Quick Link: Your Author Bio: Does it help your Book Sales or Stop Them Dead?

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

When is the last time you looked at your author bio? I thought so. Often overlooked,  a good author bio can give a reader a sense of connection. has some great tips for creating or sprucing up your author bio at Anne R. Allen’s Blog.

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Your Author Bio: Does it help your Book Sales or Stop Them Dead?

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No matter how great a book’s cover and blurb, one thing can stop me from buying yet another ebook for my Kindle: an author bio on the buy page that screams “amateur.”

I spent some time as an editor, so when I pick up a book for relaxation, I want to know it’s going to be a professional work and not something that makes me want to run for my red pencil.

If you start your bio “I’ve always wanted to write a book, ever since I won a penmanship prize in third grade, and now that I’ve self-published, “If My Cats Could Talk” my wish has come true…,” all you’ve told me is you’re a beginner.

Is that really what you want your customers to know?

Your buy page at Amazon or any online retail store is like your own personal storefront. It can be a sleek boutique or a homemade lemonade stand.

A funky lemonade stand might get a few passersby to spring for a glass because they think you’re cute or feel sorry for you. With Mom paying for lemons, sugar, glasses, and the card table—and hey, you might “earn” enough to buy yourself an ice cream when the truck comes by.

But you’re trying to be a professional writer here, right?

So before you publish that book, learn to write a professional author bio.