When you don't have a bio

aus10phile

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The standard advice regarding bios that I've seen is if you don't have anything relevant, skip this paragraph in your query letter.

If the agent, however, specifically asks for a bio in their submission guidelines, wouldn't that be bad to ignore that? Or is that not considered breaking the submissions guidelines if you don't have anything?

I don't have anything great for a bio paragraph (no fiction pub credits or awards), so I'm wondering if any of the things below is worth a line in the query to satisfy the bio requirement, or if it's still best to skip it all together:

- I'm a frequent contributor to [magazine you've never heard of], readership approx. 50,000

- I'm a freelance writer and editor

- I've made a living for the past 10 years as a copywriter

- I've written over 1,000 radio commercials that aired nationally

Ugh. I might as well just say, "Other people have paid me more money than I'll probably make on a book to write stuff that you don't care about." Ha ha.

Advice?
 

Cathy C

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What's wrong with:

"I'm a professional copyeditor who works primarily in radio advertising. This is my first novel."

Of course, humor is never bad. I sort of like your last line. With a little modification, it could get a chuckle, which isn't a bad thing in a query.

"I hope someday strangers will pay me for more than advice on the best laundry detergent to buy."

:ROFL:
 
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triceretops

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What's wrong with:

"I'm a professional copyeditor who works primarily in radio advertising. This is my first novel."

Of course, humor is never bad. I sort of like your last line. With a little modification, it could get a chuckle, which isn't a bad thing in a query.

"I hope someday strangers will pay me for more than advice on the best laundry detergent to buy."

:ROFL:

I agree with this--you do have a bio and even a publishing credit history. It would be fine to include it, as limited as you might see it.
 

alexaherself

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"I'm a professional copyeditor who works primarily in radio advertising. This is my first novel."

I like this line very much. It's succinct and says what needs to be said.

I might as well just say, "Other people have paid me more money than I'll probably make on a book to write stuff that you don't care about."

I like this line a lot, too. I suspect you suggested it only rhetorically, but I'd want to tidy up its grammar/pronouns and use it. Really. :cool:
 

Jamesaritchie

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You bio is better, and more meaningful, than about 90% of those I've seen.
 

aus10phile

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How about, "I've sold my soul as a copywriter for the past ten years. Now I hope to barter for it back with this book."

:tongue
 

aus10phile

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So, I also write a blog for one of my clients. I finally got some recent stats from them this morning and found out it's averaged about 15,000 page views per month for the last two months. Is that enough traffic to be noteworthy? I know there are blogs that get hundreds of thousands of pageviews, so it seems kind of puny in comparison...
 
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lfizz

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Nothing has quite made me feel so pointless as a human being as trying to sell myself in a query.
I've never published anything, or written for anything that has more than 100 readers. And even as I write this, a voice in my head says: "you're such an amateur. You can't possibly have anything to say worth publishing..." SHUT UP, CENSOR.
The only thing in my experience that feels remotely relatable to my genre (YA fiction) is that I taught high school English for half a dozen years.
I've seen advice that says to mention experience that connects to your writing, but also other advice says to leave it out unless that experience makes you a verifiable expert in that area/on that subject matter. Thoughts?
 

Thedrellum

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Mentioning your teaching experience certainly couldn't hurt, and if you feel the need for something in the WHO I AM section of the letter then I would put it in there.

But really, with fiction, it is the book that matters. The plot teaser in the query is the hook, and your sample pages are the selling point, and that's all you need to worry about.
 

Old Hack

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Nothing has quite made me feel so pointless as a human being as trying to sell myself in a query.
I've never published anything, or written for anything that has more than 100 readers. And even as I write this, a voice in my head says: "you're such an amateur. You can't possibly have anything to say worth publishing..." SHUT UP, CENSOR.

A query aims to sell the book, not the author.

It doesn't matter how many things you have or haven't published: what's most important is the book you're querying.

Try not to worry. Write your book. Write a good query to go with it. You're fine.
 

pich313

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- I've made a living for the past 10 years as a copywriter

i was in the same boat. i've been a copywriter for almost 10 years myself. i kept thinking that agents and publishers don't care about that. after all, i've never been properly published.

i figured they don't care about the print and newspaper ads, billboards, radio and TV spots, DM, videos, websites, etc. that i've put out in the world...and guess what...they don't.

but then i realized by talking to other aspiring authors, i was the only one making a living by writing. there is something to be said about that. no, my short stories, poetry, and books have never been officially published, but i'm a good enough writer to get my work printed constantly.

own it, and as a good copywriter does, find the nugget that makes your experience relevant.
 

Old Hack

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i was in the same boat. i've been a copywriter for almost 10 years myself. i kept thinking that agents and publishers don't care about that. after all, i've never been properly published.

i figured they don't care about the print and newspaper ads, billboards, radio and TV spots, DM, videos, websites, etc. that i've put out in the world...and guess what...they don't.

Why should they care? It has very little to do with the book you're querying. The book is all that is really significant when you're querying.
 

pich313

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Why should they care? It has very little to do with the book you're querying. The book is all that is really significant when you're querying.

i understand your point, and no they don't usually care. however, i would imagine at some level the agent wants to know the person their dealing with. if you're writing non-fiction and you have experience that directly relates, or if you've been published before, it immediately shows the agent that you are accomplished and experienced, and it can help add to the value of your book. but, yeah, if the book is no good, none of this matters.

still, if the book is good, adding relatable information about yourself can help sell, besides...the question was...

