Hello, dreamers. Another week of waiting. At this point, realistically, I am waiting on two queries. Both queries are from excellent agents. One of them I have some (loose) personal connections to. The other has already responded to my nudge and confirmed I am in her “maybe” pile. Both explicitly state that they respond to all queries. So I know I’ll hear back. But I gotta tell ya, the waiting is killing me.
I’m in what is, for me, uncharted territory. But as I’m always saying, it’s never too early to think about your next round of queries. Thus, I’m again looking at my query materials. Part of that involves updating my bio; something I’ve had to do more and more frequently over the past year. Most recently I’ve added my appearance in the July/August issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact as well as my full membership in the Science Fiction Writers Association (SFWA). And that brings me to one of the vital elements of the modern query letter that’s very easy to get wrong: the bio.
I’ve been thinking about this for a few months, ever since I read the query letter of a fellow Writers of the Future winner. His bio was fairly light, mostly consisting of his publishing credits and the MFA he received from Western Colorado University (a program run by bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson). That’s all great, but imagine my shock when I read his Subtack bio and found out that he’d spent time on an aircraft carrier and worked as a scuba diver in an aquarium. How could anyone not mention something that cool?
So this week, let’s take a look at the query letter bio: why its important, how to get it right, and how to get it very, very wrong.
Getting Personal
It wasn’t so long ago that most advice on query letter bios was the same as what you find for short fiction cover letters: less is more. The prevailing wisdom was, well, an agent doesn’t care about you. They care about your work, because that’s what they’ll be selling.
So don’t say too much about yourself, experts would tell you. Mention any publishing credits you have, as long as they’re not self-pub. Note any writing organizations you’re a member of, as long as they’re large and reputable (like the SFWA). If you do say anything else, make sure it relates to your work (for instance, mention you’re a police detective if you’re writing mysteries). And if you don’t have any of the aforementioned, just say nothing.
That was then. This is now.
As I’ve said before, when you’re a querying writer, odds are you don’t have any work to sell beyond your one novel. That means the only thing you really have to market is yourself. And agents know that. They want to sell more than just one book, so they want to know that you, yourself, are marketable. That means they’re interested in knowing more about who you are beyond your writing. But they don’t want to know just anything…
What to Put in Your Query Letter Bio
For starters, at least some of the old advice still holds true. If you have any publishing credits, those will be the most crucial information to convey to an agent, so you’ll want to lead with those. If you’re querying, more than likely your only publishing credits are short fiction. Select your two or three most prestigious and/or recent. If you’ve won any writing contests, mention that, too. And again, mention any noteworthy organizations you’re a part of.
Next, you’ll want to tell them a little about your passions, your activities. But try to limit yourself to two or three, and relate them back to your work. For instance, I mention my background in science and engineering because I write hard sci-fi about space travel. In my query letter, I mention my love of hiking and fossil hunting, both of which relate to my novel about an alien forest inhabited by dinosaurs. Beyond that, you can always bring the cool if you’ve got it (like my friend I mentioned above).
Lastly, you should at least offer some light personal details. This should be limited to your home, your family, and maybe one additional point of interest. I mention that I live in Cincinnati, my family, and my love of cooking.
What Not to Put in Your Query Letter Bio
The short answer is, basically, anything not mentioned above.
As far as publishing credits, there’s no need to mention being published in any non-paying journal unless they’re all you have. Don’t mention your blog (most agents will check your website and read some of your posts anyway). Don’t mention how many followers you have on social media (a growing number of agents ask for your handles up front). Don’t mention your critique group unless it’s very well-known.
As far as interesting bits about yourself, I’m sure you feel your life is utterly fascinating. And your eventual agent may feel the same way…once they get to know you. But for now, unless something is extremely interesting and relevant to your story, it’s probably not worth mentioning. An agent doesn’t want to hear about your D&D group unless you’re writing Lit-RPG fantasy. If you’re not writing a story about sports they don’t care about your fantasy football team.
Lastly, as far as other personal details, keep it simple. Let them know where you live, but don’t tell them about every other place you’ve called home. They probably don’t need to know the names of your children, or all your pets.
The Danger of “Too Much”
Overshare is a common pitfall for modern writers. Readers tend to reward it, on a superficial level, because the modern reader craves a sense of personal connection with authors. But I know from experience that if you share too much of yourself, you risk spiraling into a situation where you’re basically trapped online.
As I’ve said before, wordcount is crucial in a query letter. You get, at most, around 350-400 words, and your bio absolutely counts as part of that. It’s part of the reason so many writers keep their bio extremely short, leaving out some interesting details that could tip the scales from “No” to “Yes”.
A strategic query letter bio can do what a carefully-crafted online persona does: give a prospective agent a glimpse into your life and personality, without telling them more than they need or want to know at this early stage. And FYI, if you’re a querying writer, don’t skip the bio your agent provides. It’s a slick strategy to tool your query letter to fit individual agents’ bios. In one of my letters, I mentioned that the alien forest of Seven Days on Samarkand was inspired by the Tongass, because the agent I was querying lived in Alaska.
Querying is a learning experience. You’re getting to know your agent, and they’re getting to know you. So tell them a little about yourself. Just not too much. – MK
Michael T. Kuester 
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