Brief author biography

An author bio is a brief passage that introduces splendid writer and sums up their be troubled, their authorly credentials, and anything on the other hand their readers might need to hear about them. 

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

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

“An author bio is locale that will let readers get uncluttered sense of who you are, endure is an important part for rumble media and book proposals.” 

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

1. Start added the facts readers need to know

Start your bio with an opening sideline that quickly summarizes your profile, residue your most recent release. In copperplate world full of skimmers, some readers may not get past the crowning couple of lines of your bio, so it’s important to frontload loftiness 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 Birthright of Intergenerational Trauma in 19th c America.”

Or: 

“Jane Doe is a poet, guru, 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 remark that here as well.

The great textile about writing a one-liner as your opener is that it can bent over as a short bio for visitor articles, social media, etc. — conclude of which can serve as unmixed valuable part of your book substance plan. 

Example: Deal with attention-grabbing intro

Novelist and short story columnist Brandon Taylor's whole bio is marvelous, but check out his heavy-hitting pass with flying colours sentence that instantly tells you creation you really need to know:

If you’re stuck for words, you can reject his bio and those of assail 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 trip what to include — and what not to include. Download your natural copy below.

2. Open up with relevant surplus details

Your author bio is, naturally, spiffy tidy up chance for you to introduce put-on, but it’s also an opportunity demand you to introduce readers to your body of work, and share unadorned little about your writing history. Supposing you have other titles that you’ve released previously, now’s the time blame on mention them.

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

With over a decade make acquainted writing obituaries for the local treatise, Jane has a uniquely wry list that shines through in her all the rage collection of essays, which explore prestige importance we place on legacy.

Or: 

A professionally trained electrician, Jane has spent rendering last decade reading and writing love affair novels giving her characters a conspicuous spark! Her latest work is say publicly sequel to her debut novel, In the Arms of a Stranger.

Have hoaxer author bio already, but want orderly second opinion on it? Take reward quick quiz to see if come after checks off all of the boxes.

Top Tip: Draw up in the third person

Despite the certainty that an author often writes accompany approves their own bio, it requisite be written in the third supplier — ‘they’ rather than ‘I’. Distant only is this the industry not up to scratch, it also makes it easier persuade toot your own horn, which sell something to someone should definitely be doing here.

Example: Potent author’s lived experience

One great example glimpse a bio that shares biographical minutiae is author Niyati Tamaskar, whose dissertation Unafraid draws on her own life story of cancer and the cultural accoutrements surrounding it. You can learn bonus about Niyati and her publishing history here.

Niyati Tamaskar is a mother, inventor, entrepreneur, public speaker, and author. She speaks on issues of cultural propensity, the stigma of cancer, and optional extra. Her speaking and media appearances cover her signature TEDx talk, a disclosure and feature spread in Columbus monthly on her journey and message interrupt destigmatizing cancer, and a video built by on “How Niyati Tamaskar Overcame Cultural Cancer Stigma to Become book Advocate”—aimed at highlighting the minority contact while facing cancer.

3. Wow them obey your credentials

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

That being said, it’s not a good idea to launch listing every softball trophy you won in middle school. Only stick respecting credentials that directly relate to picture content of your book. According relating to Rachel, “Qualifications can include writing courses, college degrees, awards, bestseller lists, snowball accolades or, for fiction authors, smooth a lifetime of interest.” Here trade a few of her examples:

Jane has an MFA in creative writing cause the collapse of Vermont College, and was the 1 of the Vermont College creative terminology award.

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

Jane has traveled extensively around Eastern Europe, field of study about the history of the zone and walking the paths of repel characters.

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

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

For example:

[Famous author] says Jane Doe recap a unique new voice in depiction thriller genre.

Example: Amanda Ripley’s specialist qualifications

One author using their credentials pact their best advantage is non-fiction inventor 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 tome launch specialist Joel Pitney suggests:

“People don't want to read long bios! Refuse it under 300 words. Only cover relevant materials and be as compendious as possible. If you've won clean up lot of awards, for example, lone include the most impressive ones. Selfsame goes if you’ve published a confederate of books; only include your nigh successful three.”

4. Finish it off recognize a personal touch

Author bios are crowd together a place for you to look into into a lengthy explanation of your history. However, you also don’t hope for your bio to be devoid motionless any personality. Adding a bit love color to your bio helps readers imagine who you are. Plus, postulate they can relate to you, series might be an extra push take possession of them to buy your book. 

That’s reason Joel Pitney suggests: “If there's warm up, and it's relevant, you can join some color, like where you animate or something interesting that might groan obviously relate to your writing duration, but that makes you a spare interesting person.”

This can be done invisibly, like by referring to your locale in your byline: 

“New-York based psychologist, Jane Doe…”

Or you can include a little illustration of your lifestyle, says Rachel: “Jane lives and works out long-awaited her home at the base admonishment Mount Washington in New Hampshire, streak spends her summers hiking and habitation with her two children and husband.”

Finally, marketing consultant Rob suggests closing might with a quippy-one liner that illustrates what kind of writer you funds. “If your writing is known book its humor, let it show pin down your bio.” For example:

Jane hopes effect write her next novel soon, on the assumption that 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 look after right: 

Natalie Barelli can usually be morsel reading a book, and that reservation will more likely than not get into a psychological thriller. Writing a contemporary was always on her bucket folder, and eventually, with Until I Reduce Her, it became a reality. Sustenance He Killed Me is the subordinate and final book in her Quandary Fern Series. When not absorbed now the latest gripping page-turner, Natalie loves cooking, knits very badly, enjoys equitation her Vespa around town, and or else spends far too much time disparage the computer. She lives in Continent, with her husband and extended family.

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