About the author examples for first-time authors
A first-time author’s bio doesn’t need credits. It needs a reason to trust you with this story, such as your job, your hometown, or the experience behind the book. Below are examples sorted by what they lean on. Choose one to see it on the page, or write your own.
By the Proselis team · Updated
Bios that lean on your day job
Lena Hartwell spent ten years as a newspaper reporter, which taught her that every small town has a secret. The Salt House is her first novel.
Omar Haddad is an air traffic controller in Phoenix. He wrote his first thriller in the quiet hours between night shifts.
Ana Petrovic is a pediatric dentist by day. This is her first picture book, and her patients helped choose the ending.
Tomás Reyes has repaired boats in Galveston for thirty years. His first novel follows a family of shrimpers through one long hurricane season.
Bios that lean on where you’re from
Hannah Lowe grew up above her parents’ bakery in Cleveland, and every one of her characters eats too much bread. This is her first novel.
June Okoro was raised in Lagos and London and now lives in Atlanta, three cities that all appear in her first collection of stories.
Sam Ibarra grew up in a lighthouse keeper’s cottage on Lake Superior. His first novel is set about a mile from where he learned to swim.
Bios that lean on one detail
Ivy Chen has read every Agatha Christie novel twice and solved exactly three of them. The Glass Garden is her first mystery.
Felix Grant learned to write fiction by telling bedtime stories to his four younger sisters. His first novel is the one they asked for most.
Rosa Medina wrote her first novel on her phone during a two-hour bus commute. She lives in Los Angeles and still takes the bus.
Bios that lean on why you wrote the book
Diego Navarro wrote this novel after finding his grandfather’s letters from a Texas oil field in 1931. It is his first book.
Claire Dubois started writing after her son asked why no mysteries were set in a town like theirs. This book is her answer and her first novel.
Full About the Author pages for a debut
Lena Hartwell grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and spent ten years as a newspaper reporter, covering school boards, county fairs, and one very strange election. She left the newsroom to write fiction and joined a writing group that meets in a laundromat. The Salt House is her first novel. Lena lives in Milwaukee with her partner and a garden that is mostly weeds.
Marcus Webb is a high school history teacher in Richmond, Virginia, who spent six summers researching the river towns in this book. When he isn’t teaching or writing, he restores old canoes, badly. Lost Water is his first novel, and he would love to hear from readers at marcuswebb.com.
What do you write in a bio with no writing credits?
Lead with what qualifies you to tell this story, such as your job, your hometown, or a lifelong obsession. Then add one human detail and where readers can find you. Readers care far more about why you wrote the book than about awards you haven’t won yet.
Should you say it’s your first book?
You can, and many readers enjoy discovering a debut. A closing line such as “The Salt House is her first novel” is common. Update the bio when your second book comes out.
First person or third person?
Third person is the convention inside books and on covers because it reads like an introduction. First person feels more personal and suits newsletters, websites, and query letters.
Where does the About the Author page go?
It usually sits at the back of the book, after the acknowledgments. Some nonfiction books put a short bio at the front instead so readers see the author’s expertise before the first chapter.
Questions
What if my day job has nothing to do with my book?
Mention it anyway if it’s interesting. A beekeeper who writes space opera is memorable precisely because the two don’t match.
Can I mention awards that aren’t for writing?
Leave them out unless they connect to the book. A baking award belongs in a cozy mystery set in a bakery, but not in a legal thriller.
Should I include an author photo?
A clear, recent photo helps readers remember you. For a printed book, use an image that is at least 300 DPI at the size it will print.
Can I use the same bio everywhere?
Keep one long version, and cut it down for each place: about 150 words inside the book, 50 for the back cover, and one line for social media.
Add your bio to your book
Proselis builds an About the Author page from your name, bio, photo, and social links, and it places the page in your back matter. Writing is free. Publishing a book as an EPUB and a print-ready PDF is a one-time $20.