HOW TO WRITE A BIO

The Bio

By Natalie Brown

Congratulations on deciding to present and publish with Made in Millersville! The first email you received from our Project Manager for Authors was a message similar to this with a request for your signed Writer’s Agreement, a professional headshot, and a short biography. At this point, your initial questions are probably “What is a bio? And why do I need to write it?”

A bio is a short paragraph, of approximately 100-250 words, that provides an overview of who you are and what your story is.

As an author for the Made in Millersville Journal, writing a bio is an essential step for you to complete. This is because each year the Journal’s new issue reaches a large variety of audiences including students and their family members, community members, and even individuals outside of Millersville. Since there is no telling who may be reading the Journal, it is important that you provide audiences with a background of yourself and your writing. 

Providing your audience with a short description of yourself will allow them to get to know the writer behind the project and what led you to pursue your scholarly or creative work.

If you’re feeling wary about writing the bio and don’t know where to start or what to say, don’t worry because we have some excellent tips to get you on your way.

When you first begin writing your bio, it is important to note that it should be written in the third person. It may feel a little strange to write about yourself in the third person, but this is the format followed in most professional biography settings, so it is great practice to become familiar with it now. This style would follow the format of: [Your Name] is….

Once you’ve got this down you can fill out the rest of your bio with an overview of who you are and what your story is with questions such as:

• Your major and year (Junior, Senior, etc.)

• A short background of your involvement at Millersville (clubs, jobs, etc.)

• What inspired you to pursue your scholarly/creative project

• What are your plans for post graduation/desired career field

• Any other aspects of yourself you think audiences would benefit knowing about

If you are still struggling to write or format your bio, you can read author bios from past issues by visiting our archives. If you still feel stuck after viewing these examples, you can email the Journal team at madeinmujournal@millersville.edu or by messaging us on our social media pages linked below. We are always happy to help and can’t wait to read your bios!