Want to help support the author?
Writing your writer’s bio can seem pretty overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. To strike the right balance between friendly and professional, I’ve come up with an easy formula. Use this template to get down the most vital parts of your short bio, and then tweak as desired to make it work for you. And for those of you who are worried that a formula will make your bio looks like everyone else’s: it won’t. With your personal details in there, it will be one of a kind.
You will also likely need this in several forms: long, short, 1st person, and 3rd person. I recommend keeping all variations in one word document on your computer; that way when you need to update you’ll remember to update them all. And you should update! Hopefully as you grow your credentials you will choose to put the most impressive things in your bio. A good headshot is a handy thing to have around as well. And don’t forget that you can shift the bio every time you use it to gear it toward different venues and audiences.
Good luck!
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All documents are © Annie Neugebauer. These documents are intended for personal use only. Copyright applies. Please ask permission for anything other than personal record-keeping. If you’d like to share these with writers you know, please send them the link so they come visit me here. Thank you all so much for your support!
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Very useful, thank you 🙂
Great to hear! My pleasure.
Hi Annie, I may be being silly but I cannot seem to find the template that you suggest using a s basis……..any guidance would be much appreciated
Not silly at all! There was a glitch; it should be back up now. Thanks for letting me know!
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Your amazing thank you!
This is great. Thanks for sharing this.
ı can use it…thanks for your sharing..
Cool, thank you!
I know you posted this over two years ago, but thank you so much. I am submitting my first article and this helped me out a lot. Thank you so much.
You’re welcome! Good luck with the article!
Hi. I am working on my bio, but I am a first time author….not much to really put in the bio. Any suggestions? Thanks
Vanessa, if you’re new I would keep it short and focus on genre/aspirations rather than credits. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying that you’re new, either, if that makes you more comfortable. Just 2-3 lines total is fine, stating that you write ___ (romance, fantasy, children’s, etc.), a personal tidbit, and your website. Good luck!
Wow I really didn’t expect such detail, this is an excellent resource and a reference that should be available to all new writers. Thank you so much Annie.
You’re very welcome! Thank you!
Perfect, thank you!
This helped a lot! Thanks!
I had a question. I am debating whether to write my biography in third person or first person. Which would be best?
That’s entirely up to you! Some markets will specify which style they want. Barring that, it’s really just a matter of circumstance and taste. I like to keep one of each handy just in case.
Thank you
This helped me tremendously!!! I just finished writing an awesome bio due to your template. It was concise, easy, and well understood. Thank you!
That’s wonderful to hear! Thanks for letting me know!
This was very helpful. Thank you Annie
You’re welcome!
MASSIVE THANKS Annie – That template is the bomb! You are an angel 🙂
My pleasure! 🙂
Thank you, Annie! I put in a donation a few months ago for another doc that I hope will cover this as well. So appreciate it!
Absolutely! Thanks so much!
Thanks!
Hi Annie- This is a great template! Do you have any advice/templates for expanding the short bio into a longer one?
Thanks! That’s an interesting question. I don’t have a template for that, but perhaps I should make that my next resource. I will put that on my to-do list soon; thanks for the idea.
go quicker pleasefora longer template
Very much appreciated!!
Thanks this was very helpful. I am a graphic designer and a lot of my new are authors who need help with things like this. This is a great guide for me to help consult them better on their project.
I’m happy it’s helping!
You are an absolute LIFE-SAVER – fantastic post, thank you 🙂
Great template, thank you!
How do I cite you for the template since I am doing this for a thesis class?
Thank You!