Biography/Autobiography

[PaperGrace]

We were talking elsewhere about writing one's own bio-blurb in letters to agents/publishers/etc... and I went off on a tangent while trying to decide what exactly is required of the biography paragraph... putting it in a new thread so it doesn't clutter up my workspace:

So what is required of biographical blurbs anyway? We want to know what? I enjoy knowing that Scalzi has a very patient wife that he still has the hots for, and that they have a daughter. But why do I care about that? I don't know why, but I do. I don't remember where he went to school, what his degree is in, which years he presided over the sci-fi guild, etc... etc... or even where he's from. Some other Scalzi fan has no idea he's a father, but remembers what his hometown is. Other authors might prattle on and on about their families, but I remember only that they moved around a lot when they were kids, or were chaplains in the army, or have an anthropology degree, etc... Some are immediately pigeon-holed as a ________ author based on their faith, service background, age, place of origin, education type, and so on. I know very little about that woman who wrote the twilight books except that she is/was Mormon. For the longest time people talked about J.K. Rowling as though she was some surprise--an out of nowhere SAHM turned author who just got sick of watching soap operas one day and vomited out Harry Potter. Ha! Go read her bio!

So what exactly IS required of biographical blurbs?

[scribbliz]

totally wish i could help there, because i am asking those exact same questions; do i include my faith or will that taint anyones perception of my book before they read it? what else do i include? i've lived in the same province, within a 2 hour range, my entire life. i homeschooled. what do i say, and how do i decide what is important and what isn't?

[readilygrey]

Personally, I would probably say as little about myself as possible, and aim for something brief, witty, and humorous. Those are my favorite blurbs to read, and in a way you can show your actual personality that way, instead of just your societal roles and stats. What is acceptable probably depends on the genre the book is in though. So far I have left all my profiles blank on websites with my work, but I have been thinking about putting something about myself there recently. I used to be afraid to let people know my age or gender, but I think I'm mostly over that now. There really isn't a valid reason to be embarrassed to be 32 and female, unless I want to promote ageism and sexism by hiding that about myself.