After reading the Robin Wade thread I looked at the contact details. It states that a “brief author biography” is required.
Forgive my ignorance but what is an author biography and what should it contain? (I didn’t want to contaminate the other thread so I’ve started a new one.)

Any opinions would be very much appreciated.

Grinder

In my covering leter, I simply state my age, where I live and where I have travelled to give some kind of background. Its also good to mention if you've had anything published before (short stories, books...anything). I state where my interests lie, and why I was moved to write in the first place.

I keep it brief and to the point, but I'm pretty sure that this is the kind of thing Mr.Wade is asking for.

James

I’d say he only wants information relevant to writing. Why you write, what motivates you, any successes you’ve already had.

He doesn’t want to know which school you went to or what jobs you’ve had unless they’re relevant to what you are writing. For instance: you’ve worked in veterinary medicine and your main character is a Vet (shameless plug for The Winter House # 1) This will tell him that your fiction novel will be factually accurate.

He will also want to know your future plans in terms of your writing. Say ‘Dear Robin, this novel is so brill I’ll never be able to write anything better and I plan to retire to the Bahamas on the proceeds.’ and your ms will probably be coming back through your letter box before you get home from the post office.

Tell him you’re plotting a sequel. Or you have plans for another six. He’s looking for a long-term partnership to justify the expenditure of placing a new author with a publisher.

Robin was the first agent I approached and, although he didn’t take me on, I’ll never forget the encouragement he gave me.

Best of luck.

Dee.

Thanks for the comments.

I was really just wondering if “brief author biography” was any different to a “cover letter” in terms of content.

Grinder