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Busha777

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Good Day All,

I have just completed my first ever book. That book would be the first of a series I am excited to launch.

I just want to know if it is necessary to include an "About Author" page in that book?

I don't really like writing about myself and I really can't find much to say considering this is my first publication of anything I have ever written.

All my writings of poetry and short stories have never been published; they are all stored in the folders of my computer.

I would appreciate any feedback on this topic.
 

ironmikezero

practical experience, FTW
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If you are not subject to contractual obligations that articulate specific requirements, you are not requied to divulge any personal information. For example, if you are self-published it is entirely your prerogative as what you share with your readers--of course, not so much that you invite identity theft. Some authors are very reluctant to compromise their privacy and consequently keep all personal info confidential; others are all about marketing their "brand" and seek the public spotlight. You'll have to determine your own comfort level in regard to your goals (which may change with time) and be appropriately discriminate in what you elect to disclose. Bear in mind that once someone gives up their privacy, it's very hard to get it back. Best of luck!
 

Busha777

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Much appreciation ironmikezero.
You gave me much to think about.
 

Cephus

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If you are not subject to contractual obligations that articulate specific requirements, you are not requied to divulge any personal information. For example, if you are self-published it is entirely your prerogative as what you share with your readers--of course, not so much that you invite identity theft. Some authors are very reluctant to compromise their privacy and consequently keep all personal info confidential; others are all about marketing their "brand" and seek the public spotlight. You'll have to determine your own comfort level in regard to your goals (which may change with time) and be appropriately discriminate in what you elect to disclose. Bear in mind that once someone gives up their privacy, it's very hard to get it back. Best of luck!

That's exactly what I do. There are no pictures and never will be, I write under a pseudonym that I protect energetically and while I do have an "author's bio", it is very vague. There are no direct lies in it, but I don't really give any specific information in it about myself and it could apply to a million people. I understand that a lot of readers want to get to know the writer, but I have no obligation to tell them anything I don't want to tell them.
 

CathleenT

I write
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Consider giving people less of a resume and more of a character sketch. For instance, the first para of my 100 word bio says:

Cathleen Townsend trained as a social scientist, and at various times has been a teacher, a waitress, a donut baker, and a construction worker. She’s survived parenting, scuba-diving with a Mako shark, and a plane crash.

This doesn't tell you much about my published works, but it does give people a quick sketch about me. I've actually got a 50 word bio, a 100 word bio, and an even longer one on my blog. You want to make it easy for other people to talk about you, in case you do interviews and such. If they can just lift a bio, in two different lengths from your site, it makes it easier to promote you.

It's hard, talking about yourself, but I worked up my bios by posting in Query Letter Hell. They did a nice job there of putting my ideas through the ringer.

Apparently, long-term, bios matter. It will help you promote your work if you take the time to do a workmanlike job on them.

There's some other stuff out there to consider, like what kind of archetype will you portray--rebel, artist, girl/guy next door, etc. and you can find a lot of stuff on the internet about how to figure out a way to portray your public persona. I'm not comfortable with putting everything out there, so I definitely needed some help in this area.

I found it a worthwhile exercise--it helped me come up with a cohesive picture of those parts of my life that I'm willing to make public. I chose girl next door as my archetype, but just about anything would work, as long as you're consistent with it.

You do you, but in general, I don't think it's a good idea to swim against the current. It's hard enough to be a writer as it is. So my advice would be: come up with an image--there are lots of cartoon avatar programs available for free online. Work up a bio. People expect this stuff. Be a professional--be willing to meet expectations in this area.

ETA: Here's a post on archetypes in case anyone else wants more info on branding themselves:
https://salmashah.com/is-your-personal-brand-archetype-the-girl-next-door-or-the-rebel/.

Be careful--it looks like this site also has some paid stuff along with the free info. I was able to find enough to figure this out without having to pay anyone anything, so I assume that others still can. Archetypes are useful for coming up with a quick character sketch that people can relate to quickly, which is what you want, unless you're one of those who likes to put everything out there.
 
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