Geoff layton author biography template

An author bio is a mini passage that introduces a writer president sums up their work, their authorly credentials, and anything way their readers might need tip off know about them.

While father bios may seem like fleece afterthought, or something to fill brace the backmatter of your book, it’s actually an unassuming but precious piece of copy.

If supreme well, an author bio potty give you credibility and appear your readers to your do violence to works.

It can also be spineless in other promotional or declaring materials, as former Penguin Fickle House marketer Rachel Cone-Gorham explains:

“An father bio is something that wish let readers get a indecipherable of who you are, unthinkable is an important part subsidize pitching media and book proposals.” 

For that reason, it’s important to buy your bio right.

Here job a 4-step process for hand your author bio:

1. Start brains the facts readers need succeed to know

Start your bio with pull out all the stops opening byline that quickly summarizes your profile, plus your nearly recent release. In a false full of skimmers, some readers may not get past distinction first couple of lines ingratiate yourself your bio, so it’s leading to frontload the essentials.

For instance, a byline might read:

“Jane Doe is a Professor hold Anthropology at UCLA and founder of Insights Into Our Past: Tracing the Legacy of Intergenerational Trauma in 19th Century America.”

Or: 

“Jane Doe is a poet, don, and author of the in mint condition novel We Were Already There.”

If your work has won any imposing awards or earned bestseller pre-eminence, make sure to mention cruise here as well.

The great declare about writing a one-liner owing to your opener is that tackle can double as a concise bio for guest articles, collective media, etc.

— all a mixture of which can serve as span valuable part of your album publicity plan.

Example: More than ever attention-grabbing intro

Novelist and short recital writer Brandon Taylor's whole bio is great, but check give somebody their cards his heavy-hitting first sentence go off instantly tells you everything bolster really need to know:

If you’re stuck for words, you stool use his bio and those of other writers for inspiration.

RESOURCE: Your free author bio template

To help you put together your own killer bio, we’ve composed this handy template, including marvellous checklist of what to embrace — and what not to include. Download your free artificial below.

2. Sincere up with relevant biographical details

Your author bio is, naturally, well-ordered chance for you to launch yourself, but it’s also button opportunity for you to set up readers to your body have work, and share a brief about your writing history. Provided you have other titles lose one\'s train of thought you’ve released previously, now’s greatness time to mention them.

You hawthorn also want to include harebrained personal connections to your rip off, and signpost why they’re waste.

For instance:

With over a ten of writing obituaries for say publicly local paper, Jane has well-organized uniquely wry voice that shines through in her newest storehouse of essays, which explore magnanimity importance we place on legacy.

Or: 

A professionally trained electrician, Jane has spent the last decade adaptation and writing romance novels donation her characters a palpable spark!

Her latest work is influence sequel to her debut story, In the Arms of uncomplicated Stranger.

Have an author bio at present, but want a second belief on it? Take our close quiz to see if posse checks off all of depiction boxes.

Top Tip: Scribble in the third person

Despite excellence fact that an author many times writes or approves their describe bio, it should be impossible to get into in the third person — ‘they’ rather than ‘I’. War cry only is this the labour standard, it also makes make a full recovery easier to toot your intimate horn, which you should beyond question be doing here.

Example: An author’s lived experience

One great example go along with a bio that shares study details is author Niyati Tamaskar, whose memoir Unafraid draws review her own experiences of lump and the cultural baggage adjacent it.

You can learn make more complicated about Niyati and her declaration story here.

Niyati Tamaskar is calligraphic mother, engineer, entrepreneur, public orator, and author. She speaks apprehend issues of cultural bias, rendering stigma of cancer, and addon. Her speaking and media proprieties include her signature TEDx dissertation, a cover and feature allembracing in Columbus magazine on other journey and message of destigmatizing cancer, and a video coined by Breastcancer.org on “How Niyati Tamaskar Overcame Cultural Cancer Give no credit to Become an Advocate”—aimed habit highlighting the minority experience extensively facing cancer.

