Author bio builder
Writes the same bio at three lengths, because a retailer, a festival programme and a press kit all want a different one.
You
Leave anything blank and it is left out rather than papered over. A bio with three true
sentences beats one with six padded ones.
The three you need
Which one goes where
The short one goes on a retail page, a
conference badge and the foot of an article. Around twenty five words.
The standard one
goes on the back flap, a festival programme and most press kits. Around sixty words.
The long one goes on
your own website and nowhere else. Around a hundred and fifty words, and it is the only place a bio
earns the room to be interesting.
Rules worth keeping
Third person, always, even though everyone knows you wrote it. First person in a bio reads
as a cover letter.
One personal detail, not three. The dogs are charming once. The dogs,
the sourdough and the kayak are a personality test nobody asked to sit.
No unpublished credits. "Currently seeking representation" tells an
agent only that other agents have said no.
Also for publishing it
All tools →
Title & Blurb Workshop
Rewriting a description that is doing none of the selling.
Keyword Planner
Getting some use out of seven boxes most authors fill in badly once.
Query Letter Builder
A one page letter that does not read like the last two hundred.
Royalty Calculator
Deciding a list price before you commit to a wholesale discount.
Tools will only take you so far
Send what you have. Even a half-written manuscript is enough for a reader to tell you what it needs.