Before you decide to follow someone on Twitter, what’s the first thing you look at?
Probably the bio.
Let’s assume you’re on Twitter because it’s part of your author platform—whether you’re in relaxed mode or professional mode. Have you written a bio that’s likely to attract followers or turn them away? Let’s look at four basic components:
- Photo
- Name and handle
- 160-character bio
- Link
Photo
Your photo will be showing up in a tiny, tiny square. For that reason, I recommend a clear and closely cropped image of your face, with good contrast. Here are a few examples.
I’ve also seen successful use of illustrations, cartoons, and logos for Twitter avatars—and of course some kind of recognizable logo is usually the default for companies and organizations.
Name and Handle
Choose a handle as similar as possible to your actual name, or to your other social network account names. You may need to be somewhat creative (add underscores, initials, numbers, etc).
Even if your handle becomes alpha-numeric soup, you can and should add your actual name. Again, we’re discussing the Twitter account as a component of author platform.
I do not recommend adding “Author” to your actual name. I don’t recommend it for the handle, either. Save “author” exclamations for the bio.
Bio
Here we get to the real meat of the issue. What do you say in so few characters? Sometimes it’s easier to show you what to avoid rather than what to do. See below—name and handles removed to protect the innocent.
A strong bio will give people:
- information about your industry or work, if that’s why you’re on Twitter
- a good indication of what you’ll be tweeting about (explicitly or implicitly)
- a little personality and/or where you might find common ground
Notice what I did NOT say was part of a strong bio:
- a list of every book you’ve ever published
- exhortations to go to Amazon to buy your book
- a laundry list of all your hobbies and interests
There’s nothing wrong with putting your most recent book title in your bio. Just don’t make your bio sound like your book release is the only reason you’re on Twitter.
Link
Twitter gives you the opportunity to list one link in connection with your bio (though you can stuff your bio with more—not recommended, since you may come off as a promotional whore).
The best place to link is almost ALWAYS to your own website. If you don’t have a website, and you’re a serious author, then what are you waiting for? Your efforts on social media will go much further if you have some place for people to visit and uncover more about you and your work.
For unpublished writers
People often ask if their bio should say something like “Aspiring writer looking for agent.” That’s not a horrible thing to state, but if it were me, I’d say, “Working on [X book/genre] about [Y topic].” Few people clamor to meet more aspiring writers. Interesting people working on interesting projects: Yes!
What kind of Twitter bios do you like or dislike? Share your tips in the comments.
Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2023. Her latest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing.
I think I did pretty well on mine! I hope anyway! 😀 Unless I listed too many general things?
@katmagendie
Author, Publishing Editor-Rose&Thorn, life in log house in Grt Smokies, 2 dogs, 1 ghost dog, 1 GMR, language, photography, vodka, food, science, fitness, you
western north carolina · http://www.kathrynmagendie.com
The first line is great! After that, it succumbs to what I sometimes call “laundry list” syndrome (“language, photography, vodka, food, science, fitness …”), where my eyes glaze over. My preference is for bios to say something rather than offer a list. BUT: I have to emphasize this is my perspective. I’m not going to remember the list of things you mention; I’m more likely to remember 1 vivid detail.
Nice column, I’ll be reviewing my bios (on Twitter and elsewhere) in light of your thoughts. Thanks!
I have problem with coming up with a suitable bio too. But the first example seems like a suitable example to follow for me. Thanks Jane.
Great post! I’m sharing this with my writers group. We often discuss short bios for different sites. Thanks for the tips!
Great post, Jane. In branding circles they often talk about the importance of sending subtle clues about quality and relevance via a combination of visuals and verbal content. You’ve helped authors create a brand that drives sampling (following) and reputation. Thanks again for such a help to authors and Twitter users alike.
Excellent point about the subtle cues! Absolutely.
I agree with all your pointers here, and I’m glad you included the tip about not putting the word “author” in your handle. It’s one of my pet peeves and so prevalent.
I’ve seen bios that are simply a list of hashtags, and I think that’s a huge turnoff.
Here’s my bio, which seems to get a lot of positive responses:
@EllenMeister
I write, I swear, I sing, I dance–all from the front seat of my minivan. My new book, THE OTHER LIFE (Putnam), is in stores. I recip most follows. Let’s tweet!
Nice! I agree about the hashtag pet peeve. Some people also stuff their bio with 3+ other Twitter account handles, too, which I don’t like (who has the time? wow).
I actually love this bio way more than I should. I write, I swear, I sing… tells me that I need to live by you so we could hang out!
Not sure about the “I recip most followers” to me, it s a turn off. What do other people think?
Wonderful post, Jane. It just reminds me of the principle of first impressions. Thanks for all the hard work you do.
Love this. I can’t stand marketing pitches in bios…I’m likely to run far, far away when I see those. I love a touch of humor!
Thanks for this! I just realized my bio could have been an example of what NOT to do :-). Hopefully it’s better now.
How’s this, do you think? “I write urban fantasy, play MMORPGs, love cats, take photos and chat about it all.”
Thumbs up!
It’s sooo hard not to do a laundry list. I want to connect with anyone and everyone with similar interests, which is why I tend to list stuff.
Thanks for the information! I revamped by bio with this blog post, though my bio is still far from perfect. Is there a Twitter Bio Doctor in the house for me to consult with? :}
🙂 You’re welcome to post here!
Thank you, Dr. Jane! 😉 Ok, here goes:
I Tweet, and read Tweets, about: writing/books (kid lit,
SF), food, science/nature, homesteading, birds, crafts. I dream of UBC Cinnamon Buns & am an IU spouse.
If I were to play editor: “I tweet about writing/books (kid lit, SF), food, science/nature, homesteading, birds, crafts. Dream of UBC Cinnamon Buns. IU spouse.” I might take an item or two from your interests list in favor of being more specific about just a few items of *most* importance to you—what you mostly want to talk to people about.
It’s like having to choose a favorite child…it hurts, but I’ll do it. Thank you again! 🙂