Depending upon individual narcissistic tendencies, you will either love or hate writing about yourself.
My suggestion is to write two bios about yourself--one
long and one
short and keep them handy. A bio that is easy to cut and paste into a proposal or to tack onto an online article, or to add to a social network is a definite timesaver.
Here are a few do's and don'ts to ponder as you hazard a guess about how to write about YOU.
1. Before you start writing, make a list of all the facts about you. Forget about adding your dreams, wishes and goals. People want the facts. They don't care about your dreams of being a NY Time Bestselling Author.
2. Write your biography in THIRD person. Keep a nice comfy distance between you and that fabulous person you're writing about. It's a split personality thing fiction writers already do. If you can crawl into a fictional character's head, you can certainly crawl out of yours and be the character for once.
3. Don't toot your own horn too much. My mama always said, "When you're bragging, you're dragging." Being braggadocious is atrocious. So keep that in mind.
4. Tell the truth. No fudging. Many of us are fiction writers, but reserve the fiction for fictional characters.
5. Experience--Share your relevant experience or experiences with people in condensed form. Whether you've been published once or one thousand times, skim the cream off the top and share that--the best of the best.
6. Connections--Share the groups and organizations to which you belong. It legitimizes you. Plus, people from these organizations can vouch for your character.
7. Keep it simple. Long, flowery descriptions. Big words and meandering sentences will detour readers. And that's the one thing you don't want to happen. You want people to read about you and at least find your bio mildly interesting:)
8. Add a hook. Just as you do when you write a query, or proposal or first chapter. And make it good. You want the bio reader to somehow connect with you or "get" you. Is there an unusual hobby or activity? A favorite food. An embarrassing moment?
9. Read other people's bios. Jerry Jenkins. Tim LaHaye, Ted Dekker, Brad Thor, Stephen King, Janet Evanovich, Lauraine Snelling, Debbie Macomber. Make a list of what you liked or didn't like about their bios.
10. Update your bio. Add, take away and edit your bio as you grow and gain experience in your career as a writer. An out-of-date bio is not an asset. The old you is not as valuable as the new you.
Well, my writer friends, I hope that helped. Distilling your life into fifty words or less is a monumental task, but it can be done and
you can do it. On your mark. Get set. Write.
BOUNCE YOUR BIO OFF ME!
THAT'S RIGHT. If you want some feedback, leave your SHORT bio in the comment box and I will offer a grin or a grimace. You might even get some helpful suggestions to improve it:)
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| LINDA P. KOZAR |
Linda is the co-author of Babes With A Beatitude—Devotions For Smart, Savvy Women of Faith (Hardcover/Ebook, Howard/Simon & Schuster 2009) and author of Misfortune Cookies (Print, Barbour Publishing 2008), Misfortune Cookies, A Tisket, A Casket, and Dead As A Doornail,
(“When The Fat Ladies Sing Series,” Ebooks, Spyglass Lane Mysteries,
2012). She received the ACFW Mentor of the Year Award in 2007, founded
and served as president of Writers On The Storm, a local ACFW chapter for three years. In 2003, she co-founded, co-directed and later served as Southwest Texas Director of Words For The Journey Christian Writers Guild.
She and her husband Michael, married 23 years, have two lovely
daughters, Katie and Lauren and a Rat Terrier princess named Patches.
Represented by: Wendy Lawton, Books & Such Literary Agency
Member of: CAN
(Christian Authors Network), RWA (Romance Writers of American), WHRWA
(West Houston Romance Writers of America), ACFW (American Christian
Fiction Writers), Writers On The Storm, The Woodlands, Texas Chapter of
ACFW, Toastmasters (Area 56) The Woodlands, Texas. WoodsEdge Community
Church, The Woodlands, TX.
Linda P. Kozar
Sweet Tea Fiction
Find me at about.me/LindaKozar
