Now is a good time to update your biographical profile. January starts a new year and every author needs a short (i.e., 250-500 words) description of themselves in addition to a good head shot. The Bio is a big part of an author’s brand. Your book is the product, but you are the brand. And to keep your brand fresh and current, it’s time to take a more recent photo and add those successes and adventures you’ve had in the past year to your description of “About the Author.” You need a bio to accompany your book proposal, but also any press release, as a page on your website (About the Author), on your LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook profile. Everywhere you have a social media presence as a professional author, you need to update your status and account. Maybe you don’t need to change very much, but it is important to review the information you are presenting to the rest of the world who may not yet know who you are. It’s like looking into a full length mirror to see your reflection before you leave for an important meeting. Is your shirt tucked in? Is your cowlick slicked down? Do these shoes match? While you are updating your profiles, look over the privacy policies, update your account information, change your password, and spend a few moments reviewing your accounts. And while you’re at it, add upcoming events, post reviews and interviews, include new publications, and upload additional photos as…

Authors may be surprised to learn that before an agent or publisher reads a word of their manuscript, they make judgments based on the query letter or proposal. They read your materials to assess the potential for successful publication based on the information they gather about the book, about the audience, and yes, about the author. In the last two posts, I focused on questions about the book and audience. If an agent or acquisitions editor at a publishing house reads an author’s pitch, they expect answers to these questions. If they like the answers, they’ll consider next the author. But what kinds of information do they want to know about you? Here’s a list of questions for you to address: 1. What makes you the best person to write this book? 2. What personal or professional experiences make you an authority on the subject? 3. What is your writing background? 4. Do you have a resume or brief bio? 5. Briefly describe how your education, professional position, and/or personal experiences prepare you to be the author of this book. 6. What do you bring to this writing project that other well qualified experts in this subject area would not be able to offer? 7. What motivates you to write this book? What are your intentions? 8. How would you describe yourself as an author? 9. On the jacket of most book titles there is a blurb about the author. How would the blurb read about you? 10. Do you…