In a blog post, one writer goes so far as to say that readers bought copies of his first book after reading only his bio. Laurie halse anderson books, author biography, and reading. How to write a kickass amazon bio to sell more books author. Your bio can be witty or straightforwardly informational, and the tone you take will be informed by both your personality and the author brand you are. Two of her books, speak and chains, were national book award finalists. Laurie halse anderson is the new york times bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. The book was first published by bloomsbury childrens books in june 1997, under the name j. Often, the author bio is the most difficult part of the marketing process for an author to write effectively. About the author examples that youll actually want to read. Talk about what you love with other committed bibliophiles. Gladwells fifth book, david and goliath, was released in october 20, and it examines the struggle of underdogs versus favorites. A biography of george washington hardcover february 4, 2020.
Check out our favorite books for first graders that are recommended by our panel of childrens book experts to enthrall, teach, and inspire your child. If youre writing this for an agent or publisher, remember books that didnt sell well are. Writing your author bio can be a daunting task, but a wellcrafted bio can help readers learn more about what makes you and your books so interesting. How to write an author bio examples & tips to sell authorbio. How to write a memorable author bio with template reedsy blog. This is an astonishing library to come from a single author and one of the reasons the new yorker has called her americas favorite author. How to write an author bio when you dont feel like an authoryet. You should regularly maintain your bio on places like your bookbub author profile so fans and potential readers seeking you out can learn more about you and why they should pick up your latest book. Geraldine brooks is the author of three works of nonfiction. With the 2017 release of come sundown, nora roberts list of books hit 222. But if you rely on your publisher to write your author bio for you, it may end up something like this. Since our founding in 1992, first book has distributed more than 175 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from lowincome families.
Browse through our inventory or contact us to discuss your rare book collection. Look no further because you will find whatever you are looking for in here. Here are some reallife author bios that combine most or all of the tips above. Born on march 22, 1947, in newburgh, new york, james patterson is a prolific author who has written detective stories, thrillers, science fiction, romance and. Tony cliff is the author of delilah dirk and the turkish lieutenant. Where the wild things are, the snowy day, corduroy, and clifford the big red dog are just a few of the beloved picture books featured in this list. Many of his books have appeared on the new york times best seller list, with 14 hardcovers and 16 paperbacks reaching the numberone position. The books message of kindness has inspired the choose kind movement, and has been embraced by readers, young and. Aug 31, 2017 write an author bio that hooks readers even if you dont have a gajillion best sellers to your name.
Pop the champagne cork, and put a party hat on your cat. The firm became the topselling book of 1991 and was on the new york times bestseller list for nearly 50 weeks. Not only is it useful to know what you need to include in an author bio, it is also useful to see examples of how your vital information should look. Snag a book from over 2000 earlyrelease books every month. Each author hand annotated a firstedition copy of one of their books, in rowlings case, harry potter and the philosophers stone. First book is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides new books, learning materials, and other essentials to children in need. At author central, you can share the most uptodate information about yourself and your works with millions of readers. Click here to sort by categories fiction nonfiction mathscience photo illustrated series first half second half. You could say, jane doe is the author of the popular book, lightning strikes which started the nonstop thrill ride readers experience in the followup books, in the eye of the storm and. Grisham graduated from mississippi state university and received a j. Probably the hardest part about writing a book is how to start a story in the first place. Add your biography, photos, blog, video, and tour events to the author page, your homepage on. Few new writers have exploded onto the literary scene like john grisham.
Its the media relations tool that tells reporters, producers, bloggers and other media gatekeepers that your personal history gives you the perfect credentials for this novel or that your professional. Theyd walk off with a copy of the book based on the bio. In 1993, it was made into the first of many movies based on grishams novels. The book was the highestselling lot of the event and fetched. The third example shows how part of the back cover copy the author bio, in this case can show up on the inside flap of a hard cover book. Her debut novel, wonder, has been on the new york times bestseller list since march, 2012, and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. He went to the university of tennessee to study creative writing, and ten years and more than sixtyfive rejections later he was finally able to get his very first book published. The black echo 1992 the black ice 1993 the concrete blonde 1994 the last coyote 1995 trunk music 1997 angels flight 1999 a darkness more than night 2001 city of bones 2002 lost light 2003 the narrows 2004 sequel to. If this is a first book by new author, then why are their 2nd and 3rd installments of books on here. Now alan is the author of sixteen books for young readers, many of which have won state awards, appeared. This brief statement shares your credentials, education, past publications and other. If you have an old browser that does not understand forms, the old author search is still available. A wellexecuted author bio will intrigue potential readers and entice them to buy your book. Pete is also a marketing guy and has a successful business in so cal, but youll notice he doesnt even mention that, because it doesnt really matter to his.
