Parts of a Book Proposal: Author's Biography

Writing a autobiography seems like it might be an easy task, right? After all, who knows us better than we know ourselves? But writing about ourselves and our accomplishments can be tricky. How much detail should we include? What kinds of things are the literary agents or publishers looking for in the bio? How can we make ourselves sound compelling and authoritative or expert when we don't always feel like we are? 

The Author's Biography section of the book proposal must follow a few guidelines:

1) It needs to be written in the third person. This may feel awkward at first to start with your full name and then talk about yourself as She/He/Them and maybe even a Mr. or Ms. if not just referring to yourself by your last name. And, yes, this goes against the way most authors talk about themselves on their website bios. (Take Janet Evanovich, for example, who starts her bio, "When I was a kid I spent a lot of time in LaLa Land. La la Land is like an out-of-body experience –while your mouth is eating lunch your mind is conversing with Captain Kirk." She can do that now that she's a big author and probably never has to write another book proposal again. :)

But for the rest of us, the book proposal needs to a have bio and it needs to be written in the third person. For example, my bio usually starts "Jill L.Ferguson is an artist, consultant, and author of eight published books...."

2) It needs to answer who are you and why are you qualified to write about this topic? My brother, Eric Ferguson, founder of Metanoia Missions is the author of five books on Christian living, leadership and marriage. The bios for his book proposals focus on the fact that he holds degrees in psychology (bachelor's), Biblical studies (bachelor's), counseling (master's) and leadership (doctorate). He also worked in numerous pastoral and counseling positions before he and his wife founded the nonprofit Metanoia Missions in 2002 and built it into a multi-faceted, million-dollar budget international humanitarian aid organization. 

3) It needs to be honest and not exaggerate. Literary agent Steve Laube tells the story of receiving a book proposal from a writer who claimed to win a Nobel Prize in their area of expertise. Laube looked it up and said, "yes, we do Google." He could not find the writer's name at first, but then after further digging, he did uncover the writer's name among a team of colleagues who were all awarded the Nobel Prize. Claiming to have won a prize without stating you were part of a team that won a prize is an exaggeration that isn't quite factual. And can be a deal breaker if literary agents and publishers don't think they can trust you or your behavior. So, if you've co-authored say you've co-authored as opposed to authored. If your work awarded the company who employs you a patent, state it that way, even if your name is on the patent along with the company's name. And if you write that you're an award-winning whatever, you need to be able to back that up with proof, if called upon to do so.

4) It can show your personality.  If you're naturally funny, it's okay to let that come through in your bio. If you have interests that aren't exactly relevant to the pitch but may get someone's attention, it's great to add that in the last line or two of the bio. "She co-habitats with a guppy, a goldfish and an iguana" is a fine ending to your bio if it is accurate, even if your book is on astrophysics. Or "When not building airplanes for Boeing, Steve Smith bats .289 on his community softball team, coaches his son's kinderhockey team, and loves to gun his Harley down country roads." 

Two other parts of the bio can be optional, but helpful--photo and social media contacts. By including your social media links (Facebook and LinkedIn, especially) you are making it easier for the agent or publisher to understand more about you and what kind of followings/reach you have (since that can translate to more book sales).

If you include a photo, make it more of an up close and personal head shot (as opposed to a candid or a funny selfie, unless a funny selfie is relevant to the topic of your book). The photo I chose for the top of this article could be used as a bio photo since her eyes seem to communicate a lot and it is a very clear, in focus, up close image. The photo you choose should make a statement about who you are and your personality, if possible. (And if you don't have a professional looking one that fits that bill, it's fine to not include a photo.)

The Author's Bio's purpose is to sell the agent and publisher on why you are the perfect person to write the book, and in some ways, persuade them that you will be professional and a joy to work with. :)