How to Write Your Own Author Bio as a Newbie

If you just started out as a writer, you will have a lot of work ahead of you. You will not only need to start on your body of work, you will also need to know how to write an author bio.

What is an author bio? It is a short but detailed write-up of your life as a writer. The author’s bio usually consists of 100 words, so you will need to be as efficient as possible. This may seem easy to do. However, a truly great author bio needs to be brief as well as informative.

Here are some great tips for writing your own author bio.

1. Identify the key reasons for writing an author bio

You should make sure to identify the key reasons for writing your author bio. Remember that it is not just there to fill up a blank space in your book. There is a reason why you are writing the author bio.

As a newbie, you technically have three objectives when it comes to writing an author bio. The first objective is to establish yourself as an authority on your chosen topic. The second is to introduce yourself as a person to potential readers. This means you should share your background with readers. Lastly, and just as importantly, you should convince potential readers to buy your book.

2. Include key details

As you write your author bio, it is important that you include key details about yourself as a writer. Remember that you should not make your author bio too long. If it is too long, your potential readers may get tired of reading it. They may even feel that you are oversharing about yourself.

As a rule, you should only share key information about yourself. First and foremost, you should share information about where you’re from and where you currently live. You could also include personal information about your background. Just make sure that this information is also relevant to your work as a writer.

You may also include experiences and achievements that qualify you to write a book. This also includes awards that you have won and publications and blogs that you may have written for.

3. Have a set outline

Your author bio should always have a set outline. Remember that, like any writing project, the narrative should always have a set outline. Without an outline, your author bio will be all over the place. You should also use a set tone that you will adapt for the rest of the author’s bio. The tone could be serious, whimsical, funny, etc. What’s important is that you use this tone throughout the whole author bio.

4. An introductory byline is key

Like in any other write-up, your introduction is key. This will be the very first sentence that your potential readers will see in your author bio. You must use an introductory byline.

When you write the byline, your main objective should be to capture your reader’s attention and entice them to read further about you. You should share key information about yourself, which will make them interested in you as a person. This is also where you bring in the big guns. If you have any past work, achievements, or blogs, you should mention them during the introductory byline.

5. Establish your authority as a writer

If you want your potential readers to take you seriously as a writer, it is important that you establish your authority in your author bio.

While you don’t want to seem like you are bragging to your readers, you also don’t want to seem inconsequential either. If you are not an authority in the topic you are writing about, then why should they even read your work?

As a rule, you should make sure to establish your authority in your author bio. You could do so by citing your work. You could also mention your author blogs, and some writing projects that you were able to accomplish.

6. Use a relatable yet concise tone

If you want to make your author bio as easy to read as possible, you should use a relatable and concise tone. This will enable you to establish a rapport with your potential readers. While you should talk about yourself and your work, you should not just rattle on.

Think of this as a short conversation with your potential readers, so you should neither be too serious nor too jovial. Try to use a few jokes here and there, however, you should never stray from the overall objective of introducing yourself and your work to readers.

7. Have it reviewed

It is always a good idea to have your author bio reviewed by your peers before you start using it. What may appear brief and professional to you may appear pedantic and arrogant to some readers.

When you are done with your author bio, take the time to double check it. After you are sure that your author bio does not have any grammatical errors, you should have the author bio sent to fellow writers. Make sure that you ask them respectfully for their help.

Conclusion

When it comes to being a rookie writer, there are many things you will need to write. You will need to get started on your body of work in order to enhance your influence as a writer.

Before you do get started on this, though, a key thing you should focus on is your author bio. Without an author bio, your potential readers will not really know who you are. With these tips, you’ll know how to write a truly great author bio.