A Query Letter Bio

Let's look at the final paragraph of a query letter, the author bio.

I'm sharing the final part of a query letter that got me an agent, which led to The Accidental Detective humorous mystery series, now with six books out and one more scheduled. See my previous two Wednesday posts for the rest of the letter. Now we're looking at the final paragraph, the author bio.

I am a full-time writer with over sixty published novels and nonfiction books for children. These include the Haunted series of ghost story/mysteries (Aladdin), and The Well of Sacrifice (Clarion), an adventure set in ninth-century Mayan Guatemala. I have self-published six romantic suspense novels under the name Kris Bock. I would like to continue a hybrid career of writing for children and adults, with a return to traditional publishing for this mystery.

Obviously not everyone has already has 60 books to their name. That's OK. In fact, there are some advantages to being a debut author. Because you don't have a sales record, you don't have a poor sales record, and some publishers hope to discover “the next big thing.”

I focused on my traditionally published novels, even though they were for children. They show I know how to write and have had experience with traditional publishing. I did not list the years those books were published, because they'd show big gaps in my fiction publishing schedule.

I mentioned the romantic suspense novels that were self-published, because Kris Bock is the name I use when writing for adults. Self-published books won't necessarily impress an agent, but should they care to check, they'll find that these have excellent reviews. It shows that I know how to write an adult length book and I may already have some fans. Also, I wouldn't want an agent to find out later I've self-published and feel like I hid info from them.

However, if you've self-published one or two books that did poorly, you don't need to include them in a query letter. If you get an offer from an agent, you should be upfront about any past self-publishing, unless it was under a different name and you don't intend to connect the names. (Then you can still tell them, but you don't have to.) Be aware that you might be asked to publish under a different name now, in order to separate your past sales history from a new book.

If you have prior magazine or newspaper publications, you can state that to show your writing experience, but don't overdo it.