Hi! My Name’s . . .

[rolanni]

I was talking with a colleague the other day about author bios, and, tangentially, the purpose that such exercises in sentence structure is supposed to accomplish.

I thought that there was a place, and an audience for, a breezier, flirtatious bio, like this one. My colleague felt that an author should maintain some distance, perhaps some dignity, in order to be taken seriously by potential readers, and was arguing in favor of something along the lines of this:

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller live in the rolling hills of Central Maine with three insistent muses in the form of cats, and a large cast of characters. Best known for their work in the Liaden Universe®, Lee and Miller have seen published seventeen collaborative novels. Baen Books is currently releasing all of the Liaden novels in several omnibus volumes. The next original Liaden novel, Ghost Ship, will be published in August 2011.

For more information about the Liaden Universe®, see http://www.sharonleewriter.com

So, what do you think? Should a writer keep their distance and their mystique in a bio? Does a playful tone make you doubt the author’s craft? Tell all! Inquiring minds want to know!

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[drammar.livejournal.com]

I really like the breezy informality of the one on Sharon Lee, Writer. It sounds the way I think of you. The second example is a fairly typical writer's bio, and doesn't tell me much about you as a person.

[berneynator.livejournal.com]

I tend to think that the breezy bio gives a reader a certain sense of connection to the author, whereas something more formal and formulaic makes no particular impression. It's not, after all, really that important to most readers where you live. If they're reading the bio, it's to get a sense of this author whose writing they enjoy. Especially in this internet age of immediate access, I think that approachability is a plus in a bio.

Intention

[(Anonymous)]

Is it the purpose of the authors bio blurb to help sell books or otherwise engange potential readers/buyers ? Are we in the market for dry academic reading or entertaining comfort books ?

I think it often helps an author stand out to have something less dry than the distancing text shown above. I think that an effective bio will tell me something about the degree of insight the author has and the ability to convey. The dry one feels like it was written by a publicity hack, so I mentally discount it - not a good idea given limited number of seconds used to decide whether to pick up a new book/author or not.

To the extent I can bond with the author over the detail provided in the bio, I am more inclined to give the book a read. I like a sense of a person behind the book. Put another way - if the author can come alive in the few lines of a bio, I believe they are more likely to make characters come alive deeper inside the volume.

Bob

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

Honestly, the sample you give here would make me doubt your craft--it's dull and it conveys little actual information. What information is there is bibliography more than biography. Hopefully if you went the "serious" route you would do a better job of writing it than this, but since playfulness with words is one of the hallmarks for your writing, no serious bio would be a particularly good advertisement for you.

[adriannem.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think anything you do to make your bio interesting is good advertisement. So I would choose the "flirtatious bio".

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

Playful is more entertaining. The other is too dry, short, and uninformative.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on the type of book. If you were writing serious tomes of non-fiction, a serious bio listing your credentials in your field would be more appropriate. That's not what you're writing though. You're writing novels to entertain your readers. A serious and boring biography isn't likely to help you attract readers who want to be entertained. The breezier, flirtatious bio does a much better job of suggesting to me that your books are fun to read.

[eseme]

I like lighthearted author bios, and also lighthearted author photos. It's a personal preference.

I always liked Anne McCaffrey's bio, about everything but her birthdate, hair color, and eye color being subject to change.

[xengar.livejournal.com]

Different types go with different authors.

The clear, concise, and extremely correct sort of bio goes with the sort of author who feels (or is trying to project) that the story is not just the important thing, but the only thing. They might write perfectly acceptable books, but I wouldn't expect them to have anything interesting to say at as part of a panel at a con. And I would have to read and enjoy several works from the author to assume that I would like new ones, because this is also the sort of author that I would expect to try several different writing styles "because thats what this story needs."

The rambling, playful bios go with the sort of author whose books contain forwards and afterwards and author's notes, and generally project a sense of "hey! I'm an interesting person so I have interesting stories to tell."

I think you can probably tell which type I prefer ;)

[orlacarey.livejournal.com]

Considering that I bought Souless (http://www.amazon.com/Soulless-Parasol-Protectorate-Gail-Carriger/dp/0316056634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304380529&sr=8-1) based on the author's bio? I'd say I'm a fan of the flirtatious bio....

edited to add but it depends on the book , certain books call for a more serious bio.

Author Bios

[trekgirlmo.livejournal.com]

Don't strangle me for this, but I like a combination of both! I LOVE your flirtatious one, but also appreciate ones that tell me where the author lives, where he or she is from originally and what's going on in their career(s).

Maureen

I'm for the breezy bio

[capricchio.livejournal.com]

I don't even read the serious bios. :) Your breezy one is cute!

[enleve.livejournal.com]

My eyes kind of glaze over at your colleague's suggested bio. I like the breezy one better.

I like knowing where the author lives.

My favourite author bio is the one where Terry Pratchett said that writing is the most fun one can have by oneself.

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

The serious example? Yawn. Fun versions are just that -- more fun to read, engaging, etc. One of the biggest problems right now for writers, I think, is just getting themselves out there -- it's really hard to have signing parties and such on the internet, y'a know? So yes, I do think bios and whatnot should be viewed as part of the image -- but do you really want your image to be three-piece blue suit with tie, or is it more comfortable?

On the other hand -- I have several bios, ranging from a short informal to the multipage one with projects and papers listed. They're for different purposes. I don't see any particular reason that you have to only have one -- why not several for different purposes and audiences?

