When a reader is buying your book online, they only have so much information to help inform their decision. Even if a reader is looking at your book in person, your author bio is in prime real estate on the back cover or just inside the dust jacket.
Your author bio is something that can persuade a prospective reader to not only purchase your book but move it to the top of their TBR pile. That’s how you get reviews and entice more readers to pick up a copy of your book. So, even though it really sucks to write one, it’s important to get it right.
The good news is that a great author bio can be written in a few easy steps. What you choose to write is largely based upon what you want, but how you write one that converts browsers into readers can be broken down into a formula:
Step 1: Consider Your Audience
If your book does well (and we all want it to do well), then the number one audience that will care about your author bio is an absolute stranger. These are the people who may use the information in your author bio to help determine if they want to buy your book. You should keep in mind what readers of your genre are interested in, but ideally your bio should be broadly interesting in case you decide to write other genres or your book becomes a bestseller and every Nancy on the street wants a copy.
But you should also consider what you like to read in an author bio. What piques your interest? What bores you? What kind of books are you most likely to read bios for, and who is that person for your book?
Step 2: Start with a One-Liner
When you write the first sentence of your bio, make sure it’s something that encapsulates you in a nutshell and highlights what makes you stand out from the rest of the authors on the shelves. This gives your prospective reader immediate insight into you and your work and whether it’s right for them. It may even prompt them to buy your book without another thought. One other bonus of this method is that you can drop this one line into spots where your entire bio may not fit online, which makes for easier publishing and marketing down the road!
Step 3: Give a Sense of Theme
Make sure you include a line or two covering the topics you like to write about. This will give readers a sense of what to expect from both this book and others you may have written, and it’s a great way to make a connection about what brought you to love the genre you write in! And if you write in more than one, make sure you include them all.
Step 4: Roll Out the Credentials
Very few authors will sell based on their name alone. So, unless you’re Kristin Hannah, any information that can help new readers understand why your book is legit will help them feel ready to commit money and time to it. Include a short list of awards, degrees, or relevant job titles here in your bio. This is also the right time to share a sentence of your background or life experiences if you’re writing an #ownstories. Really, include anything that will help readers feel more confident in their purchase of your book.
Step 5: Have a Little Fun
Giving a glimpse into who you are with a fun fact about you, some word play, quirky inspiration for your stories, or another piece of your personality is a great way to connect with prospective readers. If readers are interested in a book and find they have something in common with you, they’re more likely to read your book. It’s a great way to help people who are looking to buy a book as a gift, too!
Step 6: Plug, Plug, Plug
What else have you created that readers would like to enjoy? An author bio is a lot like a business card and can be a great way to help readers keep in touch with what’s coming next for you. It’s likely you’ve seen lists of previous works by authors in their bio, but this can also be a great place to add the handle for your favorite social platform, your author website, your podcast, your blog, or even where super fans can buy merch. Some authors even use this space to plug their favorite charities, especially if their subject matter is particularly grim. Make it easy to build a network of support for your work where readers are already looking.
Step 7: Edit for Industry Standards
You want your author bio to stand out and highlight your book, but you still want it to be accessible to readers. Here are some tips to keep it in line with industry standards:
Know the Point of View for Your Application
Query Letter? Write it in first person. Make it feel like a formal introduction if you were to have met this person face to face. And be pompous about yourself. Now's the time to lay out what you have to offer on the table.
Back of Your Book? Write it in third person. No I’s, no you’s. Keep it strictly hes, shes, and theys. It may feel awkward to write, but it’s much more awkward for someone who doesn’t know you to read it the other way around.
Keep it under 150 words. This is partially to save space on your book cover, partially to keep them wanting more, and partially because there will be a lot of places to submit it online. It would be nice to use the same one for all of them. You can write a longer one on your author website for people who want more!
Make it present tense. This doesn’t come as easily for writers, who are so frequently writing their novels in the past tense. But you’re living and writing and plugging away on social media right now. People want to be part of that.
Writing an author bio is likely to be some of the first marketing you do for your book. As such, it can be hard to feel certain about tailoring to your audience while meeting industry standards. Hopefully the guidelines on this post help. But if you’re still a little lost, an indie copyeditor can help you edit your author bio or any other copy for your book. Ultimately, what you want is to share a small piece of you and connect with your readers.
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