The biography of an author can be a valuable marketing tool on books, bookselling sites, the author's website, Facebook page, and even condensed in a Twitter profile.
A resume, Curriculum Vitae, or an existing business bio will generally not work for the purposes of an author bio (although any of these can be a starting point), since most people when composing a work history, or a business bio, tend to be overly modest. Often, they fail to highlight their very best selling points for readers and the media.
What I suggest, instead, is to start from scratch with a list of questions to obtain the information needed to create a bio crafted specifically for marketing an author and their books.
Suggested Author Bio Questions
1.Tell me about your background. What are your significant previous employment/entrepreneurial experiences that relate to writing, becoming an author, or the background for one of your major characters?
2.Provide any degrees, certifications, etc.
3.Do you possess certain skills or attributes that make you a good writer or artistic person?
4.Who do you see as your typical reader? Share any parallels between your life and those of a typical reader.
5.What does a reader expect when they pick up a book with your name on it?
6.Why do you write, or what exactly attracted you to, this style of literature? Any authors that inspired you? Early on? Currently?
7.What has been your biggest writing success story?
8.What three pieces of advice would you like to share with people interested in writing?
9.How has writing/publishing evolved over the past year/five years/ten years? What has caused this evolution?
10.What are the current trends or the next big thing?
11.Describe your typical day.
12.Are you involved with personally and/or your company/family support any nonprofit organizations? If so, please provide a few details about your involvement.
13.Any cool hobbies/talents/additional careers?
14.Age? Know that the media is always interested in authors that are either younger or older than the norm (in business, for example, high achievers under the age of 40 are celebrated in perennial lists published in several national magazines).
15.Married (A romance writer, for example, may decide to share their personal love story)? Children (please provide their gender, so that readers can relate, if they also have boys or girls, but their ages and names are not needed, as that information should not be shared for privacy and safety reasons)? Pets? If so, please share details!
16.What are some of your favorites? Think colors, music, food, dessert, TV, cable, books, movies, sports, etc. Share anything that you feel passionate about…
17.What is your definition of happiness?
18.Is there anything that you wish to share that wasn’t covered in this Q&A?
You should also possess some inside knowledge to ask questions that are not presented here. Be sure to customize these questions to fit the author. Delete the questions that don’t apply and add ones that do. If you know that the author likes to travel, is a musician, or is a gardener, ask several questions about that interest. If the author has achieved certain target goals, ask for an overview.
Feel free to ask more questions, but keep the grand total to no more than 25 questions (more than 25 and half your questions won’t be answered, as the author will be overwhelmed).
Now, when I email these customized questions to any author—it’s a fishing expedition. I have no idea what I’ll receive in return. My intent, in doing this, is to pan for gold. I’m going to pick and choose the answers that best display why this person is a great resource, what is unique and different about them. Often you’ll discover information that is not commonly known and may never have been publicized before—that’s the goal of these questions.
The bio for an Author is not meant to be a dry or boring synopsis of skills, experience, and education. This bio, instead, should offer conflict, trials, tribulations, triumphs, moments of glory, great accomplishments, and, most importantly, it should be entertaining.
Remember, a media contact is not looking to hire an author. What they desire is a subject to attract readers and to be newsworthy. They are seeking what is new, fresh, and exciting. Keep this in mind, likewise, when composing your questions and compiling a bio!
A resume, Curriculum Vitae, or an existing business bio will generally not work for the purposes of an author bio (although any of these can be a starting point), since most people when composing a work history, or a business bio, tend to be overly modest. Often, they fail to highlight their very best selling points for readers and the media.
What I suggest, instead, is to start from scratch with a list of questions to obtain the information needed to create a bio crafted specifically for marketing an author and their books.
Suggested Author Bio Questions
1.Tell me about your background. What are your significant previous employment/entrepreneurial experiences that relate to writing, becoming an author, or the background for one of your major characters?
2.Provide any degrees, certifications, etc.
3.Do you possess certain skills or attributes that make you a good writer or artistic person?
4.Who do you see as your typical reader? Share any parallels between your life and those of a typical reader.
5.What does a reader expect when they pick up a book with your name on it?
6.Why do you write, or what exactly attracted you to, this style of literature? Any authors that inspired you? Early on? Currently?
7.What has been your biggest writing success story?
8.What three pieces of advice would you like to share with people interested in writing?
9.How has writing/publishing evolved over the past year/five years/ten years? What has caused this evolution?
10.What are the current trends or the next big thing?
11.Describe your typical day.
12.Are you involved with personally and/or your company/family support any nonprofit organizations? If so, please provide a few details about your involvement.
13.Any cool hobbies/talents/additional careers?
14.Age? Know that the media is always interested in authors that are either younger or older than the norm (in business, for example, high achievers under the age of 40 are celebrated in perennial lists published in several national magazines).
15.Married (A romance writer, for example, may decide to share their personal love story)? Children (please provide their gender, so that readers can relate, if they also have boys or girls, but their ages and names are not needed, as that information should not be shared for privacy and safety reasons)? Pets? If so, please share details!
16.What are some of your favorites? Think colors, music, food, dessert, TV, cable, books, movies, sports, etc. Share anything that you feel passionate about…
17.What is your definition of happiness?
18.Is there anything that you wish to share that wasn’t covered in this Q&A?
You should also possess some inside knowledge to ask questions that are not presented here. Be sure to customize these questions to fit the author. Delete the questions that don’t apply and add ones that do. If you know that the author likes to travel, is a musician, or is a gardener, ask several questions about that interest. If the author has achieved certain target goals, ask for an overview.
Feel free to ask more questions, but keep the grand total to no more than 25 questions (more than 25 and half your questions won’t be answered, as the author will be overwhelmed).
Now, when I email these customized questions to any author—it’s a fishing expedition. I have no idea what I’ll receive in return. My intent, in doing this, is to pan for gold. I’m going to pick and choose the answers that best display why this person is a great resource, what is unique and different about them. Often you’ll discover information that is not commonly known and may never have been publicized before—that’s the goal of these questions.
The bio for an Author is not meant to be a dry or boring synopsis of skills, experience, and education. This bio, instead, should offer conflict, trials, tribulations, triumphs, moments of glory, great accomplishments, and, most importantly, it should be entertaining.
Remember, a media contact is not looking to hire an author. What they desire is a subject to attract readers and to be newsworthy. They are seeking what is new, fresh, and exciting. Keep this in mind, likewise, when composing your questions and compiling a bio!
