Lena Alexson. Still, establishing a third-person perspective when writing about yourself automatically establishes objectivity and professionalism, and inspires trust on the part of the reader. I feel inclined to try some of them. Going through a divorce or other major family issues? A bio for a query letter: For FICTION, if youre unpublished, it should be one to two sentencesabout 50 words or fewer. And if youd like to share your own author bio in the comments section and link to your author page on Amazon or your website, go for it. On the contrary! Read her writing-related rants and reflections on her Moccasin Cove Mysteries blog. Is this ok? Wimpy Fart loves Minecraft and writes awesome Minecraft books for YOU because you are the best Minecraft fans in the world. If that is the case, a mention of something that is important to you is fine, but dont drag it on and focus on it. This gets cumbersome when you have ten books and need to make one tiny change in each of them. Novelist and short story writer Brandon Taylor's whole bio is great, but check out his heavy hitting first sentence that instantly tells you everything you really need to know: If youre stuck for words, you can use his bio, and other great About the Author examples for inspiration. I personally think that if youve hit the NYT and the USA Today, saying youre also an Amazon bestselling author is a bit beside the point, but its no big deal! I believe the hosting costs $4 a month, and many of the themes or design looks are free. Answer these 2 crucial questions to understand your genre and target audience: Your author bio needs to compliment the genre and subject matter of your book. It takes a ton of work to build up an audience, and most authors would rather spend that time writing books. Consider: You need to think about your target reader. [spacer height=20px] Pin or bookmark the post for future inspiration! Weirs mega-blockbuster novel The Martian famously started as a series of blog posts, so its no wonder hes got a sharp-looking blog. Did you graduate college with a degree in Creative Writing? I hadnt seen anyone else do this, and Im stealing the idea from him, so credit where credit is due. Ive got a lot to think about and a lot of great resources to look to. However, a solid author bio is actually an important marketing tool. Thank you! I especially love that you included examples from unpublished authors. But we and all three dogs are happy to be comfy at home again, too! But one really annoying bit about adding an author bio to most books is that you have to copy and paste it for every book. Recently I asked, Whats the difference between wisdom and foolishness? There were a lot of great ideas in the replies. That being said, its not a good idea to start listing every softball trophy you won in middle school. Here are the headings that appear before the About the Author section: You should update your About the Author page or individual author bios any time something significant changes in your life or career, especially honors and awards or when your next book comes out. Well, Bryn, you can now claim a new genre. Also leave out the fun stuff about family, pets, and Member of SCBWI. Experts Check out this post by Kellie Rendina to understand their differences. Hear about a Reedsy author's book tour. I dont think I have time right now to blog, but should I include perhaps elements of world-building like the main characteristics of each of the alien species that are part of the story? This can be done subtly, like by referring to your location in your byline: Or you can include a brief illustration of your lifestyle, says Rachel: Jane lives and works out of her home at the base of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, and spends her summers hiking and camping with her two children and husband..