If the agent, however, specifically asks for a bio in their submission guidelines, wouldn't that be bad to ignore that? Or is that not considered breaking the submissions guidelines if you don't have anything?

by the way...write your bio for these agents. better you have a non-published bio than to disregard their submission guidelines.
 
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Old Hack

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i understand your point, and no they don't usually care. however, i would imagine at some level the agent wants to know the person their dealing with. if you're writing non-fiction and you have experience that directly relates, or if you've been published before, it immediately shows the agent that you are accomplished and experienced, and it can help add to the value of your book. but, yeah, if the book is no good, none of this matters.

If you're writing non-fiction, though, you provide details of your platform in the proposal you write. If you're querying then you're trying to sell a novel, and novels don't require a platform.

Agents do want to know about the person they're dealing with: but first, they want to know about the book. That's the priority.

still, if the book is good, adding relatable information about yourself can help sell, besides...the question was...



by the way...write your bio for these agents. better you have a non-published bio than to disregard their submission guidelines.

If agents demand a bio in their guidelines then provide one. But don't waste space telling them in detail about things which aren't relevant. Focus on your book.

Unless you're well-known in some way, your bio isn't going to make them more interested in your book, if your book isn't good enough in the first place. It might give them ideas for promotional opportunities, for example, which could come in useful later: but it's not going to get you a deal. Your book is what does that.
 

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I'm a copywriter too but I just leave out the bio when I query since I only ghostwrite and have nothing published under my own name. I don't want anything to distract the agent from the query itself.
 

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Is this for a non-fiction book? In which case I would certain put something in the bio space along the lines suggested.
 

ap123

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If agents demand a bio in their guidelines then provide one. But don't waste space telling them in detail about things which aren't relevant. Focus on your book.

Unless you're well-known in some way, your bio isn't going to make them more interested in your book, if your book isn't good enough in the first place. It might give them ideas for promotional opportunities, for example, which could come in useful later: but it's not going to get you a deal. Your book is what does that.

There are some agents who specifically state they want to see a bio in the query--including queries for fiction. I do get tripped up here, because I have 0 relevant life details/experiences. "Mrs Fringe has a vivid imagination" would be the extent.
 

aus10phile

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If agents demand a bio in their guidelines then provide one. But don't waste space telling them in detail about things which aren't relevant. Focus on your book.

Yeah, this is kind of what I was getting at in my original post. Do I leave out the bio even when they ask for it because I have nothing relevant? Or do I include a short line (that doesn't take up too much space) so it doesn't look like I ignored their submission guidelines?

Sounds like if they ask for a bio, I should include it... but having no pub credits, I have to come up with something.
 

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Yeah, this is kind of what I was getting at in my original post. Do I leave out the bio even when they ask for it because I have nothing relevant? Or do I include a short line (that doesn't take up too much space) so it doesn't look like I ignored their submission guidelines?

Sounds like if they ask for a bio, I should include it... but having no pub credits, I have to come up with something.

When I was in your position, I just listed two writing organizations to which I belonged and/or said 'this is my debut novel'. Also, I put why I was querying the specific agent here to personalize and to add some bulk. I don't *think* it affected things much one way or another. I now have a wonderful agent, though!
 
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Old Hack

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If I had no writing bio and was querying an agent I might say something like, "I live with my husband and our two sons" or something more polished, more interesting but no longer, and leave it at that. I wouldn't mention my work, education or living conditions unless it was pertinent.
 

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If I had no writing bio and was querying an agent I might say something like, "I live with my husband and our two sons" or something more polished, more interesting but no longer, and leave it at that. I wouldn't mention my work, education or living conditions unless it was pertinent.

Since aus10phile has been making her living as a copywriter for ten years, I'd definitely mention that rather than marriage and children which have nothing to do with writing at all.
 

Old Hack

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Since aus10phile has been making her living as a copywriter for ten years, I'd definitely mention that rather than marriage and children which have nothing to do with writing at all.

I'd probably mention it too, under those circumstances. However, I was commenting on what I'd write if I had no writing bio:

If I had no writing bio and was querying an agent I might say something like, "I live with my husband and our two sons" or something more polished, more interesting but no longer, and leave it at that. I wouldn't mention my work, education or living conditions unless it was pertinent.

See?

It's not entirely inappropriate to describe your life very briefly: it does help the agent or editor understand in a small way who you are and what your life is like, which can be helpful when considering submissions. When I was in charge of slush piles I always liked to be given a little bit of background, just so I knew who I was dealing with. I think a few words about who you are can be more pertinent than mentioning that you've attended writing conventions, to be honest (unless you happened to meet the agent you're submitting to at the convention, for example).

Just remember that your book is the single most important thing to write about in a query, and go from there.
 

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No one expects you to have written a dozen best sellers. If you had, you wouldn't be looking for an agent. Agents would be looking for you.
What an agent wants to know is:
Do you know what you are talking about? This is especially important if you are writing nonfiction.
Do you have enough self-discipline to meet deadlines, etc.? As in, have you actually encountered the real world? Or are you an adolescent prima donna who would consider any criticism a personal insult?
Your bio sounds like something an agent would be glad to work with.