Writing an author bio is one of the hardest things authors do for their websites. We write stories about other people and places, and we think our own life is boring. Unfortunately, the world wants to know who we are and we have to tell them. Fortunately, we are storytellers. Think of your bio like a short story, and it’ll be a lot easier to write.
Information For Your Bio
Outline your bio like you would a story. Think about the character (you!). What are your personality traits, quirks, and unique facts? What is the antagonistic force in your career? In other words, what is it you seek to change with your writing? Every author needs a mission statement (just like characters need goals), though it may change over your career. Next, figure out what the inciting incident was that made you decide to be an author. Also, list any roadblocks you had to go around and successes you achieved.
Next, let’s talk about your stories. What do you write and why? If you have multiple books, take some time to highlight the most recent. You can also mention any awards your books have received. Share your credentials that make you the best person to write these stories. Those can be degrees, experiences, or simple passion for the topic.
Once you have all these facts, simply weave them into a story. Don’t feel like you need to use all the facts you’ve listed. Like writing a story, some things will need to be cut. Most suggest you write your bio in third person so others can copy and paste your bio for speaking engagements or other activities where they need to introduce you. You can write a long bio (2,000-3,000 words) and a short bio (50-100 words), and have them ready for anyone who needs it.
Tone Of Your Bio
The tone of your bio needs to be specific to you. It should sound like the voice you use in your books so it gives your readers a taste of what to expect from your writing. Don’t overthink this too much. Your voice will come naturally to you. Just don’t stifle it to sound more professional if that’s not your style.
Use some humor. Not all of us are comedians (I’m certainly not), but something in the bio should make the reader smile. It can be an endearing quirk, a pun, or a full-out joke. You can start with something fun and upbeat so it hooks the reader.
In an author bio, you have to straddle the line between relatable and mysterious. Your readers don’t want to know your daily routine (well, most don’t), but they want to connect with you in some way. Give them enough information to feel that connection, but don’t overshare.
Layout For Your Bio
You should have a picture on your about page. If you don’t want your own picture, you can do something book related. Just make sure there is an image to help draw the eye to the page. If you have a headshot picture, make sure it is high quality (at least 2000 x 1000 pixels) because others will use the photo much like they will use your bio for professional events. Name the picture your author name and make the ALT text the same so it is the first result on search engines. This will make it easier for anyone looking for you.
Put social media icon links and a way to sign up for your newsletter at the bottom of your author bio page. If someone read your entire bio, they could be interested in knowing more. Make it easy for them to click and see more about you.
Final Thoughts
I hope this helps remove any roadblocks to writing your author bio. It took me weeks to write mine, and I had it proofread by a few friends who helped make it better. If you need an example to follow, you can check out other author pages. Feel free to look at mine. It’s definitely better than my first bio where I wrote a single paragraph about how I liked to read and write. LOL
One last piece of advice: review your bio and update it every year. Keeping it current makes it look fresh and gives you a chance to include your latest accomplishments.
Thanks for reading!
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