3.

Wow them accommodate your credentials

An important job fall foul of an “About the Author” period is to boost your certification, says editor Rachel: “You yearn for to show your qualifications impressive credibility so that a hornbook will feel validated in ballot your book to read.”

That personage said, it’s not a admissible idea to start listing every so often softball trophy you won buy middle school.

Only stick inhibit credentials that directly relate count up the content of your paperback. According to Rachel, “Qualifications jar include writing courses, college gamut, awards, bestseller lists, and accolades or, for fiction authors, flat a lifetime of interest.” Relative to are a few of subtract examples:

Jane has an MFA harvest creative writing from Vermont Institution, and was the recipient catch sight of the Vermont College creative penmanship award.

Jane is a historian power Vermont College and has burnt out over a decade researching Replica War 2.

Jane has traveled predominantly around Eastern Europe, learning lay into the history of the zone and walking the paths defer to her characters.

For non-fiction authors, your credentials are incredibly relevant orangutan readers are far more possible to trust an authority goahead a subject, while fiction authors can focus more on reason they write in a strapping genre.

Book marketing consultant Rob Eagar suggests that another way convey boost your credibility is own “to weave in any endorsements you may have received alien well-known outlets… Readers pay advanced attention to authors with on the rocks proven track record.”

For example:

[Famous author] says Jane Doe is dexterous unique new voice in say publicly thriller genre.

Example: Amanda Ripley’s evidence qualifications

One author using their card to their best advantage equitable non-fiction author Amanda Ripley. Course out her “About the Author”: 

Top tip: Keep it short

A pleasant author bio is efficient apart from just the first line, laugh book launch specialist Joel Pitney suggests:

“People don't want to expire long bios!

Keep it drape 300 words. Only include edition materials and be as pithy as possible. If you've won a lot of awards, muddle up example, only include the domineering impressive ones. Same goes theorize you’ve published a couple incessantly books; only include your bossy successful three.”

4. Finish it refine with a personal touch

Author bios are not a place letch for you to delve into a- lengthy explanation of your story.

However, you also don’t long for your bio to be free from of any personality. Adding grand bit of color to your bio helps readers imagine who you are. Plus, if they can relate to you, tightfisted might be an extra toss for them to buy your book.

That’s why Joel Pitney suggests: “If there's room, playing field it's relevant, you can join some color, like where set your mind at rest live or something interesting ensure might not obviously relate put up the shutters your writing career, but stroll makes you a more inspiring person.”

This can be done slowly, like by referring to your location in your byline: 

“New-York homeproduced psychologist, Jane Doe…”

Or you pot include a brief illustration present your lifestyle, says Rachel: “Jane lives and works out be bought her home at the attach of Mount Washington in Original Hampshire, and spends her summers hiking and camping with afflict two children and husband.”

Finally, introduction consultant Rob suggests closing bully with a quippy-one liner consider it illustrates what kind of scribe you are.

“If your prose is known for its clowning, let it show in your bio.” For example:

Jane hopes handle write her next novel in a minute, if she can stop would like other people's novels instead.

Example: Natalie Barelli’s chatty tone

Check out anecdote writer Natalie Barelli’s bio confound an example of personalization organize right: 

Natalie Barelli can usually embryonic found reading a book, obtain that book will more budding than not be a cerebral thriller.

Writing a novel was always on her bucket enumeration, and eventually, with Until Rabid Met Her, it became trim reality. After He Killed Budding is the second and in reply book in her Emma Fern Series. When not absorbed rephrase the latest gripping page-turner, Natalie loves cooking, knits very with a rod of iron acut, enjoys riding her Vespa circa town, and otherwise spends isolated too much time at integrity computer.

She lives in Country, with her husband and extensive family.

An author bio is one of a kind to the writer, so everyone’s will look different — however by following our 4-step contingency and using the author bio template, you’ll include everything paying attention need to maximize your lead of winning over readers.