I love the part of Alice inWonderland where the smoking caterpillar demands to know who Alice is. She flounders about, never giving a satisfactory answer. Do you feel like Alice when writing your author's bio?
Whether published or unpublished, take some time to craft a good bio. It might help move you past the editorial board or garner media interest.
Here is a typical bio:
About the Author:
Joe Smith is a carpenter by day and author by night. He currently resides in Smalltown, USA with his wife and two daughters. He has two novels in print as well as one non-fiction book.
Did that tell you anything about him? His personality? What makes him stand out? Would you want to interview him?
Remember, from a media perspective, they want to make sure their audience is entertained. From a publisher's perspective, they want to know who they are investing money in.
It's not always easy finding what makes you different, what you're qualified to talk about, but dig deeper, make sure your bio has personality and reflects you.
Try out these articles I found on Google for starters:
http://julieduffy.com/writing/inventing_the_author.htm
http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/bio.htm
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Whooooo- R- U?
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Wow, I'm guilty of the boring bio. I never put much thought into. Thanks, Jess. I'll check out these links when I get a minute. Good stuff!
ReplyDeleteGreat advice about writing bios. It has to have pizzazz. I hope mine does (it's on my blog). I recently helped a writer with hers on her Southern Belle Writer blog. She's from the Atlanta area. I said, "Start it off with 'Hello, dah-lin. My name is XX. I'm from Gah-gah (Georgia) which makes me a Southern belle.'" She loved it and used it.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to tell you three a Novel Journey critique success story. Last week, your crits made a lightbulb come on for me. I'd been struggling with the opening scene in my WIP. Reading your crits clarified some things. Thanks for your time and effort in one writer's manuscript that helped another writer.
Rats. Now I have to re-do mine. Thanks, Jessica!
ReplyDeleteYeah, me too on the boring bio. I love it when author's have something quirky. Thanks for the suggestions!
ReplyDelete