You've just finished your masterpiece and are about to send it off to that magical world, The Land Of The Publishing Industry. You have done your homework and have edited it with a fine-tooth comb. Now what?
You must prepare an author bio to knock the editor's socks off. Your manuscript cannot stand alone. Along with an impressive cover letter and query, your manuscript must include an author bio.
As an already established author, you've probably saved your bio in a file updating it as you go. As an unpublished author, it's hard to know the exact way to go about doing this. I'll show you the tricks of the trade to send off an impressive bio even if you've never been published before.
ALWAYS WRITE IN THIRD PERSON
To begin your bio, always remember to write in third person. Many professional authors, I for one, know that this is the correct way to write your bio. This makes it more presentable to the publisher. It also allows your readers to distance themselves and not be intimidated.
YOUR OPENING SENTENCE
This is where you sell yourself to the editor. Your opening line is your introduction, the first thing the editor notices. This line can make you or break you.
I start out by stating, "Dorothy Thompson is a freelancer, online journal editor, e-book author..." State your name and who you are. Never mention your personal life, just your professional titles.
If you write, "Hi! I’m Jane Doe and a housewife from Minneapolis," you are already looked upon as unprofessional. No editor wants to hear this. They simply do not care.
No credentials? No problem. There are ways for even a first-time writer to wing it. Let's say you've written a poem about your dog that perhaps saved a drowning boy's life. First of all, you're already a freelancer because you're sending this article to a publisher. Second, you are a poet because this is a poem. Now, you can say, "Jane Doe is a freelance writer and poet." Sounds better, doesn't it?
