The author bio included in your nonfiction book proposal should make it very easy for a literary agent or editor at a publishing house to see at a glance that you are:
It should be one page and focus on how your accomplishments will help make the book a success. It is not intended to be an exhaustive biography of every good and worthy thing you’ve ever done. If it doesn’t relate to the book’s content or marketing and publicity efforts, leave it off. For example, let’s say you are a therapist writing a book about life after divorce for women.
Include that you:
Do not include that you:
Every element of a book proposal is marketing copy, including the author bio. Don’t bury the lede—that you are the absolute best person to write and promote this book—under a barrage of off-topic accomplishments and anecdotes, as worthy and meaningful to you they may be.
Do your very best to include only the most relevant achievements and steer clear of the following common mistakes.
Top 5 Nonfiction Book Proposal Author Bio Mistakes
#1 It doesn’t lead with accomplishments that will help market the book.
Your author bio should open with a sentence that includes the most important and most relevant reasons you are qualified and in the best position possible to write this book. Clue: These will likely be some of your most recent accomplishments.
A pediatrician writing a book about children and resilience: Elisa Song, MD, is a Stanford-, NYU-, UCSF-trained integrative pediatrician and pediatric functional medicine expert, and most importantly, a mother to two thriving children.
A certified health coach writing a book about PCOS: Amy Medling is a certified health coach and founder of PCOS Diva, an online community and program for women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
An influencer writing a cookbook: Health and wellness influencer Andrea Hanneman, aka Earthy Andy, is creator of the popular Earthy Andy blog and Instagram account.
A successful entrepreneur writing a book about pitching and storytelling: Chuck Goldstone, founder/CEO of Chuck Goldstone Strategies and Stories, is an internationally respected authority on business, presentations, corporate storytelling, creativity, and communications.
#2 It's bloated.
It is OK if your author bio is only a few sentences. Do be sure you are including everything that is relevant, but please know that it is better to have a tight, meaningful distillation of your most relevant accomplishments than a bloated biography with a lot of meaningless (from a publishing perspective) filler.
Lean on a clear factual style, told in the third person. It can read very much like a list: Jane Author does this for living. She has created this excellent platform. She has been featured on this media and has spoken at these conferences.
#3 It lacks specificity when it comes to media and marketing.
Give specifics wherever possible.
Instead of:
Jane Author has a thriving online community.
Write this:
Jane Author has a thriving online community with 50,000 subscribers to her monthly enewsletter and 100,000 followers across her social media (Instagram, Facebook).
Instead of:
Jane Author has been featured on dozens of podcasts and media outlets.
Write this:
Jane Author has been featured on dozens of podcasts, including The Good podcast, The Better podcast, and The Best podcast, and interviewed by media outlets, including The New York Times, MindBodyGreen, and Goop.
Instead of:
Jane Author speaks regularly at conferences.
Write this:
Jane Author speaks regularly at conferences and in 2023 was a keynote at over a dozen, including The National Organization for Speakers, Speakers of America, and Tell Your Story.
#4 It doesn’t include an author photo.
I know, I know. You’re a writer not a model. Fair enough. But a well-lit headshot against a simple background helps to humanize the content. Don’t skip it. Plus, if you are aiming to be a published author, you should start getting comfortable with your image being used to help sell your work, whether that’s a still image or in-person marketing and publicity.
To be clear, this does not need to be a pricey, professional photo. One taken with a smart phone is just fine.
#5 It doesn’t include the author’s city and state of residence in the last line.
So simple to add and yet so frustrating for publishing folks when it is left off.
The last line of your author bio should always be: Jane Author lives in (city), (state) or (city), (country).
As in:
Jane Author lives in Boston, MA.
Jane Author lives in Manchester, England.
Where you live is particularly helpful to the publicity and sales members of a publishing team as it can give them a sense of how supportive your local media and/or bookseller market may be. Some cities have a robust local market, which can be a nice boon; others, not so much. Authors living abroad provide unique challenges for a publisher so it’s good to know if that’s the case right away.
Avoid these mistakes and your proposal is well on its way to being good to go. If you are working on a proposal, be sure to check out my article on how to Avoid the Top 5 Nonfiction Book Proposal Mistakes. Let me help you avoid more of the mistakes that get book proposals tossed in the reject pile.
Good to Go Nonfiction Book Proposal Author Bio Checklist
__ Leads with the accomplishments most relevant to promoting the book
__ Lean and trim, highlighting the essentials
__ Specific media outlets and marketing accomplishments
__ Author photo
__ Author residence (city and state or city and country)
- Qualified to write the book, meaning you have all of the relevant credentials necessary to confidently be considered an expert.
- An able and experienced promoter of the content you will be sharing in the book, whether that has been through your website and social media, speaking engagements, guest spots on podcasts, or other media and marketing efforts.
It should be one page and focus on how your accomplishments will help make the book a success. It is not intended to be an exhaustive biography of every good and worthy thing you’ve ever done. If it doesn’t relate to the book’s content or marketing and publicity efforts, leave it off. For example, let’s say you are a therapist writing a book about life after divorce for women.
