Since you have a blog, you may already have a good start on the About the Author page, provided you have an About page on your blog. You do, don’t you? The About the Author page is generally at the end of a book, as one of the back matter sections.
Your About the Author page is about you but not exactly a biography. It’s more about making a connection with the reader. Once you’ve established a relationship with a reader, he or she is more apt to become a loyal follower.
To make that connection, you want to tailor your story to fit your book. You already know that the reader is interested in the topic your book covers, so try to make YOU as interesting and relevant as that topic.
For example, if you write about living in the rolling hills of Ireland, talk about how you came to be there. Maybe you had an Irish grandmother or you visited once and fell in love with a leprechuan. If your blog to book project is about investing in bitcoins, include your credentials and experience. If you wrote about how yoga transformed your quality of life in your book, talk about your personal philosophy.
As you write your Author Bio, think about who you had in mind when writing the information in the book, who do you want to buy and read the book, and what sort of credibility would that ideal reader look for in an author.
Other things you should include: your professional background, education, current business, achievements, awards, general personal details about your family, pets, residence, interests but only as they relate to the topic of the book.
If you are writing about how you traveled the globe you might include information on how you developed wanderlust rather than the 6 soul-sucking years you spent in a cubicle after earning your MBA. Then again, maybe that’s all part of the story that led up to the book.
Tone is yet another important consideration. If your blog to book project chronicles your spiritual awakening, maybe you won’t want to be smarmy or sarcastic in your bio. Just saying.
Do include contact information with a link back to your website and maybe some links to your social media networks as well. Don’t overdo it though, no more than 3.
You should also have an author photo. It can be casual or formal, however best you’d like to be remembered. If you are like me, adding a photo might make you just a tiny bit uncomfortable. Go ahead and do it anyway.
Another section you might wish to include is a call to action. This is something you should already be doing at the end of your blog posts. You are, aren’t you?
A call to action is something you want the reader to do. You could request that the reader leave a review at Amazon or Goodreads. You could mention you have an ecourse available on the topic your book addresses. You could talk about your personal coaching program. You could highlight a book you’ve written that relates to the topic of the current one and prompt the reader to go and check it out.
Just pick one though. You don’t want to overwhelm anyone. The odds of a completed action are greater when there is only one thing as well. Instead of highlighting every single book you’ve written, why not suggest the reader go to a particular page and browse through your other books. Doing so means you don’t have to update this page when you publish something new, just the page on your blog.
About the Author should be written in the third person. Yes, I know, corny. But that’s what readers expect, so that’s what you’ll give them.
Keep it short and sweet. Think of this as sort of a letter of introduction to your readers. You don’t have to list your whole life story here, just the most relevant parts. Aim for about 200-250 words.
Your Author Bio is not a static document, but an ever-changing one. When you have new experiences, obtain new credentials, maybe even change location, you will need to update your About the Author section accordingly.
Assignment: Write your About the Author page. Include a picture.