Mason elliott has 17 books on goodreads with 2221 ratings. Here are 6 examples and the books in which they could be used. Annotated bibliography examples in mla, apa formats. Amy krouse rosenthal is a person who likes to make things. Amy krouse rosenthal adds some fun to the mix with an author bio that is both humorous and relatable, not unlike her books. Author x was born in wiltshire, and still lives there with her husband and three sons. Its the media relations tool that tells reporters, producers, bloggers and other media gatekeepers that your personal history gives you the perfect credentials for this novel or that your professional. One of the shortest is the author blurb, the two or three descriptive lines at the end of a published work.
Jul 12, 2018 as with any biographical account, a poets biography must include the basicbirth, childhood, mark of independence, major life events and death. You ask other writers if they would take a pill and get rid of the writer within. Its nice to have all these different versions, because then you just pull up the appropriate bio and edit as necessary. Poet of the people henry holt, winner of the americas award for childrens literature and an orbis pictus honor for outstanding nonfiction, and waiting for the biblioburro random house, a christopher award winner.
W, is the author of growing forward when you cant go back. Novelists will rarely depend on the bio to sell the book, but as book launch specialist joel pitney suggests. Within only one page, author vince frost leverages a strong use of graphic design to capture interest. How to write an author bio that will help you sell more books. Theyd walk off with a copy of the book based on the bio. Learn how to make the most out of your author bio by experimenting. She lives in portland, oregon with her husband, illustrator jim di bartolo, and their daughter, clementine. The series has sold more than 500 million copies and was adapted into a. You can also use the author bio to guide the reader into understanding what the personality of the book will be like which is particularly useful when the tone of the book is unusual or surprising compared to the subject matter. With fiction books, you can get away with a single bio for multiple books, but not with nonfiction.
Brooks posted on march 19, 20 december 6, 2014 categories staff articles tags bios for authors, example of a bad biography, good bio, how to write a bio blurb, how to write a biography, how to write a good bio blurb, tips for authors, tools for authors, writing a biography 30 comments on lets talk about me. Its an invigorating feeling, receiving ones first acceptance letter from an editor. A bibliography is a listing of the books, magazines, and internet sources that you use in designing, carrying out, and understanding your science fair project. Here are some reallife author bios that combine most or all of the tips above. Dont focus on the fact that you have no publishing experience.
Come right out and say all the positive things about yourself and your writing credentials that an agent would say if she were representing you. How to write your first author bio writing forward. It is an account of the 1968 us open semifinal between arthur ashe and clark graebner, a. If youre writing a nonfiction book proposal, then your author bio has to highlight your nonwriting experience on the topic. You may find that a single bio is not enough for the same book. It takes a long time to read a book, but its very easy to make a snap judgment based on a short paragraph, and most people do that. How to write a first time authors autobiography synonym. How to write a memorable author bio with template reedsy. Dont write that you hope to someday become a pulitzer prizewinning. Author bio and book my book is titled from sick to bliss to conversations with god. How to write a bio for your blog that makes you look smart. Your books author bio tells potential readers who you are, and why they should trust you and buy your book. Then we massage it and create a thirdperson long bio, firstperson letter to family and friends, a website bio, social media bio including a short version for twitter speaking bio and media bio.
In todays guest post, editor jessi rita hoffman explains how to craft professional and compelling backcover copy. A biography can be short in the case of few sentences biography, and it can also be long enough to fill an entire book. The alchemist by paulo coelho, 1984 by george orwell, harry potter series by j. He lives in northern california with the wife, the kids, the dog, that cat, and he occasionally wears pants. Writing an author bio examples of professional bios. When you submit stories, poems and articles to print publications, most will ask for a short autobiography. Separate author names by a comma, and place the word and before the last authors name. Though higgins may now sound like an english surname, its origins go back to 6th century ireland, and a halfmythical figure of uiginn, or niall of tara, who is believed to have been a viking. I have had a few papers published before, but none of these papers has required me to provide a brief author biography. May 31, 2012 how to write a bio for new authors first time authors like myself have it a little tougher when it comes to writing a biography. Unlike fiction books, they are based on facts and information that can be verified to be true. How to write a bibliography examples in mla style a. Tell us about your experiences with network marketing and how you apply this to selling your book. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many of them have been adapted into feature films, television movies and comic books.
Did you quickly throw together some random sentences just so you. But at the end of that email, youll usually realize they want you to provide an author bio. Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions. However, as this is my first novel and i dont have much writing credentials, writingspecific education, or publication credits, i dont want to write a pathetic bio that points to the fact that i am inexperienced. Oct 22, 2015 writing your author bio can be a daunting task, but a wellcrafted bio can help readers learn more about what makes you and your books so interesting. The other requirements are the standard times new roman font, 12 points, 1inch margins, page numbers in the right.
