This week I've been struggling to put together a writer bio for myself. It sounds like fun to make a list of accomplishments and credits, until the questions kick in.
What kind of bio should I write? Will editors or readers care where I live and what my hobbies are, or should I just dive right into the writing credits? Have I listed enough credits? Should I list different ones?
So I've been doing a lot of reading to figure out how to write this thing and what to include in it. It seems that no matter what style bio someone has, it includes some of the following:
1. Publishing Credits
2. Writing Awards and Recognition
3. Writing job &/or experience
4. Writing Memberships or Associations
5. Recognition
6. Personal Tidbit
I'm off to take another stab at this. I found the below articles were especially helpful:
http://www.writers.com/feature_bio_blurb.html
http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/bio.htm
http://theeclecticwriter.typepad.com/the_eclectic_writer/2009/01/the-most-challenging-assignment.html
2 comments:
Writing bios is hard! Writing anything about yourself is tough! Giving other people advice about how to do it is easy! :)
One helpful tip to writing your own bio -- draft it, then give it to someone you respect to review it and offer suggestions. Also, I find I rewrite mine depending on the type of writing/publication or if I'm doing a speech. I emphasize different things. But the process is like drafting -- each time it gets better.
Anne
Anne,
You're so right. I spent more time on this 100-word bio than I have on entire articles.
Now that I've got a first draft, I'm hoping you're right and it'll get easier each time. Also - it's helped me re-prioritize, just like (okay, this is morbid but)writing an obituary does. I KNOW what I want in my bio., and what I'm doing now isn't necessarily what I should be doing to get it.
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