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

I prefer the breezy one, though you might want to edit the forthcoming out before carousel tides.

[(Anonymous)]

I think anyone who picks up a book, reads it and enjoys it, has a second look at the name of the author and wonders what that person is like and from where they gain their inspiration. By revealing something of yourself I think you give the reader a stronger connection to the story and the feeling that you and they have been on the journey together. Phyllis

Somebody actually reads bios?

[bookmobiler.livejournal.com]

Actually I do, but never until after I've read the book, and sometimes never if I didn't like the book.
The point of a bio for me is to tell me if there might be more by that author I want to read.
My personal preference is for light-hearted. Mostly because I get easily bored by people who take themselves to seriously.

Bios

[(Anonymous)]

The presence of the internet certainly has been a game changer. Many authors must keep a blog to promote their product (their book.) The very nature of a blog is fun, breezy, and informative. So the fun bio wins by a mile. My favorite children's author is also a quilter and her podcast is a favorite among quilter's as she has this writer's voice that "tells" great stories about her personal life on her podcasts.

[(Anonymous)]

Formal doesn't have to mean boring - and the one your colleague recommended is just that. However I don't think the flirtatious bio would be appropriate in all circumstances either. If the bio will appear where mostly fans will read it, the lively, playful version would probably work best - it fits what I perceive to be your personalities and relationships with readers. If the bio will be used to help sell a book to a publisher, or something else serious, the more formal style would work better.
Mary

Breezy Bio?

[claire774.livejournal.com]

I think most of us agree that the breezy bio is better. Ann McCaffrey I believe once said in her bio that she lives in Ireland and her hair is subject to changing color at any time.

Forgot to say last night congrats that Carousel Tides is coming out in mass paperback. I love that book. I'm hoping that you will be able to write a sequel sometime. Those characters defintely have more adventures.
C.

Maine Novels

[claire774.livejournal.com]

I don't think that Barnburner and Gunshy are in print right now or even available from Amazon or Half.com. Can you put them on Kindle or one of those places you've been putting stuff lately. I'd like to be able to read them.
C.

Re: Maine Novels

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Both Barnburner and Gunshy are available from Fictionwise in all kinds of electronic formats.

Go here: http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/SharonLeeeBooks.htm

Re: Maine Novels

[(Anonymous)]

from cinquefoildor-Barnburner and Gunshy are available from fictionwise.com.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

I'm going to disagree slightly wit hmost of the comments (so far), and say that it depends not so much on the book but on the intended audience for the bio. The one your collegue suggested would be perfectly in keeping with a list of authors with short information about each, for instance, where a longer and more 'friendly' one would be out of place. On your own website, however, the one you have which is more 'chatty' is appropriate (I don't find that overly 'chatty' anyway, no more than Anne McCaffery's "the rest is subject to change without notice", and it seems a reasonable balance for an author bio on a book).

Incidentally, the phrase "the next original Liaden novel" implies to me that there are some which aren't original, perhaps plagiarised! I suspect that it is meant to indicate that it may not be the next published novel (because of the reprints, 'omnibus' editions, etc.). I may however be the only person who read it that way...

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

I guess I'd vote for 'breezy', or dismissive (some sort of wisecrack instead of a real bio). A cold, factual sort of bio is like a wet blanket. It can also sound dorkish; we know the author has to write it, so if it's in the style of a publisher's note then it sounds phoney.

Iirc Pratchett's early books had some good ones, and I liked one of Blaylock's, obviously satirizing the usual sort.

[magda-vogelsang.livejournal.com]

Many of my favorite authors go for humor, at least on their cover blurbs, but I may be biased. Still, Jim Butcher seems to be doing very well with this one:

"A martial arts enthusiast whose resume includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives with his wife, his son and a ferocious guard dog."

(BTW, the dog is question is a Bichon Frise.)

Of course, anyone who doesn't like humor isn't going to like his books. Which is likely true of yours as well.

bio

[furballtiger.livejournal.com]

I'd say write whatever a) amuses you and b) that you feel shares some tiny window into your life with those who enjoy your work. Given that your blog contains much of the latter perhaps focus more on the former. In abstract, folks worrying about being "serious enough" with their bio for some imaginary issue of dignity seems prideful and delusional. Of course, in more practical terms, it should match the tenor of the community you're attempting to foster which you envision as consistent with your work (e.g. your governor and you need very different online bios). In your case, as a writer of wonderful stuff that people read just for fun I think that means you can and should write whatever you darn well want without over-thinking it. Happy trails!

It's like a resume - it has to be memorable

[(Anonymous)]

As a bookseller, I check to see if the author is local/regional so it has to have a location (in my mind). The rest - eh, make it memorable. If you write humorous or witty books, the bio should reflect that. If you're a serious scientist, it should be serious.

That said, I like your flirtatious bio too...
Lauretta@ConstellationBooks, who is 4 today :)

Re: It's like a resume - it has to be memorable

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday, ConstellationBooks!

Bio

[(Anonymous)]

I find, from reading the comments to date, that here are a group of people who want to see an author as a personal friend. Most authors say too much about themselves. I find nothing wrong with your proposed blurb as I believe it conveys what **you** want to say. I don't believe the author bio is that importent. If you put out a good book or series, I will continue to buy them. Then I might well seek additional data on an author I like so much. On the other hand, even if you are a good personal friend, if the book is not appealing I won't buy your books.

Bill Cowell