Pick me, or Writing the Author Bio

Ew I hate doing these things so much!

I am feeling very shy about this post!

I’m sitting on a train trying not to think about the conductor just telling me there is no restaurant car on the eight-hour ride from Warsaw to Vienna. Instead of dreamily staring out the window while I work on the structure of one of my chapters, I am hungrily staring out the window while I work on the structure of one of my chapters (and this piece). At least the foliage in southwestern Poland is beautiful.

Anyway. I’m trying to make these paid essays as helpful as possible for anyone who is working on their book proposal. While I was working on mine, what was most useful to me was looking at other authors’, which I’d asked for through various channels and communities. The more models you have, the more opportunity for inspiration and triangulation as you’re figuring out how to sell your project. So wherever it makes sense, and wherever it doesn’t spoil anything or jinx my work, I’m sharing large chunks of my proposal. I’m just hoping to return the juju. Last time, it was my query letter. This time, it’s my author bio, which in my proposal comes after my overview.

Shockingly, this is the part of my proposal that required the least hand-wringing. I hate writing things like this. I hate trying to sell myself, I hate trying to self-promote, a feeling so common among writers it’s a well-worn cliche. But the author bio came easily. Maybe it’s because everything else in the proposal was so difficult. Maybe it’s because, despite how much I hate it, I’ve had to write a gajilion cover letters in my life in the hellscape industry that is journalism. But also, maybe, it’s because I had a good sense of why I’m the right person to write this book?