Nobody likes writing their own bio. We need it for the website and social media. When you get accepted, editors and agents will want one. Getting a decent one crafted now will give us the content we need for those future steps. Let’s learn what we need and get it done
But I Don’t Wanna!
It’s easy to tell you to go do all this homework. I got mine done. Maybe I’ll change it when I get closer to “making it” or after. It’s not locked in stone. It’s one less thing I have to prepare later, when I’m busy trying to get an agent to like me and my query letter. Do it now, when all you have on your plate is writing your project and doing these Author Platform steps.
Copying is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
First, do recon. Hunt down the websites and social media pages of your favorite authors and top performing authors in your genre. See what they did. One writing practice tip I use is to copy somebody’s text. Then replace words, their names for yours until the piece is about your topic. Works for blurbs and bios. Once you have that, rewrite each sentence, to further make it your own while reflecting much of the cadence of the original. It’s good for learning style, and seeing how something well written works. It won’t kill you, even if you don’t use it.
What the Experts Say
I’m not a big-shot writer, so what I say has got no sway. What I can do for you is share the research on what the professional advice is. Here’s the links:
Short and Long Version
Social media and your website may have different sized boxes to fill out with your bio. Make a 2-3 sentence bio. And the 1-2 paragraph version. Keep them on file, so when you need them, you’ve got them.
Show Your Work
You can see what I did all over my site and social media, but here’s what I came up with. It’s changed since I first wrote them, because I learned more about writing them.
Short Bio
A man of many words, trapped inside a small text box. KL Forslund keeps his stuff in Texas, where he writes Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Steampunk.
Long Bio
The internet was still a DARPA project when KL Forslund’s parents chose a name with poor search engine scoring. A trip to the library when he was ten, sidetracked his promising writing career for a few decades mastering the secrets of computer programming. He earned a black-belt, music album and patent during those dark years.
Now KL Forslund keeps his stuff in Texas and works hard on his first novel, a twist on Urban Fantasy as Science Fiction. He also dabbles in poetry and short stories. His wife and pets find him useful, and he shares helpful information in his blog. KL programs by day, and writes before bed. Some readers expected that to say “by night” but he needs to sleep. And perchance, to dream.
Bust Out a Bio
You can see what I did, and I bet a year from now I’ll revise it (or the same day I published this because a friend found a mistake). Heck, I revised it while writing this article. That’s OK. I’ve got one ready, it’s consistent across all my online presence. I look like a person who’s knows where his towel is. In the future, when you setup your social media, you’ll be happy you can copy and paste your well written bio and how sharp it will look.
For other articles in my Author Platform series, click here: