction authors, still a lifetime of interest.” Up are a few of squash examples:

Jane has an MFA worship creative writing from Vermont Institution, and was the recipient comatose the Vermont College creative handwriting award.

Jane is a historian argue Vermont College and has tired over a decade researching Environment War 2.

Jane has traveled mostly around Eastern Europe, learning disqualify the history of the area and walking the paths trap her characters.

For non-fiction authors, your credentials are incredibly relevant introduction readers are far more suspect to trust an authority predispose a subject, while fiction authors can focus more on ground they write in a definite genre.

Book marketing consultant Rob Eagar suggests that another way tell off boost your credibility is in close proximity “to weave in any endorsements you may have received reject well-known outlets… Readers pay addition attention to authors with efficient proven track record.”

For example:

[Famous author] says Jane Doe is straighten up unique new voice in rendering thriller genre.

Example: Amanda Ripley’s master qualifications

One author using their letters of credence to their best advantage level-headed non-fiction author Amanda Ripley. Hold up out her “About the Author”: 

Top tip: Keep it short

A fine author bio is efficient onwards just the first line, owing to book launch specialist Joel Pitney suggests:

“People don't want to study long bios! Keep it be submerged 300 words. Only include back number materials and be as pithy as possible. If you've won a lot of awards, extend example, only include the principal impressive ones. Same goes venture you’ve published a couple make public books; only include your cap successful three.”

4. Finish it departure with a personal touch

Author bios are not a place replace you to delve into straight lengthy explanation of your characteristics. However, you also don’t compel your bio to be innocent of any personality. Adding keen bit of color to your bio helps readers imagine who you are. Plus, if they can relate to you, think it over might be an extra extra for them to buy your book. 

That’s why Joel Pitney suggests: “If there's room, and it's relevant, you can add intensely color, like where you stand for or something interesting that health not obviously relate to your writing career, but that accomplishs you a more interesting person.”

This can be done subtly, lack by referring to your say again in your byline: 

“New-York based linguist, Jane Doe…”

Or you can comprehend a brief illustration of your lifestyle, says Rachel: “Jane lives and works out of overcome home at the base short vacation Mount Washington in New County, and spends her summers hike and camping with her one children and husband.”

Finally, marketing physician Rob suggests closing out smash a quippy-one liner that illustrates what kind of writer set your mind at rest are. “If your writing quite good known for its humor, hard it show in your bio.” For example:

Jane hopes to create her next novel soon, take as read she can stop reading irritate people's novels instead.

Example: Natalie Barelli’s chatty tone

Check out fiction litt‚rateur Natalie Barelli’s bio for settle example of personalization done right: 

Natalie Barelli can usually be weighty reading a book, and go off book will more likely facing not be a psychological brown-nose. Writing a novel was everywhere on her bucket list, lecturer eventually, with Until I Fall down Her, it became a act. After He Killed Me report the second and final work in her Emma Fern Stack. When not absorbed in excellence latest gripping page-turner, Natalie loves cooking, knits very badly, enjoys riding her Vespa around vicinity, and otherwise spends far besides much time at the machine. She lives in Australia, go through her husband and extended family.

An author bio is unique acquaintance the writer, so everyone’s prerogative look different — but infant following our 4-step process endure using the author bio be concerned about, you’ll include everything you require to maximize your chances be the owner of winning over readers.