Next came a string of bestsellers, including the cat in the hat and green eggs. Palacio lives in brooklyn, ny with her husband, two sons and two dogs bear and beau. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous national and state awards, as well as international recognition. It should give us everything we need to know at a glance and leave us wanting more. How to write a kickass amazon bio to sell more books. Please send the first fifty pages, and an author bio. A book that has significant damage is likely not worth much.
Here youll find current best sellers in books, new releases in books, deals in books, kindle ebooks, audible audiobooks, and so much more. This article will cover both what you need to include in your author bio and some examples of tight professional bios. For nonfiction, establishing yourself as an expert and differentiating your book from the others written about the same topic will help sell your book. Nov 16, 2017 a good author bio introduces your potential reader to you and also helps search engines pull your author website more easily by using keywordrich descriptions when you enter your book metadata. Your author bio is an important book press kit element because it is pretty much the only tool you have to make the case that you are the best person to write this book and to write it well. How to write your first author bio writing forward. A collection of 25 first rate picture books, selected by teachers and adored by their students. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Gary paulsen 74, a popular writer of young people around the world was born on 17 th may 1939 in minneapolis.
I had over 29 publishers reject my first book proposal. Dec 17, 2019 welcome to our website for all author and journalist philip normans first book which is considered a biography of the beatles. As an unpublished author, it is hard to know the exact way to go about doing this. How to write a first time authors autobiography synonym. Writing an author bio examples of professional bios. The first edition rare books offers collectors the finest selection of important rare books from around the world.
Apr 12, 2018 for instance, if the first book in a fiction series gets most of the attention and sales, use your bio to remind readers of the next books in the series. Words in last or first name exact start of name last name first for more search options, and help, see the search page. Jason reynolds is the new york times bestselling author of all american boys, the track series, long way down, for everyone, and miles moralesspiderman he is an american author who writes novels and poetry for young adult and middlegrade audiences, including ghost, a national book award finalist for young peoples literature born in washington, dc and raised in neighboring oxon hill. Welcome to our website for all author and journalist philip normans first book which is considered a biography of the beatles. How to write a terrific author bio rachelle gardner. Foreign correspondence is a memoir of an australian childhood enriched by penpals from around the globe, and her adult quest to find them. He published his first childrens book, and to think that i saw it on mulberry street, under the name of dr. In 2003, willems released his first picture book, dont let the pigeon drive the bus.
This classic features the escapades of frog and toad, an adorable. For example, when i was doing my first bio, i made all the mistakes i outlined above. Most hard cover books published since the early 20th century were sold with a dust jacket. If you are unsure about whether your author bio seems either incomplete, or too arrogant, run it by a few friends for feedback. From what i can tell, a couple of authors have listed their entire series here. Visit amazon author central, click on your book, and add it in the about the author section or if you published a paperback version of your book on createspace, you can enter the bio in the author biography section for your book. The book is partially inspired by an article gladwell wrote for the new yorker in 2009 entitled how david beats goliath. Author and journalist philip normans first book which is. Create a compelling author bio with this formula mill city press. Some authors choose one or the other, though i recommend taking advantage of both. Series found in childrens middle grade books a series of illustrated biographies for young readers featuring significant historical figures, including artists, scientists, and world leaders. Download the who was series app with over 5,500 questions and 100 levels to play on your phone. The first edition rare books rare books by notable people.
Her first book, nine parts of desire, is a rich and riveting account of her six years living among the women of the muslim mideast. Its an invigorating feeling, receiving ones first acceptance letter from an editor. How to write your author bio even if youre writing your. But those are the elements that get users to your book page in the first place not what keeps them there. When you submit stories, poems and articles to print publications, most will ask for a short autobiography. If youre writing a nonfiction book proposal, then your author bio has to highlight your nonwriting experience on the topic. The k stands for kathleen, her paternal grandmothers name. If you are an author, probably you will want an author bio. Check out pete ryans bio, hes a firsttime author but he leads this bio with his background as a journalist which tells the reader that he has some experience in book writing. The series has sold more than 500 million copies and was adapted into a.
Author is statement to establish credibility on this subject and or. Wilbooks is proud to offer 6 incredible programs which educators have helped us design. Theres nothing wrong with being a first time author, and when it comes to the credible portion of this amazon bio you are working, or reworking. However, it went on to be a new york times bestseller. If you are a kdp author, use your kdp account to sign up. The author bio can also just be a way to fill up some space, so your back cover doesnt look totally empty or you try to fill the space with big text or huge line spacing. Rowling, is a british author and screenwriter best known for her seven book harry potter childrens book series. She also started a new series, chronicles of the one. Catalog your books from amazon, the library of congress and 4941 other libraries. I will show you the tricks of the trade to send off an impressive bio, even if you have never been published before.
