2. Do not write in the First Person
When was the last time you picked
up a bestseller and saw “I live in Kentucky and I have three children. I hope
you enjoy my book.”? WRITE IN THE THIRD PERSON.
3. Be Brief
People are paying to read your
story, your research, your thoughts. That’s bio enough. Remember that what
goes on the cover is simply a hook to convince them you are qualified. Keep it
to three (or not more than four) sentences.
4. Learn from
the big guys
Think about what you would like to
see on the back of a book you were thinking of buying. How can you make yours
sound like that?
Non-Fiction
Easy. Are you qualified? Mention
that first.
If you are writing about
psychology and have a PhD in clinical psychology…why are you even reading
this? For everyone else, you may be more qualified than you realize. Frances
Bastress, author of The Relocating Spouse’s Guide to Employment does
not mention a degree in her bio (I doubt you could get one in her field) but it
does say she ‘has spent nearly three decades in the human resources
development field…’ and goes on to mention the kinds of companies she has
worked with, and a workshop she developed.
Patricia B. Seybold, author of Customers.com
“is the founder and CEO of Boston based Patricia Seybold Group, a
worldwide business and technology consulting firm.” Her bio continues to name
the biggest companies she has helped, and then it stops.
Even if you don’t work in the
field, you can still be qualified. Think
about why you thought you could write this book in the first place. Did you
write a book about time-management because you are working full-time, raising
five kids, keeping a happy marriage together and running several children’s
clubs? Your bio reads like this:
“Mandy Thomas juggles careers as
a paralegal and a writer, while raising five children, coaching soccer, running
a Girl Guide troupe and still having time for the occasional date with her
husband.”
[click
here for full text of quoted non-fiction bios, and more good examples]
Fiction/Poetry/Drama
Are you qualified? Mention it.
John Grisham’s unassuming bio in
an early edition of The Firm starts:
“John Grisham, formerly a
criminal defense attorney, is a graduate of Mississippi State University and Ole
Miss Law School.” This gives legitimacy to an author writing legal thrillers.
It goes on to give him a human face by mentioning the wife and two kids and the
town where he lives (which is in the region he is writing about and so,
relevant). It also states that he is “also the author of A Time To Kill”.
It does not mention that he self-published it, it simply says he wrote it.
Michael Chrichton’s early bios
are mostly about his medical and scientific qualifications with a little about
where and when he was born.
Are you a retired police officer
writing detective mysteries? Mention it. If you are an engineer or a physicist
writing Sci Fi, mention it. If you have been playing with your Dungeons &
Dragons group every Friday night for the past 18 years and are now writing
Fantasy, you might want to let the world know your dirty little secret. It shows
that you understand the conventions and probably have a vivid imagination.
What if you are not writing genre
fiction or don’t have that Ph.D or MFA quite yet?
Start, or end, with any publishing
credits or writing qualifications you have. They show you understand the craft.
Wally Lamb’s first novel, chosen
by Oprah, has a bio that simply relates all his short-story publishing credits
and competition wins, his academic qualifications and then mentions that he is a
beloved creative writing teacher.
Next, again look for
qualifications in your daily life, that relate to your story or subject-matter.
Charles Frazier wrote the beautiful novel Cold Mountain which is set in
the Blue Ridge Mountains. His bio reads:
“Charles Frazier grew up in
South Carolina. He now lives in Raleigh with his wife and his daughter where
they raise horses.” A perfect bio for a pastoral Southern novel.
It goes on to mention that Cold
Mountain is his first novel, but you can only get away with that when, like
Frazier, you have a gold National Book Award Winner stamp on the cover. Unless
you can comfortably use words like ‘breakout’, ‘sensational’ or
‘luminous’ and preferably attribute them to some better-known writer, agent
or reviewer, you might not want to mention that this is a first novel.
Don’t forget to tailor your bio
to each book or article if you write in different genres. Your romance readers aren’t
going to care that you were a police officer, whereas your mystery readers
might.
[click
here for full text of quoted fiction bios, and more good examples]
And Finally…
If you really can’t do it, try
asking another writer to interview you. It should be a writer with some
journalistic ability, one who is familiar with both your book and the genre in
which you write. Ask them to read the cover bio of your favorite author writing
in the same genre, and this article (of course!), and then interview you with
them in mind. Have your writer friend choose the three sentences most pertinent
to you and your qualifications for writing this book. Swallow your pride and
remember that no-one will read a book by an author whose cover bio reads:
“I only started writing last
year and I don’t reckon I’m very good, but you might like my story and I
sure hope you do.”
And
yes, I have seen bios like that!
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