Once upon a time, I imagined those paragraphs about authors that I read on the back of books were written by people at the publishing house or assistants. If you’re a Big Deal Author, maybe you do have people who write those for you, but every single published author I know writes their own bios.
If writing your own bio freaks you out, welcome to the party. When I first tried to write one, I felt weird talking about myself in third person, and I had a hard time gauging what was important and what wasn’t. But bios are a valuable and necessary tool if you’re hoping to get published, even just in the digital space, and with practice they stop feeling so awkward.
Let’s start with a few pointers.
Bios should be written in third person, especially if this is something you’re putting in your book proposal. If it’s on your website or social media page, first person might make sense, but bios that are used for media purposes are always in third.
They should reflect who you are and why you’re qualified. By which I mean, why you’re qualified to write this blog post, write this book, be speaking on this topic, etc.
When writing a bio, youth can be a drawback, because—to put it frankly— you haven’t had time to do much yet. Here are some ideas for what you can put in a bio as an unpublished writer:
- What you write
- Why you write it
- Any awards you might have won for your writing or articles you may have had published
- Your blog or notable places you’ve guest blogged
- Ditto but for podcasts or YouTube
- Any special education you have (college degree or whatever)
- Something that qualifies you to write this book (if you’re writing about missionaries in Africa and you were raised in Africa by missionaries, you should mention that.)
- A few things you’re passionate about, particularly if they’re unusual
- Any writing societies you’re a member of
You want a bio that makes you sound interesting because people like to read books written by interesting people.
Here are a two excellent examples of bios of young writers who have previously guest blogged on Go Teen Writers:
Lydia Howe is a twenty-something adventurer who grew up traversing the globe, first through the pages of books, and then in reality. Nowadays she’s living the clichéd life of working at a coffee shop and writing. When she’s not surrounding herself with words you can find her riding through the fields on Chadwin, her trusty lawnmower. She enjoys blogging and recently joined the worlds of Booktube and Bookstagram.
Caitlin Eha fell in love with books at a young age and never recovered. Today she is pursuing her dream of being a published novelist and screenwriter, in between the multitudinous demands of adult life. She is also a staff writer for the website Geekdom House (geekdomhouse.com). When she has a free moment, she enjoys reading, fencing, archery, cosplay, and time with her Lord. Caitlin can be found on her blog, caitlineha.wordpress.com, and on Wattpad @authorcaitlineha.
I love how both of these show such personality!
If you have questions or want to post a bio in the comments for feedback, you’re welcome to!
Great post! Approximately how many words should a bio be?
That’s a great question! There are no rules that I’m aware of. I usually keep mine to a few sentences. Around 100 words, I would say? Lydia and Caitlin’s are in the 65-75 range.
Ok thanks!
Thanks for this post! Was hoping it would be today. :0) It didn’t disappoint. I love the list of ideas, and the samples especially.
For me, infusing personality is rough. Hobbies of an adventurous homebody are rarely interesting. Perhaps I should take up yodeling…
XD that would definitely spark some interest
Ha! I totally relate. Most writers are in the same boat, honestly. Especially fiction. You might hop on a retail website and read bios for a bit, just to get a feel for different “personality” options.
S.C. Nichols: 😉
Miss Stephanie: will do, thanks!
I recently got around to starting my first “author website” (even though I’m probably years away from being published, but hey, it’s good to get your name out there, right?). I put a first person bio on my home page. This is what I came up with:
Bonjour fellow humans! I’m Emily, a quirky bookworm college student from Connecticut with big dreams of emerging triumphant from the battlefield that is the publishing industry. I write for kids and teens, specializing in fantasy, paranormal, and realistic fiction. I’m an amateur videographer, I dance like a car dealership inflatable at parties, and I chew way too much Trident Tropical Twist gum. I write for my school’s newspaper and literary journal, as well as Middlebury Connections magazine.
That made me smile, Em! Great imagery. (the idea of the publishing industry being a battlefield man . . .) ?
I love this! Great work, Em! Perfect for a website, and you could easily convert to a 3rd person style for a book proposal.
Thanks guys!
I had to write a first-person bio for a blog that I started with a friend recently. Not my favorite thing in the world to do, but it’s not terribly awkward thankfully!
Hi, I’m Aster! I live in Cameroon, West Africa. I’m the oldest of five kids, which can get a little crazy, but is really fun, too. My dad is a helicopter pilot who flies translators in and out of their villages, and generally makes life easy for them.
I enjoy reading, (so much so it gives the word bookworm a new meaning) writing, and general crafting. I love living in Cameroon. It’s really pretty, and very green! We typically live in the village, but have since moved into the capital, and I’m getting to go to a christian international school this year, which is really cool, since I’ve been homeschooled up until this point.
This looks good, Aster! You could probably tighten it up a bit, if you wanted. Like, “After having lived in a village in Cameroon, I’m adjusting to life in the capital where I will attend a Christian International School after having been homeschooled all my life.”
thanks, that’s helpful!
Wow, that’s really cool!
thanks! I really love it! (although I gotta say, homeschooling is sounding more and more appealing as the year wears on. At least for Science and Math)
I can relate to the crazy-but-fun job of being the oldest of five.
High-ten!
Thanks! I have people who think I’m crazy because I have so many siblings, and then I have friends who are also eldests of four or five, (or six or seven!) and we all congratulate each other when we can remember all of their ages, birthdays, and names! ??
I like your bio! And that is so cool you live in Cameroon!! My family lived there for four years as missionaries.
Oh that’s so cool! What mission were you with? And what village?
Baptist World Mission in Douala
Ah, ok. Cool!
Hey, I was wondering if you, Jill, and Shannon plan to do any more GoTeenWriters videos? I was watching them this morning and saw that the last one was over a year ago. I really like them; they are very helpful.
We would really like to, but it’s been so difficult to coordinate our schedules! All three of us are under contract right now, plus Jill is doing grad school, plus we all have busy kids that need shuttling around. We love doing the videos because we get the chance to see each other and catch up, but it’s been so hard to find recording time!
Are there topics you’d like to see covered?
Ah. That’s fine. Everybody these days has multiple things going on. Can’t wait to see new ones when you have videos (I’m subscribed to your channel.)
I don’t have any topics in particular, but its helpful to see any topic you post whether its a video or blog post. They all help me either now or in the future sometime
I did not know this! Thank you very much for enlightening me <33
I’m glad you found it helpful, Kate!
Hey Stephanie! I’m so glad to have found this…I had no bio on my debut novel and decided I probably should put it on my second one, releasing in Feb…it has no mention of my first novel or my website though. XD thoughts??…
Kassie Angle is a teenaged Christian author, cowgirl, therapy dog trainer, stereotypical INFJ, and Army girl to the core. She tries to use her stories to fill the silences in literature, helping more people understand the world of the Army and showing how God heals the broken-hearted. She has a heart for missions, the difficult places of the world, all things medical, and of course the love of her life—the Army.
Hi, Kassie!
Yes, I would definitely add a mention of your first book, your website, and maybe one social media channel you hang out on.
You mention the Army 3 times, which I know is a huge part of your brand, but it’s also a lot in three sentences. The other thing I noticed is that all three sentences are lists, so I think I would cut one of those.
Keep at it! Bios are tricky!