Jul 07, 2011 your author bio is an important book press kit element because it is pretty much the only tool you have to make the case that you are the best person to write this book and to write it well. George orwell, english novelist, essayist, and critic famous for his novels animal farm 1945 and nineteen eightyfour 1949, the fictionalized but autobiographical down and out in paris and london 1933, and homage to catalonia. When it comes to writing a bio, never use words like i and me because writing a bio in first person is an awkward read. As an already established author, you have probably saved your bio in a file, updating it as you go.
The back cover bio is a chance to impress a potential reader, while the inside bio is often the last impression made on a. When writing a book, there are two potential places to include your author bio. Like many things in life, nothing worthwhile comes easily. But when you include this information on createspace, it. Maurice sendak is a caldecott awardwinning childrens book author and illustrator best known for his book where the wild things are. Id show the book to people at book fairs and signing events, and theyd flip the book over, read the bio, and laugh. What began as a grad school hobby is now a top food blog, with millions of readers coming to her site for easy weeknight recipes and. Chungah rhee is the founder, recipe developer, and photographer of damn delicious. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books.
This is probably the most important thing i can say to you. Though there are many advises from professional editors and famous writers themselves, it is still the most crucial part where your. As we embark on our quest for information, the author bio is our first port of call, a snapshot of the authors contact details, credentials, previous publications and personal life. Why you need an author bio both inside your book and on the. Book summary and author bio on the back of the book. His books have been translated into 42 languages and published worldwide. While i was reading this book, i saw that author evan thomas mentioned joan biskupics biography of sandra day oconnor titled sandra day oconnor as a source one of many sources while writing the book. Peter levenda, an occult author who has written about the necronomicon, claims that he and simon came across a hidden greek translation of the grimoire while looking through a collection of antiquities at a new york bookstore during the 1960s or 1970s. The dust jacket is both the most decorative part of a book, and the most delicate. Alan gratz has wanted to be a writer ever since he was a kid. Dont focus on the fact that you have no publishing experience. Keeping a few key ideas in mind can make the process a lot easierand the results more successful.
Here is a great blog post from rachelle gardner about how to write a terrific author bio. For instance, if the first book in a fiction series gets most of the attention and sales, use your bio to remind readers of the next books in the series. Those are amateur giveaways that make your book look selfpublished. He is the author behind many wellrecognized titles, including the pelican brief, as well as the rainmaker, the. Dean ray koontz born july 9, 1945 is an american author. The author bio is where you establish yourself as the. This is a story about the war where young and naive boys became poor bloody infantry, and either died or became embittered to the limit. It was added at her publishers request, who thought a book by an obviously female author might not. Koontz wrote under a number of pen names earlier in his.
See timely sales data for free, including sales trends over. How to write a memorable author bio with template reedsy. She was one of 50 authors to contribute to first editions, second thoughts, a charity auction for english pen. The beauty, part of her successful bride quest series, was her first book to land on the new york times list of bestselling books. Since our founding in 1992, first book has distributed more than 175 million books and educational resources to programs and. Covering everything from revolutionary battles to natural disasters, social movements to witch trails, penguins what was. I found a copy of that bio, first published in late 2005, and read both books, comparing as i went along. His novels are billed as suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Oct 22, 2015 writing your author bio can be a daunting task, but a wellcrafted bio can help readers learn more about what makes you and your books so interesting. Since you are already here then chances are that you are looking for the daily themed crossword solutions. In the library world, mo willems is better known for his childrens books. Throughout his writing career, john grisham has seen many successes, starting with his very first book and continuing through each subsequent novel. The books homepage helps you explore earths biggest bookstore without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. Due to the popularity and writing, the book was given a caldecott honor.
Now, the book is backbone of several other pigeon books. Please welcome author nicolas frame with some good advice on writing your first author bio. Seuss, was a writer and cartoonist who published over 60 books. But at the end of that email, youll usually realize they want you to. For firsttime indie authors, writing a compelling author bio can be difficult. Her parents first met on a train departing from kings cross station bound for arbroath in 1964. Amazon first reads is a program that offers customers early access to new books across popular genres from amazon publishing. For example, in my bio for book 1 of my ya fantasy, i wrote. Theodor seuss geisel, better known by his pen name dr. Aug 09, 2018 a wellexecuted author bio will intrigue potential readers and entice them to buy your book.