Your book and website need an author page and biography. You might be surprised how many readers, and potential readers, make a buying decision based on your bio. Not to mention the folks that are just curious about who you are and why you’re the authority on your topic. Your bio is an opportunity to market yourself and sell more books.
Your bio is also probably one of the most difficult things you’ll ever have to write. It can be difficult to write about yourself objectively.
1. Rough It Out First
Write a bullet point rough draft bio. Don’t sweat it right now. Just jot down some ideas that you think should be included in your bio. What do readers, and potential readers, want to know about you? What information will help you sell more books? For example, if you wrote a book about cats then the fact that you own 5 cats may be helpful. Your bachelor’s degree in advertising, not so helpful.
2. Remember, It’s A Marketing Piece.
Approach the project like it’s a marketing piece -because it is. Your bio needs to connect with your reader and audience. That means that it should be accurate and honest and that it should focus on what your reader wants to know and what may influence them to buy your book.
3. Write It In The Third Person
Write your bio as if you are someone else. For example, “Jane Doe has been awarded Best Trainer by the Animal Trainer Association.” This makes your biography sound more professional than “I am the winner of several best trainer awards.” And honestly, you’ll likely find that it is easier to write about yourself in third person.
4. Include Any Awards, Endorsements, And Recognitions
List any recognitions that you may have if they are relevant to your audience. Industry awards, celebrity or industry influencer endorsements are terrific too. For example, if you wrote a book on dog training and Cesar Millan (the dog whisperer) endorsed your book or website, add that to your bio.
5. Credibility
What relevant experience and knowledge do you have. If for example, you’re writing a book on pet training, what makes you credible? Do you have a degree in veterinarian science? Have you trained animals for television? What do you know that’s relevant to your topic and audience?
6. Personality and Photo
Inject some personality into your bio page. What makes you unique? What might readers enjoy knowing about you? Kindle also allows you to upload a photo. Use a professional, and friendly, photo of yourself.
7. Don’t Forget Your Website
Please make sure to include your website name in your Kindle Author Bio. Give readers a way to connect with you, learn more, and buy more.
Your Kindle Author Bio can be anywhere from one paragraph to three. It has to be at least 20 words. Kindle restricts the use formatting like bold, italics, HTML or other rich formatting. Short paragraphs will make it easy to read online.
Once you’ve written your draft, walk away from it for a bit. Think about it and then come back and write your bio. Ask a few trusted friends to read it and take their advice seriously. It’s difficult to write about yourself and your friends and associates can look at your bio from a reader’s perspective. And remember, Kindle is forgiving. You can edit, update, and change your bio any time you want to.
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By the way, we’ve got a collection of Kindle templates, including bio templates for you…for both fiction and non-fiction authors.
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- Insider’s Kindle Marketing Strategy Guide
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- Book Outline Worksheets (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
- Topic Research Worksheet (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
- Kindle Templates (Fiction and Non-Fiction) with Formatting Guide
- Kindle Publishing Checklists (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
- Book Cover Image Templates (Fiction and Non Fiction)
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