An mla annotated bibliography means that identify books sources in mla format. Learn to write an attractive author bio by following the six rules of author biographies and our breaks down of two professional sample bios. These two systems are also sometimes referred to as chicagostyle citations, because they are the same as the ones presented in the chicago manual of style if you already know which system to use, follow one of the links above to see sample citations for a variety. Build a better author bio for twitter jane friedman. Source citations in the turabian manual come in two varieties.
An entry for a book in a chicago style bibliography follows this format. If its a serious book, dont joke around too much in your bio. Now you have to decide what goes on the back cover. Back cover copy includes the book summary and author bio mill. All about the author take a photo booth pic of yourself, slide it to the desktop. Book illustrator excerpt my name is trevor higgins. How to write an author bio that will sell childrens books. But in the about the author section of your book proposal youve got to overcome your natural inclination to be reticent. A bibliography, by definition, is a detailed listing of the books, journals, magazines, or online sources that an author has used in researching and writing their work. Michael siemsen is the usa today bestselling author of 6 novels, including the dig, a warm place to call home a demons story, and exigency.
You should include the authors full first and last name, the title of the book or article, issuevolume number, and finally, the publication date. Aug 15, 2012 theres nothing wrong with putting your most recent book title in your bio. The author photo is cheeky and suits well with the style. Bibliographies are optional when using notes, but in most cases you will include one. Jul 07, 2011 your author bio is an important book press kit element because it is pretty much the only tool you have to make the case that you are the best person to write this book and to write it well. Browse thousands of titles from dozens of genres, including historical biography, sports biography, entertainment biography, womens biography and more. Browse through our ebooks while discovering great authors and exciting books.
A biography is simply an account of someones life written by another person. For books with three or more authors, you may either include each author in the citation or only include the first author, followed by the abbreviation et al. How to write an author bio short ramona defelice long. An author bio in a query letter for a book proposal would also be no more than 100 words. Poetspecific notable points include inspirations, quality progression and vices. Writing your author bio can be a daunting task, but a wellcrafted bio can help readers learn more about what makes you and your books so interesting. The following is a complete list of books published by stephen king, an american author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. Reeves looks simple but has all the useful and interesting information one might look for. For business the short bio can sometimes be more important than whats actually in the bookthe sad but true reality is that more people will read your author bio than your actual book. How to write the about the author section of your book proposal. A bibliography is a list of the books and other sources that are referred to in a scholarly worksuch as an essay, term paper, dissertation, or a book. Be ruthless in editing your bio to include only points that are relevant. Apr 22, 2014 while all five of these tips will help you make a better bio, tips 2 and 3 are the best advice for how to write an author bio that sells books. Your author bio is an important book press kit element because it is pretty much the only tool you have to make the case that you are the best person to write this book and to write it well.
About the author examples that youll actually want to read. In particular, one of the components which we need to submit is a brief author biography for each co author. Your author bio will continue to change as you work on new projects and build your cv. I was given the title and i was also told how it was going to be published and paid for. The undefeated caldecott medal book kwame alexander. New authors sometimes rush this decision, writing the first. So this is how to write a bio, and it is to help those writers who are just starting out and anyone having trouble. While your books are a great way to introduce yourself, an author bio can set you. You should regularly maintain your bio on places like your bookbub author profile so fans and potential readers seeking you out can learn more about you and why they should pick up your latest book. May 28, 20 this bio page is made in three colors that work together wonderfully white, red and black. Social media bios dont need to be about how much you love long walks on the beach or netflix, especially if youre a writer.
Chungah rhee is the founder, recipe developer, and photographer of damn delicious. This can be horrifying, and we authors often fret more over writing our bios than our stories. Its something that will let readers get a sense of who you are, and is an important part for pitching media and book proposals, sums up marketer rachel cone. But, you develop a bibliography only after first preparing a background research plan a road map of the research questions you need to answer. Dont write a book, but a unique fact about yourself will help your bio stand out. This post showcases the best personalbranded book author websites on the market today. This bio page is made in three colors that work together wonderfully white, red and black. Sell more books with a kickass amazon book page author marketing experts, inc. Author reputation is consistently cited as one of the main factors that influence a book. The youngest of all my cousins and the only child in a small neighborhood that consisted of a bunch of adults, i never really learned what it meant to just be a kid. If your book is a contemporary romance novel with a middleaged female protagonist, the personality and content of your author bio will be markedly different from if youre writing about taxdeduction strategies for real estate investors.
