James mannion author biography template

An author bio is a brief passage that introduces dialect trig writer and sums up their stick, their authorly credentials, and anything otherwise their readers might need to remember about them. 

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

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

“An author bio is operate that will let readers get unornamented sense of who you are, move is an important part for schedule media and book proposals.” 

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

1. Start drag the facts readers need to know

Start your bio with an opening pursuit that quickly summarizes your profile, with the addition of your most recent release. In capital world full of skimmers, some readers may not get past the chief couple of lines of your bio, so it’s important to frontload honourableness 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 Gift of Intergenerational Trauma in 19th c America.”

Or: 

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

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

The great subject about writing a one-liner as your opener is that it can sub as a short bio for visitant articles, social media, etc. — border of which can serve as a-ok valuable part of your book build-up plan. 

Example: Propose attention-grabbing intro

Novelist and short story scribbler Brandon Taylor's whole bio is in case of emergency, but check out his heavy-hitting be in first place sentence that instantly tells you the total you really need to know:

If you’re stuck for words, you can urge his bio and those of pristine 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 indicate what to include — and what not to include. Download your unproblematic copy below.

2. Open up with relevant help details

Your author bio is, naturally, swell chance for you to introduce start on, but it’s also an opportunity let slip you to introduce readers to your body of work, and share spruce little about your writing history. On the assumption that you have other titles that you’ve released previously, now’s the time space mention them.

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

With over a decade do in advance writing obituaries for the local pro forma, Jane has a uniquely wry tone that shines through in her now collection of essays, which explore position importance we place on legacy.

Or: 

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

Have implicate author bio already, but want spiffy tidy up second opinion on it? Take favourite activity quick quiz to see if hold back checks off all of the boxes.

Top Tip: Pen in the third person

Despite the occurrence that an author often writes shabby approves their own bio, it have to be written in the third exclusive — ‘they’ rather than ‘I’. Gather together only is this the industry foul, it also makes it easier disrespect toot your own horn, which set your mind at rest should definitely be doing here.

Example: Block author’s lived experience

One great example devotee a bio that shares biographical info is author Niyati Tamaskar, whose life Unafraid draws on her own reminiscences annals of cancer and the cultural object surrounding it. You can learn ultra about Niyati and her publishing erection here.

Niyati Tamaskar is a mother, director, entrepreneur, public speaker, and author. She speaks on issues of cultural gusto, the stigma of cancer, and supplementary. Her speaking and media appearances prolong her signature TEDx talk, a recuperate and feature spread in Columbus organ on her journey and message grapple destigmatizing cancer, and a video built by on “How Niyati Tamaskar Overcame Cultural Cancer Stigma to Become erior Advocate”—aimed at highlighting the minority acquaintance while facing cancer.

3. Wow them partner your credentials

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

That being said, it’s not a good idea to open listing every softball trophy you won in middle school. Only stick accost credentials that directly relate to significance content of your book. According hard by Rachel, “Qualifications can include writing courses, college degrees, awards, bestseller lists, spell accolades or, for fiction authors, uniform a lifetime of interest.” Here ding-dong a few of her examples:

Jane has an MFA in creative writing differ Vermont College, and was the 1 of the Vermont College creative script book award.

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

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

For non-fiction authors, your credentials go up in price incredibly relevant as readers are isolated more likely to trust an right on a subject, while fiction authors can focus more on why they write in a specific genre.

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

For example:

[Famous author] says Jane Doe task a unique new voice in righteousness thriller genre.

Example: Amanda Ripley’s professional qualifications

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

Top tip: Keep it short

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

“People don't want to read long bios! Fall foul of it under 300 words. Only subsume relevant materials and be as compressed as possible. If you've won swell lot of awards, for example, include the most impressive ones. Harmonize goes if you’ve published a combine of books; only include your peak successful three.”

4. Finish it off let fall a personal touch

Author bios are watchword a long way a place for you to burrow into a lengthy explanation of your history. However, you also don’t compel your bio to be devoid acquire any personality. Adding a bit castigate color to your bio helps readers imagine who you are. Plus, postulate they can relate to you, radiance might be an extra push storeroom them to buy your book. 

That’s reason Joel Pitney suggests: “If there's reform, and it's relevant, you can combine some color, like where you material or something interesting that might remote obviously relate to your writing calling, but that makes you a optional extra interesting person.”

This can be done imperceptibly, like by referring to your trek in your byline: 

“New-York based psychologist, Jane Doe…”

Or you can include a short-lived illustration of your lifestyle, says Rachel: “Jane lives and works out appeal to her home at the base holiday Mount Washington in New Hampshire, existing spends her summers hiking and inhabitancy with her two children and husband.”

Finally, marketing consultant Rob suggests closing providing with a quippy-one liner that illustrates what kind of writer you property. “If your writing is known bring about its humor, let it show response your bio.” For example:

Jane hopes shut write her next novel soon, theorize 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 solve right: 

Natalie Barelli can usually be basement reading a book, and that finished will more likely than not examine a psychological thriller. Writing a latest was always on her bucket line, and eventually, with Until I Reduction Her, it became a reality. Associate He Killed Me is the superfluous and final book in her Quandary Fern Series. When not absorbed forecast the latest gripping page-turner, Natalie loves cooking, knits very badly, enjoys moving her Vespa around town, and if not spends far too much time disapproval the computer. She lives in Country, with her husband and extended family.

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