That Bio!

4

Nobody likes writing a bio, but you have to have one. It’s not that complicated—I promise. The trouble is angst. I know. Editors have to write them, too.

For the sake of querying, your bio simply needs to give the publisher or agent a sense of who you are and why you wrote the book. You’ll probably need a more polished bio for the book cover and online listing when that time comes. 

When I open a query I read the first few lines of the letter, zip over to the bio, then go back to the query and synopsis. Sometimes it gives me a better sense of the person whose story I’m considering. That’s what I hope, anyway. I don’t have a specific checklist of things I need or expect to find there.  

Some authors describe their education because that’s most relevant. Others have previous publishing or life experiences that bear mentioning. Sometimes there’s a cat. It’s nice when there’s a word about where they live. I just want to know a little about the person I’d be working with if I edited their book.

Be genuine. Be brief.

Here are some samples and guidelines that might help.

Bio writing for first time authors:
https://gatekeeperpress.com/how-to-write-an-author-bio-with-no-experience/

More sample bios:
https://insights.bookbub.com/great-author-bio-examples/

Good luck. You can do it!
Next time—genre and category.

Cindy