The author bio is your chance to introduce yourself. It’s the most personal section (… clearly), so show some of your personality. And include:
- What makes you a great author for this book. What is your expertise or experience?
- Anything you have authored before, including books, articles, and online content.
- Your experience teaching your content to your audience.
- Your platform.
What’s platform? This is the group of people in your audience that you reliably, consistently reach. Ideally it’s somewhat quantifiable. To get an indication of its size, you could cite, for example: number of subscribers to your newsletter; number of social media followers; number of students you’ve taught; or the readership in a publication you regularly write for. Whatever makes the most sense for you is what to use.
Don’t be shy! I want to get to know you in this section, so take my grandmother’s advice and don’t hide your light under a bushel.
That said, a full personal biography isn’t necessary. A couple little details are humanizing and intriguing; full paragraphs on your third grade teacher are too much (unless they are relevant to your book concept somehow).
Tiffany Hill, Editor 