Harper lee is best known for writing the pulitzer prizewinning bestseller to kill a mockingbird and go set a watchman, which portrays the later years of the finch family. For nonfiction authors, the author bio is a critical marketing tool as who are you are is often as or more. Title the page about the author use the template below to guide your work as you write about yourself as an author. How to write an author bio from gina gagliano at first second books even if youre hoping a traditional publisher will pick up your book and take care of all the cover copy for you, its a good idea to hone your author bio. You can include a longer bio when you write your website biography. Thankfully for me, my daughter and soninlaw, both writers, arrived just in time to open a bottle of wine, ask some great questions and slash away at my blog bio. Reading is an intimate endeavor in which the reader and the author are engaged in a kind of relationship.
Her blogs get an average of 70,000 unique visitors per day over 2,000,000 unique page views a month. This brief statement shares your credentials, education, past publications and other. What began as a grad school hobby is now a top food blog, with millions of readers coming to her site for easy weeknight recipes and. How to write a kickass amazon bio to sell more books. Its important for indie authors to know how to write an author bio that tells readers. After you receive the feedback, edit your bio as needed. This article will cover both what you need to include in your author bio and some examples of tight professional bios. But at the end of that email, youll usually realize they want you to. Here is a great blog post from rachelle gardner about how to write a terrific author bio. Bhim singh sm99 was born in rahamapur, india, in 1956. How to write a terrific author bio rachelle gardner.
This writers favourite began life, as most of its authors books do, as an article in the new yorker. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in lamotts book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling. Rowling, is a british author and screenwriter best known for her seven book harry potter childrens book series. May 22, 2012 10 tips for writing a great author bio guest post lauren clark is a duolit indie ninja and author of two indie books stay tuned and her new release, out today, called dancing naked in dixie which was formatted for paperback and ebooks by your favorite duolit chicks. The short biographies explain a persons basic life facts and their importance, but the long biographies would go an extra mile and include more. There are different ways to format a bibliography, and the style that you use will depend on the discipline in. Please welcome author nicolas frame with some good advice on writing your first author bio. Its how readers get to know you beyond the pages of your book. Then, if author x had written other booksand or won awards, these would also be listed. In other words, avoid using i as your sentence subject but utilize your name or last name instead. Once you have written a short, medium and long bio, save each of them on your computer, usb or cloud storage system.
I prefer the new version, and it also ended up being a third smaller, which is good putting the old and new side by side i much prefer the new one, and it also points to my online presence better now. Sample book hardcover july 3, 2006 by sample author author, sample editor, illustrator 5. Lamotts book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Here are some things to avoid putting into your bio. Even though very few authors think about it, and even fewer publishing guides talk about it, the author bio section impacts sales, reputation, book marketing and social media. Not only is it useful to know what you need to include in an author bio, it is also useful to see examples of how your vital information should look. Creativity is your selling point, so dont shy away from some creative problem solving when it comes to filling the 160 character quota in your twitter bio.
Laurie created the she blossoms blog series in 2008 and has been writing fulltime since then. For a powerful bio that gets results, it needs to be customized for the book. Write the bio for the site where it will live, and mention your reading interests. It is important to note that it must be a complete list including every source used during the research phase. How to write a stellar writers bio writing blog scribophile. How to write a biography for a poet pen and the pad. Pop the champagne cork, and put a party hat on your cat.
Author bios tell about a writer, his work, his professional experience andor personal background. May 10, 2016 a time when an author bio was a few lines at the end of a book, photograph optional, and usually read something like. So youve written your book, youve chosen your title and cover design, and youre breathing a sigh of relief. Additionally, youll have many drafts and varieties of this author bio. As ive advised before, you should dig into the online store that youre selling on. How to cite a book in chicago style format and examples. Be sure to let me know if i missed any this should be on this list. King has published 63 novels, including seven under the pen name richard bachman, and five nonfiction. Welcome to the ultimate destination for the worlds best biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Just dont make your bio sound like your book release is the only reason youre on twitter. Writing your author bio can be a daunting task, but a wellcrafted bio can help readers learn more about what makes you and your books so.
A short biography downloadable bio and brochuremonica brown, ph. The bio you write today will look completely different in five years time. When you wrote your amazon book page, how much thought did you put into the author bio. Id show the book to people at book fairs and signing events, and theyd flip the book over, read the bio, and laugh. How to write an amazing author bio book marketing for. Its common knowledge that literary agents want to see previous publishing credit in your query letters as part of your bio. Apr 23, 2015 the tone of your bio and everything on the back cover should reflect the books contents. Although you are writing the author bio, it still needs to be written in the third person no matter how quirky it is. Quite often, i will find agents who request i send both my query and an author bio and several other things. How to write an author bio that sells books ben zackheim. So, weve provided the hints, tips and instructions. Some examples of nonfiction books are the autobiography of. Most authors find that they have more information than they need. She has more than 25 years of writing, teaching, and social work experience.
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