“ABOUT THE AUTHOR” (SON OF A GUN, WE’LL HAVE BIG FUN…ON THE BIO) By VONN McKEE

We fiction writers really love making up stuff. And, if we’re clever enough, we can hornswoggle a number of unsuspecting people into reading the stuff we’ve made up. It’s a great system. However, along with all that heady fun, there are a couple of have-tos that no author particularly enjoys doing. One of those is writing your own bio. (Well, I’ve actually met a few authors who LOVE writing about themselves, but we won’t name names here.)
     I count concocting a bio right up there with scrubbing floors and the sound of dentist drills, but I do realize the importance of those back-flap author blurbs. When I finish reading a great book, I want to know all about the person who wrote it. Where did she grow up? Is this his first book…his tenth? How did the author end up writing in this genre?
     If you’ve written and published a book, magazine article, screenplay, or short story, you WILL be asked to provide a word snapshot of who you are and how you came to be an author. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when pouring–or dribbling–out your life story.

HOW LONG? Bios come in three sizes: short, medium, and extended. By short, I mean something in the neighborhood of three typed lines. A medium bio runs from 40 to 250 words, and the extended version will be several paragraphs long (theoretically filling up a page). You should have all three versions on hand: short for end-of-story blurbs, medium for online book listings, and extended for your website or press kit.

WHO IS READING THIS? If you are introducing yourself to a particular audience (romance, western, sci-fi, etc.), then the tone of your bio should suit the genre.
     Depending on how much space you have, you should drop morsels of information that show your interest or qualifications in that genre. Do you dress up as Sleeping Beauty EVERY Halloween? Were you a trick roper child prodigy? Was your life changed when you shook hands with an astronaut? This is also a good opportunity to showcase your writing style, whether pithy or cerebral or colorfully descriptive. In other words, the picture you paint of yourself in your bio should match the writing style of your story.

You want me to write about...ME?

    WHOSE POV? Yeah, it’s weird but you will be writing about yourself in third person. Once you get used to the idea, it actually makes it easier to describe your writing (just pretend you’re not in the room with yourself!) and to lay out the braggity things like awards and accolades.

WHAT TO SAY? This can be tricky. Don’t get so hung up on the who/what/where/how, that you forget to add quirky details. Yes, tell them you grew up in Arkansas/Indiana/etc. However, no one cares that you’ve always loved to write. Of course, you love to write. You wrote this book they hold in their hands! Tell your story, but keep it tight and make every word count.
     Find a way to describe your essence in creative terms. For example, my short bio reveals that I am “descended from horse traders and Southern belles.” It checks off several boxes: I grew up in the South, my family was into horses, and I might sell you a sway-backed short story if you don’t watch me closely. 
     If you’ve won an award that the readers will recognize, then give it a shout-out. If it isn’t a well-known honor, then you can always go with “award-winning author, <your name here>.” It’s all about the creds, baby.

     Above all, take your time when putting together a bio. It could convince a reader browsing through new digital releases to click “Buy Now.” You never know…Billy Bob Thornton or Charles Portis could pick up your book, read your bio, and decide to shoot you an email that says, “Hey, I’m from Arkansas too! Wanna have supper next week?” (One can dream…)
     So go ahead and shake your tail feathers a bit, pop your suspenders, toot your horn, and let the world of readers know what’s unique about you, and why they should be falling over themselves to devour every delicious word you write.
     And remember, my darlings, you’re only as old as your bio says you are!

All the best,

Vonn

Louisiana-born Vonn McKee, descended from horse traders and southern belles, has worked as everything from country singer to riverboat waitress to construction project manager. Now based in Nashville, she turns her experiences and love of history into stories of the West.

VONN McKEE
“Writing the Range”
2015 WWA Spur Finalist (Short Fiction)
2015 Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Finalist (Short Fiction)


www.vonnmckee.com
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