How to Have the Best Author's Bio

Whether you hire a firm to provide book marketing services or handle promotion on your own, you need a well-crafted author's bio. It figures into many aspects of your marketing campaign and is an essential credibility-building opportunity. There's a fine line between originality and following widely accepted bio-writing conventions. You want a whiff of creativity that gets people's attention without undermining the seriousness of your knowledge, experience, and credentials. Small things can throw people off when deciding whether to read or review a book, and you need to be cautious.

Given the many ways, you'll need to use your bio, make sure to write several versions right from the start. The extended version belongs on your website and in promotional materials distributed to the media. Shorter versions are appropriate for programs and handouts where you make presentations and the back cover jacket of your book. The briefest version belongs in your social media profiles. Make sure you write it in the third person to sound professional. First-person writing makes a bio sounds amateurish. As you get underway, try writing several versions, and the final one may be an amalgam of several.

Be careful about how you interpret the word long – 300-350 words is enough for the more extended version of your bio. Going longer is rare and would only be warranted under exceptional circumstances. If you're already well known, that's an automatic case for brevity because people are already familiar with you and your accomplishments. Think also about your book's genre and what interests its target readers. Those ideas can guide you about what to include (or leave out). People will be reading your bio in the context of the book you've written, and the two need to be complimentary; otherwise, it's confusing.

Self-promotion isn't many authors' first instinct, but being shy won't sell books or earn you notice. Include them in your bio if you have honors and awards, business successes, or other notable achievements. A tactful moment of immodesty can be valuable in persuading people to read your book or cover it in the media. Especially for first-time authors, bios are important ways to spark people's interest in a book. Take a look at some of your competitors' or colleagues' bios for inspiration. Once you understand what's needed, it can be a beneficial experience. It will bring things back to mind you may use in other materials.