(Not sure if this is exactly the right place for this but if not I am sure the officers will do their duty) Lets say, hypothetically of course, that a certain author was working on creating their website and wanted to put a bio up. Now this bio would not be a full 300 page bio(lol) but just a few paragraphs. Is there a format for this? Which info would be relevant? Personal life or just writing career? I suppose this is a lot of opinion/preference but wanted to get some input.
well i would put a bit about myself as a person, not a writer and then maybe a bit on how i became one.... thats about all the input i'm good for
Maybe you could think of the sorts of questions you'd ask your favourite writers, then apply them to yourself. I'd suggest keeping it strictly relevant to the purpose of the site, though - there's not much point in talking about where you went to school or your favourite colour etc. if it's not what your site is about. Some examples to ask/answer: what you want to achieve with the site and why you created it, where/when/how you came up with the ideas - things that will retain interest in being on the site and inspire further investigation, so pretty much anything about yourself conducive to getting people interested enough to click on other areas...
Either way works but I would be more attracted to a first person POV. A third person point of view just seems weird if your writing your own Bio. It probably would come more naturally with first person.
I don't know about a personal website, but bios for magazines and such usually require third person. Maybe it's because third person seems more professional while first person seems more personal.
I think that if it is evident that you are the sole webmaster of the site (i.e. the only contributor of content) I would recommended first person. Particularly if the nature of the site is more personal, as the only reason I would then see for personal information to be presented in third person is if they are testimonials written by someone else. If, on the other hand, there are multiple contributors of content, and/or there is a lot of third-party content, I would think it's more reasonable to have a 'staff' section written from third person perspective. I suppose it really comes down to how you wish to present your site as a whole - a third person bio would suggest (to me, at least) that you wouldn't have a great deal to do with the site - that it was about you, not for or by you. First person would suggest much more personal involvement and interaction. I suppose something to do to get a clearer idea of what you're aiming for, is to look up web sites with a similar function to what yours will be performing. Of course, you could always go for a blend - get someone to interview you. That way some information will be presented in third person, and the things you really want to say or have highlighted, will be in first person.
I'd focus mainly upon your writing career (how long you've been writing for, a list of published works, ect) but also include a little bit about your personal life (homestate, hobbies aside from writing, ect). In my opinion, third person would serve better for a professional bio.
Question who is this "mysterious author," is it someone we would know. Just make an about post and leave it sticky at the top of your page. I believe that would work great. Write it in first person and let us know a little about you. Check out my second blog it is pretty cool and may give you ideas.
One more question. The first sentence? I can figure out the whole rest the bio but have no idea how to open up from the 1st person perspective. "Hi My Name Is" /\ /\ Something like that? I dont know
