The Dreaded Author Bio

Hmmm. That's a tough call. If it were the bio section of your query letter, I'd say just go with "this is my first novel." But it sounds like they want more info on you than just your history as a writer. Maybe a quick paragraph about how you're married, are and artist, and a stepmom. Also, this is your first novel.

"Andrea G. S. works full-time for the government. She spends nearly all of her spare time taking care of her stepson, writing, reading, and painting."

Blech! I hate doing these things. I did one a few years back and it was returned with a note requesting a CV/resume! I like James D. Macdonald's suggestion - to the point and not overwordy. If they want more they can ask!

I used to teach a resume writing course, and one of the first things I told EVERYONE was: You ARE interesting... you just have to make it sound that way.

Thankfully, you're a writer This shouldn't be too hard for you.

Think about it... if you are a mother, what about being a mother do you love? What makes it challenging? Pull a sentence or two together from that.

Someone who bags groceries doesn't have to simply say they bag groceries, they can also say that they consistently make people smile in line.

It's all in the way you manipulate your words to make you, as a person, seem marketable. Go for it, and don't feel like you're being to braggy or boastful of your accomplishments. As long as it's true, it's fair game.

Good luck

I hate these things. I wrote one in haste many years ago in connection with my first book and it still turns up in odd and inappropriate places. My agent has a number on her website though they are a bit lengthy and in most cases a bit out of date: http://www.miccheetham.com/

You can get a general idea?

Must you have a bio if you're not published?

If so, do what Uncle Jim said. Also you can include relevant info. For example, if you write detective stories and you're a police officers, or if you write military thrillers and you're a fighter pilot, or if you write a novel about beekeeping and you're a beekeeper, mention it.

I'd go with what James D. suggested. It's really the best you can do right now. The only addition might be any relevant schooling and/or courses taken. I wouldn't try and make something out of nothing since agents will be able to see right through your words. Hey, it is what it is --- and agents are used to it. If your work's great the lack of a bio won't hold you back.

After raising five children and one husband, Judg came to the obvious conclusion that writing novels was an essential part of the recovery process. Her studies in languages and literature, along with her experience as a pastor’s wife, market analyst, and ESL teacher, made her uniquely qualified to explore the life of a wizard in a parallel universe, so she did.

That's my whimsical one, because other than a degree in languages, I haven't got much stuff that's pertinent for a writer's bio either.

Your bio is not boring! Boring is a happily married woman with two college age kids!

Maggie Dove

ANGEL OF WINDWORD to be released by Eternal Press - October 7, 2009
e-book ETERNAL PRESS
paperback AMAZON.COM
http://www.maggiedove.net

AndreaGS said:

Have you ever written one of these?

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Yeah. It goes something like this:

M. Graybosch is a long-haired metalhead from New York who earns his living as a computer programmer. He lives with his wife, a cat, and several computers. He claims flocks of Canada geese as his minions, meows at telemarketers until they hang up, and is an incorrigible bookworm.

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Surviving two college-aged kids is far from boring. Boring is BEING a college-age kid. You haven't done much of ANYTHING yet, to talk about.

Gah. I have to write one of these for one of the agents who has requested a partial.

I have no idea what to put. I've had a couple of short stories published in magazines but that's it. I'm a college student who hasn't really done anything...

I feel for you. Sometimes I think about what my bio would look like...it would be pathetic and boring.

Damn it, why do they ask these things? Most writers lead pretty boring lives. Tigers rarely attack you at the word processor; fighting forest fires takes time away from writing; Arcturians who came to earth would no doubt find someone outdoors to contact, not search for someone hunched over a keyboard.

I've just submitted the final version of the novel to my agent, and she's asked me for a bio. I hate them.

There's something faintly creepy about writing about yourself in third person. Like you're Gollum, or something. "Smeagol graduated in archaeology, didn't he, Preciousss?"

There's some great bios here! Thing is, and no offense for those whom it works, I don't think a cute or witty bio will cut it for me. I'm not wildly cute or witty. I'm sullen and introverted. So I'm suffering a bit.

So I've nothing to contribute, other than the statement: "I feel your pain."

