Amateur To Published: The Fiction Writer's Guide To Publishing

6 - Craft Your Author Bio

Your bio gives curious readers a glimpse intothe person behind their favorite stories, and someone who they can becomeinvested in. If it's interesting, it might even make curious wanderers check out your books just to see what you write since you seem like someone they'd love to get to know.

To create your author bio:

STEP 1: BROWSE YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR'S PROFILE

Check out the profiles of popular writers within your genre on their websites, Amazon pages, various social media etc. Take note of;

- how they introduce themselves

- length or wordcount of bio

- voice (is it written in first or third person)

- information revealed

- photos they have

- similarities and difference between their profiles and those of other successful authors.

Use their profile as a guideline for what your profile will look like.

STEP 2: GET A GOOD PROFILE PICTURE

If you're going to be anonymous (like me, you can use your book covers, a logo, your back, paid for cartoon images, or even an animated version of yourself. Get creative! But don't use someone else's face.

If you plan to use your face then make sure the photo:

- is clear i.e the best camera quality photo

- is focused on your face

- has you smiling or at least close to smiling. Smiling makes you seem friendly

- has you looking your best. Get your hair done, make up done and wear a top that makes your complexion pop

- is not a selfie. Don't do it yourself and please... nobody wants your duck-lips.

- has been approved by someone else. Get a second opinion just to see if others like it as much as you do

STEP 3: WRITE YOUR BIO

You already saw what your favorite author has on their profile. Use this as a sample when writing your bio. In general, most bios will:

-  Make the author's genre clear right from the start i.e. Jane Doe is a thriller writer or Horror novelist, Mark Spencer has been a fan of scary stuff since...

- Include your writing journey. Did you start writing when you were just ten?Are you an avid reader? Have you been writing fan-fiction for a long time? Have you published other books?

-Include interesting non-writing facts about yourself. Make a list of 3-5 interesting things about youthat are unrelated to writing to give readers a little insight to who you areother than a writer. It might be something about your family, when you live,how you spend your days, your hobbies or some life experiences. A little humoris always appreciated.

- Have contact information. Where can your readers find you? At the very least, include links to your Social Media profiles and your website. Some authors include their email address but that this is like asking for spammers. Instead send readers to your website where you, hopefully, have a 'Contact Me' page that includes an email form.

STEP 4: HAVE BOTH FIRST & THIRD PERSON VERSIONS OF YOUR BIO

Third Person POV (Point of View) is more professional but distant. It is best for formal occasions like guest blogging, book jackets, and your retailer pages (Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble pages etc if already created). First Person POV is more casual and inspires closeness with your fans. It is best used on your social media accounts and website's 'About Me' page.

STEP 5: EDIT

A good bio that can be used everywhere will float at around 50 – 250 words. Anything more is stretching it. Readers only need a glimpse of who you are, notyour whole life story. The most important question your bio needs to answer is what you write i.e. your niche. Anything else can be slashed until your bio feels concise and tight.

Be especially careful about including sadinformation. Unless you can spin it into a victory e.g. an accident gave youthe motivation to start writing, save it for the Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs) section of your website or for articles in your blog. You don't want toleave your readers feeling depressed; just really interested in you and yourbooks.

STEP 6: UPLOAD IT EVERYWHERE

Include the main bio on all your social media accounts, your retail pages, your website and any other forums where you are active. Make sure that they all link back to your website where hopefully you are waiting to draw them into your mailing list.

STEP 7: CONSIDER MAKING A VIDEO

Research shows that most people love to consumeinformation via visuals. Since I prefer to be anonymous, I don't do this. But if you're okay with showing your face to the world, consider filming a captivating and informative video tointroduce you to your readers.

The best videos are conversational, well-madeand short. Talk about yourself, what you write, anything else you might thinkis important. Once you're done share the video i.e. post/share it on Facebook,Goodreads, Twitter, your Amazon page. Embed/Export it to your website andYouTube.

STEP 8: HAVE A LIST OF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If you want to give readers deeper insight into who you are, your writing process, your books and maybe some more information about your personal life, there's no better place to include it than in the FAQs section of your website (a page that will be directly linked within your bio). Think of anything you'd like to know about your favorite author then answer it in your extended bio.

Some FAQs you could answer include:

- How did you get into writing?

- Why did you choose the genre you're writing in?

- Where do your story ideas come from?

- How do your personal values seep into your writing?

- When is your next book coming out?

- In what order should your books be read?

- Do you have any other pen-names

- Where are you in the world?

- Married? Single? Assexual?

- What does your writing space look like?

- Behind the scenes look at your average day?

- A few books you love that you'd recommend to readers

etc etc

Just answer all the questions you've always wanted to ask your favorite writer. Most authors will have a dedicated page on their website to answer frequently asked questions. This page should be linked to your 'About Me' page so that if readers want to know more about you, they can find that info easily.

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Comments? Questions? Ask below and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability