I've been really into reading author bios lately. Maybe it's my way to vicariously live through the people that have already been lucky enough to publish a book. Maybe it's wishful thinking for me to see my own bio at the back of a novel. Maybe it's simply because I want to know more about the authors that write wonderful (and not so wonderful) books.
I get stumped by the ones that don't say much, like XX is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Law School. Where's the fun in that? Is that all you can come up with? All you want your readership to know? All that you can be proud of? I love the bios that are snarky, witty, and full of fun (I can't print one here, as I don't want to bother asking for permission), because those lead me to believe that the authors, too, might be snarky, witty, and full of fun.
So I've been thinking. What would I include in an author bio? Do I need to tell everyone that sometimes, vanilla ice cream tastes super on a fork? And that I've learned more from my kids than I ever thought possible? Should I mention that I'd probably have more kids if I had started earlier, and that my sisters would think me absolutely nuts if I had any more? Depending on the book, I might admit to loving fruit and running, writing, and sunsets, and that I miss my family and wish they'd all move close to me. But does anyone really care where I went to school or what degrees I have? I certainly don't.
I think if I said anything, this is what it would be: Christina has loved to write since she was a little girl, but she was delightfully sidetracked along the way, and ended up doing many other diverse things in her life, all of which might end up in a book some day. She enjoys friends, family, animals, kids, and running, all of which inspire her writing. She hopes that even if you don't enjoy this book, that you can appreciate all of the hard work that went into writing it. Because if you work hard, and try to make good choices, good things can happen. And in the words of one of her favorite people, Erma Bombeck: "It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else."
I get stumped by the ones that don't say much, like XX is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Law School. Where's the fun in that? Is that all you can come up with? All you want your readership to know? All that you can be proud of? I love the bios that are snarky, witty, and full of fun (I can't print one here, as I don't want to bother asking for permission), because those lead me to believe that the authors, too, might be snarky, witty, and full of fun.
So I've been thinking. What would I include in an author bio? Do I need to tell everyone that sometimes, vanilla ice cream tastes super on a fork? And that I've learned more from my kids than I ever thought possible? Should I mention that I'd probably have more kids if I had started earlier, and that my sisters would think me absolutely nuts if I had any more? Depending on the book, I might admit to loving fruit and running, writing, and sunsets, and that I miss my family and wish they'd all move close to me. But does anyone really care where I went to school or what degrees I have? I certainly don't.
I think if I said anything, this is what it would be: Christina has loved to write since she was a little girl, but she was delightfully sidetracked along the way, and ended up doing many other diverse things in her life, all of which might end up in a book some day. She enjoys friends, family, animals, kids, and running, all of which inspire her writing. She hopes that even if you don't enjoy this book, that you can appreciate all of the hard work that went into writing it. Because if you work hard, and try to make good choices, good things can happen. And in the words of one of her favorite people, Erma Bombeck: "It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else."
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