Judg said:

After raising five children and one husband, Judg came to the obvious conclusion that writing novels was an essential part of the recovery process. Her studies in languages and literature, along with her experience as a pastor’s wife, market analyst, and ESL teacher, made her uniquely qualified to explore the life of a wizard in a parallel universe, so she did.

That's my whimsical one, because other than a degree in languages, I haven't got much stuff that's pertinent for a writer's bio either.

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Good one. I get the sense I'm dealing with a real (and funny) person here.

MGraybosch said:

Yeah. It goes something like this:

M. Graybosch is a long-haired metalhead from New York who earns his living as a computer programmer. He lives with his wife, a cat, and several computers. He claims flocks of Canada geese as his minions, meows at telemarketers until they hang up, and is an incorrigible bookworm.

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I like this one, too. I mean, if you don't have a lot of credits to dazzle me with, make me smile.

However, Canada geese are MY minions. Just ask them.

Phaeal said:

I like this one, too. I mean, if you don't have a lot of credits to dazzle me with, make me smile.

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The original was actually a bit longer. It also said, "This book is full of subliminal messages designed to get you to help the author quit his day job by preordering a copy of Starbreaker II: The Search for More Money", but my wife made me take it out.

She also broke my copy of Spaceballs on DVD.

Phaeal said:

However, Canada geese are MY minions. Just ask them.

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So, that's why my summoning doesn't always work? Damn it.

I think when they ask for author bio, what they really want are your "clips" or mentions of your previously published work. If you're a first-timer, don't say so, but keep your bio as short and relevant as possible. If you have any life experience that's relevant to your story, be sure to include it. (If your book is about field hockey, mention you're an ex-field hockey player)

I've also heard it recommended that you mention where you live. ("Kat O'Kelly lives in Olympia, WA with her husband and two guinea pigs") You never know when an agent might be drawn to a certain location either by interest or history. "Oh, Olympia, WA is where my dear old mum and dad live!" or "I always wanted to visit there." Could be a chance connection point, and it probably can't hurt.

Thanks for all the kind words, people. A few interesting things have happened to me in my life, but again, they aren't relevant in a writer's bio either.

I've never quite understood the fascination with the "Writer X lives in Y with Z and pets" either. In my case, even that is complicated. I alternate between two countries, with family members on both sides of the border. And who is actually living under the roof of the family home tends to fluctuate rather wildly as offspring in their late teens and twenties boomerang in and out, sometimes with very little advance notice, and for highly variable periods of time. And then there's the part-time resident. No, waaaaaaay too long for a bio. My life rarely seems to fit into fill-in-the-blank forms.

Also, the bio wanted in a query letter and the one wanted for a book cover are two entirely different kettle of fish. In a query letter, they truly are interested primarily in your writing credentials. Whimsy is probably out of place, except in tiny doses. Its purpose is to let the agent know why he/she should take you seriously. On a book jacket, the purpose is to appeal to readers and to give them a small idea of who you are.

Andrea, I think a lot of the information in your first post could be made interesting. Well, actually, it is interesting, you just have to realize it. It shows you are creative, dedicated, with both feet on the ground even though your head is full of fantasy. Not many people can pull off all those things at once. I certainly couldn't. Everybody's daily life (well, almost everybody's) seems mundane and boring to them, precisely because it is the stuff of their everyday life. To someone else, it could seem exotic, even romantic. A website with artwork? How cool is that? Don't sell yourself short.

A bio is important to the agent, because he needs to know whether you have a degree in English Literature and have had five books published with Random House.

He also needs to know that you’re a 70-year old pensioner, or a High School student.

It’s best to keep it short and reasonably truthful, but a little embellishment is expected.

(If you’ve self-published, don’t mention it).

(Unless you’ve sold 20,000 copies in the last six months).

It’s best to keep it short and reasonably truthful, but a little embellishment is expected.

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Short, yes. Absolutely truthful. Embellishment is neither required nor desired.

James D. Macdonald said:

Short, yes. Absolutely truthful. Embellishment is neither required nor desired.

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The writer’s world may be personally truthful, the publishing world is anything but, it couldn’t even exist without constant embellishment, and if an author sticks to the absolute truth in his bio, unless he has an exceptional one, the busy agent will read no further.

Dan Brown’s latest book is top of the bestsellers, before it has even been published. I wonder if his very first bio was short and totally truthful?