Often we publishers ask for a bio when you submit work. At
The Red Telephone we certainly do. Even if the publisher doesn’t ask for a bio,
it’s sensible to include a short paragraph about your
credentials. This might include mentioning any qualifications you have, anywhere
else you are published and anything else which shows that you are the right
sort of person to have this type of material published. The latter is very often to do with how you
might be able to help publicise and market the book.
So, you might include something like this if you are just
starting out:
“I am completing a Short Course in creative Writing with the
Open University. My short story Cats Have
Eyes was short-listed in the Bentley Festival Short Fiction Competition,
July 2012. I have attended several “open mic” events and am confident about
presenting my work in public.”
A more experienced author might write:
“I have a Ph D in Creative and Critical Writing. I have over 30 texts in print, including Butterfly Wings (Alexander, 2009) and The Turning Mind (Spider, 2101) which are
similar in genre and style to what I am proposing here. I am experienced in
conducting workshops in schools.” Note how the writer who could actually say a
lot confines herself to what is important to the project she is proposing.
Why publishers find them
important
Although a text will be accepted or not on its own merit, it
is useful to the publisher to know a little about the writer. If the text is
borderline the bio may help the publisher to decide.
The one from the less experienced writer tells us that the
writer is probably used to being critiqued so can react to criticism. She is
serious about her work. Other people have rated her work well. She is confident
about presenting her work and she may influence her own sales.
The second one confirms that she knows a lot about
writing. In fact, if we’re thinking
about rejecting maybe we should take another look. She’s certainly experienced in reacting to
editorial criticism. She will get behind
the book and she’s probably already quite well-known in the circles where we
need to make this book visible.
Neither of these, though, give us much sense of the personality
of the writer. Possibly a publisher who proactively requests a bio is looking for
precisely that.
Bio for a commissioning
editor
A 100 word bio:
“I write fiction for children aged 7-12 and short stories
for adults. I have published six novels, thirty-five short stories and sixty pieces
of flash fiction.
My latest novel Miss
Maplethorpe, is for children aged 9-11 (Grey Dogs, May 2012). My stories appear
in magazines, anthologies and online publications. Water (June 20102) was short-listed for the Brooker Short Fiction
competition.
I have a Masters in Writing for Children (Conty, 2009) and I
lecture in Creative Writing at Rundle University.
I make frequent school visits where I read from my work and conduct
creative writing workshops.
I enjoy walking and singing”.
How long should a bio
be?
As long as the publisher specifies. This can again be a deal
clincher. If the publisher is a little uncertain about your script, your
professionalism in adhering to the request can persuade that publisher to take a
risk with you.
Length can also be a matter of common sense too, especially
if the bio is for the reader. We do like to find out something about the author,
especially if we want to read more by them.
A few examples follow. Note how if they’re for the reader
they tend to be third person. You should always include details of your
professional web site.
For a piece of flash fiction
Flash fiction can be anything from six to a thousand words
and the bio should certainly never be longer than the piece itself. It should
give a quick definition of the writer and tell the reader where to find out
more.
“John Doe writes poetry and flash fiction. Visit him at www.johndoe.co.uk"
For a piece of very
short fiction
This should be no more than fifty words plus web address. It
gives a little more professional information.
“Jane Doe writes literary short stories and prose poetry.
Her poetry collection Beachcomber is published by Brent Books. Her short
story The Lamp won second prize in
the prestigious Langton Shorts Competition.
Jane lives with her family in Suffolk and when not writing
helps to run the family garden centre. www.janedoe.com”
For longer short fiction
This could be between seventy and a hundred words.
“Fred Blogs writes science fiction and fantasy. His novel ZeroTimes comes out with Zen books in
July 2013. His Palenter series is
published by SF publications. He is currently
working on the ninth novel for this series.
Fred’s short stories have won several prizes, including the
2010 Granter Cup. He has published two collections – Steel Bridges (2009) and Green
Islands (2010), both published by Period Books.
He lives with his wife and two daughters in Devon and works
as a full-time writer at his converted chapel. www.fredblogs.com”
For inclusion in a single-author
volume
This can be much longer and may include some history and testimonial
material.
“Jilly Blogs always wanted to be a writer. She has combined
a career in nursing with her writing and finally gave up the day job in 2009 to
write full time, spurred on by the success of her novel Winthorpe (Granthorpe 2008).
She has four novels in print and Oaks is her second volume of short stories. The first, Rainbows was published in 2010.
Jilly has a long list of published short fiction: in
anthologies by both small and big publishers, magazine and online sites. She is
also an avid blogger and you can read her words of wisdom on her blog www.mywords.com.
A .N Norton said of Winthorpe “Jilly Blogs has delighted us
with her unique voice. Her prose keeps the reader engaged and she has a strong
sense of story. Will she be the long-awaited replacement for Maeve Binchy? ”
Jilly lives with her family in a London penthouse. She spends
her time writing and travelling up and down the country to visit various literary
festivals where she is a popular visitor.
Read more about her and her books on www.jillyblogs.com"
Keep your CV up to
date.
Publishers frequently ask writers to provide their own bio.
Even if you get published by a big publisher and the publicist produces the bio
for you, you will be asked to provide material for it. So it’s important to be really
strict about keeping a generic bio up to date. Note down every success, every
positive review, every public engagement and even every course or conference
you attend. You’ll never use all of it in one go. You will have to select quite
carefully the details to provide in relation to every project. But if you’ve
kept that CV up to date at least you’ve got plenty to choose from.
Read bios and learn
Not every author bio is brilliant and you need to read these
as critically as you would any other text. You can learn from others,
nevertheless.
And finally one other important fact: writing a bio can make
you feel good about yourself. Sometimes
we forget just how successful we are actually being.
Happy bio-writing.
