The WMF Archives

By Angela Atkinson

Let's talk about bios for a minute, shall we? Alyssa discussed writing your author bio back in July.

Still, yesterday, as I browsed one of my writer's group forums, I found a post in which a woman complained that no matter what she did, she couldn't get paying writing jobs.

She was building up her portfolio, she said, by publishing articles on free sites. She thought her writing was decent--at least as good as she'd seen on some of those very same paying sites--but for some reason, she got rejected every time.

Could anyone look at her profile and tell her what she was doing wrong?

So, being the kind soul that I am, I took a moment to check it out. The first thing I noticed was her bio, sitting atop her no-pay site writer's profile inconspicuously.

It read something like this:

Hi, my name is Cathy*. I'm 26 and married to my high school sweetie-heart Jason. We got three kids. Jeffrey is 8, Kevin is three andjulie is six nonths. We are a vary happy family and since we cant afford childcare, I stay home with the kids. I always enjoyed writing inschool and thought why not try to make money while i stay home with the kids to supplemetn the income. Cooking and knitting are my passons but who couldnt use a lil xtra grocery money, KWIM?? LOL! I hope you enjoy my writing.

*Names, ages, etc changed to protect the uninformed.

So what could Cathy do to improve her bio? How could she make it better?

Write in the Third Peson

First, she speaks in the first person. A professional author bio is always written in the third person. (Although, for personal blogs, first person is okay in many cases.)

Keep It Professional

Second, instead of keeping it professional and focusing on her writing qualifications and abilities, she focuses on her family and her "mommy-ness."

What's so wrong with talking about being a mommy (or daddy)?

I'm about to tell you an unfortunate truth about our industry. No matter how family-friendly it seems, talking about your kids, especially in a bio, is considered...well, unprofessional. It causes other professionals to take you far less seriously, and to assume that this is some hobby or phase that you're going though, you poor bored little parents. (The exception to this rule, within reason of course, is for people who write ABOUT parenting---but even then, our pal Cathy gave far too many details about the kids and not enough about herself.)

Plus, she talked about her family's money problems and lack of education. Yikes.

Cathy should have focused specifically on her writing. IF she had been writing a parenting article, she might have mentioned that she was a "mom of three," but otherwise, that's an unnecessary detail.

I know it's harsh, but it's a fact. Mommies especially are taken less seriously in many professional situations. Take Writing Mommies as an example--even though we're professionals, even though we focus on freelance writing in general and even though our blog is meant for ALL freelance writers--we get a lot of flack.

Most commonly, people assume that we're only writing for mommies. I get emails from men and non-mommies (even a Grandma once--who is a mommy as far as I'm concerned--but I digress) asking if they can join our WM Freelance Connection group, or asking why we don't open things up and write for everyone.

(Side note here: we have made it as clear as we can--we are ONLY called Writing Mommies because we ARE all mommies--not because we're only writing for mommies! Our blog and our group are resources for all freelance writers.)

And then, many people assume that we're unprofessional, or they don't bother to read our blog because of a pre-conceived notion they may have about our title.

I have a relative who is an aspiring writer, and during a recent IM conversation, he was asking to see some of my work. I sent him links to several of my sites, and as he browsed some of them, he mentioned to me that while he liked this one or that one, he didn't really check out Writing Mommies because it wasn't "his thing." In reality, it was TOTALLY his thing--exactly what he needed--but because of the title--he made an untrue assumption.

(Another side note: Said relative has since checked out the blog and agrees that it rocks. He even subscribed, last I'd heard.)

Beef Up Your Bio

Many new writers struggle with what to say in a bio. Like our friend Cathy, they have no publishing cred yet and in a lot of cases, no college to back them up. So can you do? Make stuff up?

Of course not. But get creative!

"There are ways for even a first-time writer to wing it. Let’s say you have written a poem about your dog that perhaps saved a drowning boy’s life," says Absolute Write blogger Dorothy Thompson. "First of all, you are already a freelancer because you are sending this article to a publisher. Second, you are a poet because this is a poem. Now, you can say, 'Jane Doe is a freelance writer and poet.' Sounds better, doesn’t it?"

So how can you beef up your bio?

1. Start with professional associations. If you're not currently a member anywhere, get busy and join one. Sometimes these associations have fees or requirements that can't always be met by brand new writers--so consider joining a local writer's group or an online writing community to start.

2. What are your other areas of expertise? If you're a kick-ass tennis player, a gourmet chef or a knitting champion, you can throw that in there--but keep it brief, especially if it's not directly related to your work. Something like "Cathy is an award-winning gourmet chef" or "In her spare time, Cathy knits sweaters for the homeless."

On the other hand, if you're writing a cookbook, feel free to expand on your love of cooking. You get the idea.

3. Take a second look at publishing credits. Maybe you have something to report, after all. Did you write an article for your church or PTA newsletter? Did you publish poetry in college? Even if you've just got an unpublished collection of short stories, you would not be lying if you simply said, "Cathy has written fifteen short stories" or "Cathy enjoys writing short stories."

4. Don't ask, don't tell. If you didn't go to college, don't point it out. Just focus instead on the rest of your bio. And, as an old friend of mine (who happens to have his PhD in psychology) and I recently discussed--your degree might get you a second look, but it won't get you the job. Editors are interested in what you have to say and in your writing ability.

D0n't B 2 Kool 4 Skool

Two more quick notes for our girl Cathy. First, skip the IM or text speak. There are no KWIM's or LOL's in professional writing. (Blogging is a little freer, KWIM?? LOL!) But seriously, when you're writing for a professional publication, hoping to get paid, leave that stuff out. It makes you look uneducated and incompetent.

Secondly, for goodness' sake, PLEASE edit yourself. For some people, spelling, grammar and punctuation errors can cause serious panic attacks. Then there are those laid-back types who don't mind an error here or there.

If you're not a super-crazy-psycho grammar cop-type like me, then maybe you need to get a friend to take a look at it. Because, most likely, your editor IS that way. And here's the final harsh truth of this post: If an editor reads your bio and finds fifty-seven errors, he won't be interested in seeing anything else you have to say (or write.) Unfortunate, maybe, but true.

Beef Up Your Bio: How to Look Like You Know What You're Doing (Even When You Don't)