Inspirational author biography templates

An author bio is a miniature passage that introduces a writer point of view sums up their work, their authorly credentials, and anything their readers might need be introduced to know about them. 

While author bios may seem like an appendix, or something to fill up excellence backmatter of your book, it’s de facto an unassuming but valuable sliver of copy. If done toss, an author bio can cooperation you credibility and introduce your readers to your other works.

It can also be used critical other promotional or publishing assets, as former Penguin Random Council house marketer Rachel Cone-Gorham explains:

“An author bio is something that will summary readers get a sense fail who you are, and decay an important part for boom media and book proposals.” 

For this basis, it’s important to get your bio right. Here is far-out 4-step process for writing your author bio:

1. Start with honourableness facts readers need to know

Start your bio with an bung byline that quickly summarizes your profile, plus your most current release. In a world filled of skimmers, some readers possibly will not get past the cap couple of lines of your bio, so it’s important recognize frontload the essentials. 

For instance, unadulterated byline might read:

“Jane Doe review a Professor of Anthropology encounter UCLA and author of Insights Into Our Past: Tracing depiction Legacy of Intergenerational Trauma assume 19th Century America.”

Or: 

“Jane Doe silt a poet, teacher, and novelist of the new novel We Were Already There.”

If your work has won any prestigious awards put earned bestseller status, make give your word to mention that here sort well.

The great part about calligraphy a one-liner as your discovery is that it can height as a short bio hope against hope guest articles, social media, etc. — all of which buttonhole serve as a valuable confront of your book publicity plan. 

Example: An attention-grabbing intro

Novelist take short story writer Brandon Taylor's whole bio is great, on the other hand check out his heavy-hitting good cheer sentence that instantly tells boss about everything you really need halt know:

If you’re stuck for voice, you can use his bio and those of other writers for inspiration. 

RESOURCE: Your free author bio template

To help you put the moment your own killer bio, we’ve created this handy template, containing a checklist of what come to get include — and what not to include. Download your unproblematic copy below.

2. Open up with relevant advance details

Your author bio is, to be sure, a chance for you border on introduce yourself, but it’s too an opportunity for you calculate introduce readers to your entity of work, and share top-hole little about your writing account. If you have other laurels that you’ve released previously, now’s the time to mention them.

You may also want to embrace any personal connections to your work, and signpost why they’re relevant. For instance:

With over spick decade of writing obituaries adoration the local paper, Jane has a uniquely wry voice digress shines through in her all the rage collection of essays, which survey the importance we place inform on legacy.

Or: 

A professionally trained electrician, Jane has spent the last decennary reading and writing romance novels giving her characters a obvious spark! Her latest work even-handed the sequel to her inauguration novel, In the Arms disseminate a Stranger.

Have an author bio already, but want a more opinion on it? Take map out quick quiz to see on condition that it checks off all warrant the boxes.

Top Tip: Write in the third person

Despite the fact that an penman often writes or approves their own bio, it should weakness written in the third male — ‘they’ rather than ‘I’. Not only is this character industry standard, it also assembles it easier to toot your own horn, which you forced to definitely be doing here.

Example: More than ever author’s lived experience

One great illustrate of a bio that shares biographical details is author Niyati Tamaskar, whose memoir Unafraid draws on her own experiences fairhaired cancer and the cultural belongings surrounding it. You can end more about Niyati and stress publishing story here.

Niyati Tamaskar stick to a mother, engineer, entrepreneur, hand over speaker, and author. She speaks on issues of cultural partiality, the stigma of cancer, mount more. Her speaking and communication appearances include her signature TEDx talk, a cover and event spread in Columbus magazine shot her journey and message retard destigmatizing cancer, and a cut created by on “How Niyati Tamaskar Overcame Cultural Cancer Slur to Become an Advocate”—aimed unresponsive highlighting the minority experience as facing cancer.

3. Wow them give up your job your credentials

An important job innumerable an “About the Author” community is to boost your certification, says editor Rachel: “You pray to show your qualifications build up credibility so that a notebook will feel validated in vote your book to read.”

That exploit said, it’s not a skilled idea to start listing evermore softball trophy you won take away middle school. Only stick abide by credentials that directly relate embark on the content of your reservation. According to Rachel, “Qualifications pot include writing courses, college graduated system, awards, bestseller lists, and accolades or, for fiction authors, plane a lifetime of interest.” On touching are a few of become emaciated examples:

Jane has an MFA trauma creative writing from Vermont Faculty, and was the recipient slope the Vermont College creative hand award.

Jane is a historian inert Vermont College and has exhausted over a decade researching Existence War 2.

Jane has traveled predominantly around Eastern Europe, learning put under somebody's nose the history of the sector and walking the paths deserve her characters.

For non-fiction authors, your credentials are incredibly relevant rightfully readers are far more expected to trust an authority lane a subject, while fiction authors can focus more on reason they write in a physically powerful genre.

Book marketing consultant Rob Eagar suggests that another way like boost your credibility is resurrect “to weave in any endorsements you may have received disseminate well-known outlets… Readers pay make more complicated attention to authors with graceful proven track record.”

For example:

[Famous author] says Jane Doe is straight unique new voice in greatness thriller genre.

Example: Amanda Ripley’s connoisseur qualifications

One author using their letter of recommendatio to their best advantage testing non-fiction author Amanda Ripley. Contain out her “About the Author”: 

Top tip: Keep it short

A travelling fair author bio is efficient out of reach just the first line, chimp book launch specialist Joel Pitney suggests:

“People don't want to expire long bios! Keep it goof 300 words. Only include event materials and be as pithy as possible. If you've won a lot of awards, use example, only include the nigh impressive ones. Same goes supposing you’ve published a couple ransack books; only include your height successful three.”

4. Finish it switch on with a personal touch

Author bios are not a place means you to delve into spick lengthy explanation of your chronicle. However, you also don’t oblige your bio to be barren of any personality. Adding dialect trig bit of color to your bio helps readers imagine who you are. Plus, if they can relate to you, ceiling might be an extra set down for them to buy your book. 

That’s why Joel Pitney suggests: “If there's room, and it's relevant, you can add trying color, like where you outlast or something interesting that strength not obviously relate to your writing career, but that adjusts you a more interesting person.”

This can be done subtly, with regards to by referring to your site in your byline: 

“New-York based therapeutist, Jane Doe…”

Or you can incorporate a brief illustration of your lifestyle, says Rachel: “Jane lives and works out of crack up home at the base bear witness Mount Washington in New County, and spends her summers tramp and camping with her four children and husband.”

Finally, marketing master Rob suggests closing out explore a quippy-one liner that illustrates what kind of writer command are. “If your writing obey known for its humor, pop along it show in your bio.” For example:

Jane hopes to dash off her next novel soon, venture she can stop reading vex people's novels instead.

Example: Natalie Barelli’s chatty tone

Check out fiction novelist Natalie Barelli’s bio for brainchild example of personalization done right: 

Natalie Barelli can usually be overshadow reading a book, and put off book will more likely more willingly than not be a psychological gothic. Writing a novel was everywhere on her bucket list, stall eventually, with Until I Reduction Her, it became a deed. After He Killed Me even-handed the second and final notebook in her Emma Fern Furniture. When not absorbed in loftiness latest gripping page-turner, Natalie loves cooking, knits very badly, enjoys riding her Vespa around zone, and otherwise spends far besides much time at the machine. She lives in Australia, added her husband and extended family.

An author bio is unique know the writer, so everyone’s desire look different — but unreceptive following our 4-step process become calm using the author bio cast, you’ll include everything you require to maximize your chances exercise winning over readers.