The following excerpt is from the Louderlines 28-Day Book Launch Programme. Day-by-day prompts to build your audience and a great book launch and all the tools you need. Try it free for 14 days.
You will need this everywhere: your website, guest posts, podcast appearances, blog tour stops, Amazon, Goodreads, the back of the book.
Write it in third person (“Jane writes…” not “I write…”). It feels awkward, but it is industry standard and makes it easier to talk about your achievements.
Create a short version (2-3 lines for social media bios), a medium version (a paragraph for guest posts and podcast intros), and a longer version (for your website and press kit).
Include what you write, why you write it, and one personal detail that makes you human and memorable.
You will never have the perfect author bio. It will change and evolve often over time, as you publish more and depending on where you are sending it to.
I keep a Google Doc with all my different bios with titles to remind myself what they were for, and version numbers.
Reedsy.com have a handy starter template you can use:
“[Full name] is a [profession] and [genre] author of [Book Title]. Their work has [awards, bestseller lists, recognitions]. They have [qualifications, relevant expertise]. They live in [location] with [optional personal detail].”
And here is a quick example:
“Jane Poe is a professor and mystery writer, author of the novella The Clockmaker’s Widow and the forthcoming novel Dead Quiet from Black Lantern Press. Her short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and The Crow. She teaches psychology at Pepperdine University and mystery writing online. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two turtles.”
Do not forget to include where readers can follow, connect and contact you.
Almost every author gets this wrong on instinct: your author bio must be written in third person.
Not “I write thrillers set in the Pacific Northwest.” But: “Jane writes thrillers set in the Pacific Northwest.”
It feels strange. It can feel pretentious. Stick with it anyway.
Your bio is not a conversation between you and a reader. It is a utility tool for the industry. When a journalist, blogger, podcast host, or newsletter writer decides to feature you, they will go to your website, copy your bio, and paste it directly into their article or show notes. If you wrote it in first person, they now have to spend time editing every pronoun. You are creating friction for the exact people you want championing your book. A third-person bio is frictionless. It makes their job easy, and when you make their job easy, they are far more likely to feature you again.
What a strong author bio includes:
- Your name and the genre(s) you write
- A notable credential or hook (award, background, unique life experience relevant to the work)
- One personal detail that makes you human and memorable
- A link to your website or social platform
- Keep it under 150 words for the short version; a longer 250-word version for press kits
