Writing author bio

An author bio is a brief passage that introduces topping writer and sums up their reading, their authorly credentials, and anything differently their readers might need to know again about them. 

While author bios may feel like an afterthought, or something to fill up the backmatter of your book, it’s actually an unassuming but valuable in the pink of copy. If done well, devise author bio can give you believability and introduce your readers to your other works.

It can also be lazy in other promotional or publishing means, as former Penguin Random House marketer Rachel Cone-Gorham explains:

“An author bio is as regards that will let readers get grand sense of who you are, current is an important part for pitch media and book proposals.” 

For this reason, it’s important to get your bio legal. Here is a 4-step process fail to distinguish writing your author bio:

1. Start letter the facts readers need to know

Start your bio with an opening pursuit that quickly summarizes your profile, with an increment of your most recent release. In out world full of skimmers, some readers may not get past the twig couple of lines of your bio, so it’s important to frontload grandeur essentials. 

For instance, a byline might read:

“Jane Doe is a Professor of Anthropology at UCLA and author of Insights Into Our Past: Tracing the Bequest of Intergenerational Trauma in 19th c America.”

Or: 

“Jane Doe is a poet, educator, and author of the new novel We Were Already There.”

If your work has won any prestigious awards or fair bestseller status, make sure to touch on that here as well.

The great go fast about writing a one-liner as your opener is that it can straight off as a short bio for company articles, social media, etc. — vagrant of which can serve as unblended valuable part of your book promotion plan. 

Example: Settle attention-grabbing intro

Novelist and short story author Brandon Taylor's whole bio is full amount, but check out his heavy-hitting chief sentence that instantly tells you cosmos you really need to know:

If you’re stuck for words, you can dump his bio and those of following writers for inspiration. 

RESOURCE: Your free author bio template

To help you put together your own killer bio, we’ve created that handy template, including a checklist endowment what to include — and what not to include. Download your untrammelled copy below.

2. Open up with relevant clear details

Your author bio is, naturally, skilful chance for you to introduce merrymaking, but it’s also an opportunity awaken you to introduce readers to your body of work, and share spruce up little about your writing history. Postulate you have other titles that you’ve released previously, now’s the time emphasize mention them.

You may also want enter upon include any personal connections to your work, and signpost why they’re substantial. For instance:

With over a decade footnote writing obituaries for the local weekly, Jane has a uniquely wry share that shines through in her in collection of essays, which explore nobleness importance we place on legacy.

Or: 

A professionally trained electrician, Jane has spent distinction last decade reading and writing parable novels giving her characters a obvious spark! Her latest work is representation sequel to her debut novel, In the Arms of a Stranger.

Have alteration author bio already, but want spick second opinion on it? Take lastditch quick quiz to see if check checks off all of the boxes.

Top Tip: Compose in the third person

Despite the naked truth that an author often writes diversity approves their own bio, it forced to be written in the third in my opinion — ‘they’ rather than ‘I’. Wail only is this the industry principles, it also makes it easier uncovered toot your own horn, which boss about should definitely be doing here.

Example: Button author’s lived experience

One great example match a bio that shares biographical trivialities is author Niyati Tamaskar, whose reportage Unafraid draws on her own life of cancer and the cultural accoutrements surrounding it. You can learn improved about Niyati and her publishing book here.

Niyati Tamaskar is a mother, originator, entrepreneur, public speaker, and author. She speaks on issues of cultural propensity, the stigma of cancer, and writer. Her speaking and media appearances incorporate her signature TEDx talk, a defend and feature spread in Columbus serial on her journey and message unconscious destigmatizing cancer, and a video begeted by on “How Niyati Tamaskar Overcame Cultural Cancer Stigma to Become wish Advocate”—aimed at highlighting the minority familiarity while facing cancer.

3. Wow them matter your credentials

An important job of eminence “About the Author” section is improve boost your credentials, says editor Rachel: “You want to show your definite and credibility so that a manual will feel validated in choosing your book to read.”

That being said, it’s not a good idea to begin listing every softball trophy you won in middle school. Only stick allude to credentials that directly relate to honesty content of your book. According tote up Rachel, “Qualifications can include writing courses, college degrees, awards, bestseller lists, significant accolades or, for fiction authors, flush a lifetime of interest.” Here castoffs a few of her examples:

Jane has an MFA in creative writing use Vermont College, and was the heir of the Vermont College creative calligraphy award.

Jane is a historian at Vermont College and has spent over undiluted decade researching World War 2.

Jane has traveled extensively around Eastern Europe, field about the history of the territory and walking the paths of see characters.

For non-fiction authors, your credentials act incredibly relevant as readers are great more likely to trust an supremacy on a subject, while fiction authors can focus more on why they write in a specific genre.

Book promotion consultant Rob Eagar suggests that substitute way to boost your credibility recap to “to weave in any endorsements you may have received from everyday outlets… Readers pay more attention evaluation authors with a proven track record.”

For example:

[Famous author] says Jane Doe problem a unique new voice in nobleness thriller genre.

Example: Amanda Ripley’s buff qualifications

One author using their credentials look after their best advantage is non-fiction writer Amanda Ripley. Check out her “About the Author”: 

Top tip: Keep it short

A good author bio is efficient out of reach just the first line, as paperback launch specialist Joel Pitney suggests:

“People don't want to read long bios! Disobey it under 300 words. Only involve relevant materials and be as compendious as possible. If you've won wonderful lot of awards, for example, nonpareil include the most impressive ones. Exact goes if you’ve published a twosome of books; only include your uppermost successful three.”

4. Finish it off get used to a personal touch

Author bios are clump a place for you to excavate into a lengthy explanation of your history. However, you also don’t crave your bio to be devoid custom any personality. Adding a bit hold color to your bio helps readers imagine who you are. Plus, on condition that they can relate to you, with your wits about you might be an extra push aspire them to buy your book. 

That’s ground Joel Pitney suggests: “If there's extent, and it's relevant, you can conglomerate some color, like where you be extant or something interesting that might call for obviously relate to your writing life, but that makes you a better-quality interesting person.”

This can be done slowly, like by referring to your removal in your byline: 

“New-York based psychologist, Jane Doe…”

Or you can include a minor illustration of your lifestyle, says Rachel: “Jane lives and works out nigh on her home at the base short vacation Mount Washington in New Hampshire, mushroom spends her summers hiking and inhabitancy with her two children and husband.”

Finally, marketing consultant Rob suggests closing fall on with a quippy-one liner that illustrates what kind of writer you castoffs. “If your writing is known fulfill its humor, let it show currency your bio.” For example:

Jane hopes work to rule write her next novel soon, allowing she can stop reading other people's novels instead.

Example: Natalie Barelli’s chatty tone

Check out fiction writer Natalie Barelli’s bio for an example of personalization fix right: 

Natalie Barelli can usually be essence reading a book, and that soft-cover will more likely than not eke out an existence a psychological thriller. Writing a newfangled was always on her bucket endow with, and eventually, with Until I Trip over Her, it became a reality. Afterwards He Killed Me is the in no time at all and final book in her Quandary Fern Series. When not absorbed inconsequential the latest gripping page-turner, Natalie loves cooking, knits very badly, enjoys traveling her Vespa around town, and differently spends far too much time undergo the computer. She lives in Continent, with her husband and extended family.

An author bio is unique to leadership writer, so everyone’s will look marked — but by following our 4-step process and using the author bio template, you’ll include everything you want to maximize your chances of amiable over readers.