so much information.....personal

[CACTUSWENDY]

:Jump:....Have a question for the Editor......sigh....why is it necessary for a bio on the writer?....If the story is good....what difference does it make what i do for a living....educational back ground........where i live...married.....kids....etc...etc...i am selling my book...not the indepth background of my past......If the book is good.....then publish it...if it is bad...then it makes no difference who I am?

Thanks ahead of time for your reply......and I'm glad you are here to help us.

[Lauri B]

:Jump:....Have a question for the Editor......sigh....why is it necessary for a bio on the writer?....If the story is good....what difference does it make what i do for a living....educational back ground........where i live...married.....kids....etc...etc...i am selling my book...not the indepth background of my past......If the book is good.....then publish it...if it is bad...then it makes no difference who I am?

Thanks ahead of time for your reply......and I'm glad you are here to help us.



Hi Wendy,
Well, in the case of nonfiction books, the bio is important because a writer's background, education, and expertise are relevant to the topic they are writing about: if you are writing a book that offers specific parenting advice, for example, and you're not a parent and don't really spend any time around them, why would a publisher want to work with you on a book--and why would a parent trust any of your advice? That's an extreme case, I know, but qualifications in a particular field are really important to publishers, primarily for sales and marketing. It's easier to promote an author who has professional credentials in a field than it is to promote an author who is just interested in a subject, and it's always easier to promote someone with letters after his/her name (PhD., MD, JD, etc.) because the media likes to be able to quote, "according to Dr. So and So. . ." when they look for experts.

Your bio also helps if you aren't necessarily a professional in a field but are very interested in a subject: say you're a Civil War buff. You don't have to have a PhD in American history to be an expert if you're a regular contributor to the Civil War trade magazines, have written and researched particular battles or periods of the war and spoken about them to local organizations, or participated in dozens of re-enactments. Expertise comes in all shapes and sizes, but nonfiction publishers want to know what makes you that expert--so they can in turn tell the media and book-buying public why you're the expert and why they should listen to you.

Sometimes, unfortunately, even if a book is interesting and well written, a publisher won't pick it up because the writer doesn't have "official" qualifications. I knew a woman who was an amazing historian and religious scholar, but didn't have a graduate degree in either subject and couldn't get a very scholarly work on the Bible published because of it, regardless of the fact that every publisher who read it said they really loved it.

So, if you don't have a lot of experience in your field, get some--write articles for trade publications, give talks to local branches of national organizations, excerpt parts of your book in the local paper or to newsletters of organizations so you build up your credits in that particular field. It really will matter.

Hope this helps!
Lauri

[Torgo]

In the case of fiction, please no bio. You're quite right - if it's really good, that's what matters. Unless you're Madonna, or something...