Include that you:
- Are a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and have a Masters in Social Work (MSW).
- Have run a successful private practice for over 20 years focused on issues related to marriage and divorce, have helped thousands of women successfully make this life change, and were awarded Therapist of the Year in 2020 by the National Association of Clinical Therapists.
- Contribute monthly blog posts to Forbes.com on women, money, and marriage, with your most popular post viewed by over 1 million people, and have been featured in Good Housekeeping and Elle magazine and on The Divorce Survival Guide podcast.
- Have gone through a divorce and understand the issue from a personal as well as professional angle.
Do not include that you:
- Graduated from Yale 30 years ago.
- Are the president of your homeowner’s association, organize the fundraising campaigns for a local animal shelter, run a jewelry business out of your home as a side hustle, and are an avid tennis player.
Every element of a book proposal is marketing copy, including the author bio. Don’t bury the lede—that you are the absolute best person to write and promote this book—under a barrage of off-topic accomplishments and anecdotes, as worthy and meaningful to you they may be.
Do your very best to include only the most relevant achievements and steer clear of the following common mistakes.
Top 5 Nonfiction Book Proposal Author Bio Mistakes
#1 It doesn’t lead with accomplishments that will help market the book.
Your author bio should open with a sentence that includes the most important and most relevant reasons you are qualified and in the best position possible to write this book. Clue: These will likely be some of your most recent accomplishments.
A pediatrician writing a book about children and resilience: Elisa Song, MD, is a Stanford-, NYU-, UCSF-trained integrative pediatrician and pediatric functional medicine expert, and most importantly, a mother to two thriving children.
A certified health coach writing a book about PCOS: Amy Medling is a certified health coach and founder of PCOS Diva, an online community and program for women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
An influencer writing a cookbook: Health and wellness influencer Andrea Hanneman, aka Earthy Andy, is creator of the popular Earthy Andy blog and Instagram account.
A successful entrepreneur writing a book about pitching and storytelling: Chuck Goldstone, founder/CEO of Chuck Goldstone Strategies and Stories, is an internationally respected authority on business, presentations, corporate storytelling, creativity, and communications.
#2 It's bloated.
It is OK if your author bio is only a few sentences. Do be sure you are including everything that is relevant, but please know that it is better to have a tight, meaningful distillation of your most relevant accomplishments than a bloated biography with a lot of meaningless (from a publishing perspective) filler.
Lean on a clear factual style, told in the third person. It can read very much like a list: Jane Author does this for living. She has created this excellent platform. She has been featured on this media and has spoken at these conferences.
#3 It lacks specificity when it comes to media and marketing.
Give specifics wherever possible.
Instead of:
Jane Author has a thriving online community.
Write this:
Jane Author has a thriving online community with 50,000 subscribers to her monthly enewsletter and 100,000 followers across her social media (Instagram, Facebook).
Instead of:
Jane Author has been featured on dozens of podcasts and media outlets.
Write this:
Jane Author has been featured on dozens of podcasts, including The Good podcast, The Better podcast, and The Best podcast, and interviewed by media outlets, including The New York Times, MindBodyGreen, and Goop.
Instead of:
Jane Author speaks regularly at conferences.
Write this:
Jane Author speaks regularly at conferences and in 2023 was a keynote at over a dozen, including The National Organization for Speakers, Speakers of America, and Tell Your Story.
#4 It doesn’t include an author photo.
I know, I know. You’re a writer not a model. Fair enough. But a well-lit headshot against a simple background helps to humanize the content. Don’t skip it. Plus, if you are aiming to be a published author, you should start getting comfortable with your image being used to help sell your work, whether that’s a still image or in-person marketing and publicity.
To be clear, this does not need to be a pricey, professional photo. One taken with a smart phone is just fine.
#5 It doesn’t include the author’s city and state of residence in the last line.
So simple to add and yet so frustrating for publishing folks when it is left off.
The last line of your author bio should always be: Jane Author lives in (city), (state) or (city), (country).
As in:
Jane Author lives in Boston, MA.
Jane Author lives in Manchester, England.
Where you live is particularly helpful to the publicity and sales members of a publishing team as it can give them a sense of how supportive your local media and/or bookseller market may be. Some cities have a robust local market, which can be a nice boon; others, not so much. Authors living abroad provide unique challenges for a publisher so it’s good to know if that’s the case right away.
Avoid these mistakes and your proposal is well on its way to being good to go. If you are working on a proposal, be sure to check out my article on how to Avoid the Top 5 Nonfiction Book Proposal Mistakes. Let me help you avoid more of the mistakes that get book proposals tossed in the reject pile.
Good to Go Nonfiction Book Proposal Author Bio Checklist
__ Leads with the accomplishments most relevant to promoting the book
__ Lean and trim, highlighting the essentials
__ Specific media outlets and marketing accomplishments
__ Author photo
__ Author residence (city and state or city and country)