Babe, Wake Up: New Bio Just Dropped

Disclaimer 1: My Vocal bio has not changed. My official author bio has. (Though my Vocal bio has changed recently, just not as recently. It actually was a precursor of the overhaul I’m about to cover here.)

Disclaimer 2: The focus of this article is the wild world of writing beyond Vocal, so if that isn’t your cup of tea, then I get it. Life would be a lot simpler if I weren’t chasing after publications. But that’s the world I came up in, so I’m locked in now.

Author bios are probably not where most writers start their journeys. They’re superfluous until you have some place to put them, after all. For many, they’re a bit of an afterthought.

Only proving the status of afterthought, I can’t quite remember the evolution of mine at this point. That would be a bit boring to detail, anyway. Case in point, let’s start with the latest version:

Stephen A. Roddewig is an award-winning author from Arlington, Virginia. He won 2nd Place in the 2023 Vocal Painted Prose challenge, and he recently launched his modern gangland comedy series with The Opening Salvo. Stephen’s horror and thriller stories are featured in thirty fiction magazines and anthologies. Two of his favorite collections among those are The Nameless Songs of Zadok Allen and Beautiful Darkness 3. When not writing, he enjoys collecting records and running races. You can find more of his books and stories at stephenaroddewig.com or on his podcast Jon and Stephen Recorded Readings, available on all major platforms.

Let me be the first to say, there is nothing wrong with this bio when it comes to the conventional wisdom of the writing market. It calls out my most prominent award, highlights my series, and gives a nod to my short story content engine. Throws in a little personality at the end and includes a couple specific calls to action (visit author site or find our podcast).

It’s professional. But conversely, it’s rigid.

Still, nothing is outwardly wrong with it, so why did I decide to change it? And not just change it, but raze it and rebuild from the ground up.

If you saw my previous post, you’ll know I recently signed up for Kindle Unlimited. And if you didn’t know that and are an author with e-books in the Kindle Select program, please go read the post and add your e-books:

I was delighted to recently discover my favorite publisher, JayHenge Publishing, has all their short story collections on KU as well. Selfishly, I decided to page through one of the collections I’m included in. And out of abundant curiosity, I paid special attention to the bios of my peers.

Or should I say the bios of my superiors, because good God look at the bio of the writer they put me next to in the book:

Gustavo Bondoni is a novelist and short story writer with over three hundred stories published in fifteen countries, in seven languages. He has published several science fiction novels including two trilogies, six monster books, a dark military fantasy and a thriller.

It goes on, but he definitely leads with the punchiest parts of his resume. Astounding level of output, and having his work translated puts him in a rare league.

Meanwhile, my bio of modest writing achievements almost feels silly next to it.

And it got me thinking. There are two primary personas reading these sorts of short story collections:

The Average Reader: They’re not in the publication game. They just wanted a good story. If they read your bio at all, most of it isn’t going to resonate (or perhaps even make sense). If they’re deep in the genre, they might recognize some of the larger magazine names, but only objectively impressive resumes like our man Gustavo are going to leave an impression.

The Fellow Writer: Likely, they also have a story in this collection. Or perhaps they’ve worked with the publisher before and like the content they produce/want to support the press. Either way, they know a thing or two about the industry. They will know the larger magazine names and awards, and they already have opinions on what is or isn’t noteworthy.

The point is, I’m not sure my bio is making an impression on either camp. The readers don’t care about all these details I’m throwing out. Meanwhile, the writers care but aren’t impressed by them (no offense, Vocal). Especially when contrasted against the likes of Gustavo.

Also, why so many calls to action? Even the book titles are CTAs, implying the reader might actually want to search them out and buy them (or else why list them?). Not to mention, I push both my author site and my podcast at the end, diluting even the central CTA.

And while both of those personas above have different agendas and backgrounds, one thing unites them: they are humans. And on the whole, every human likes personality. Humor. Relatability.

So, the new bio was born:

Stephen A. Roddewig is an author from Arlington, Virginia. His latest feat of cutting back from four to two cups of coffee a day has convinced him that he is superhuman, and his membership in the Horror Writers Association hasn’t disproved that belief. When not pushing the bounds of human endurance, he has published three dozen short stories and two novels. Mostly, though, he spends his time reading incredible war fiction from William Peter Grasso while cycling in the gym and cooking like his savings depend on it. You can find more of his speculative fiction and comedy at stephenaroddewig.com

As I said, rebuilt from the ground up.

Still some bona fides in there (HWA membership, story and book counts). It is an author bio, after all.

But it’s bursting with personality that ends with one clear CTA: go to my author site. Will most who see this bio do that? Let’s be honest, no. But I’ve certainly made more of an impression on the reader and seem a lot more “real” than in the previous version, so I’d like to think there’s more reason to be interested in what else I have to offer. Especially if they enjoyed the story that preceded the bio.

And since my books up to this point have all featured heavy comedic elements, showing a bit of humor in the bio certainly doesn’t hurt.

Besides, it’s a lot simpler of an ask to click a link than to (implicitly) ask someone to buy my latest book. Less of an ad, and who likes ads?

And when they get to the homepage of my site, they are presented with a far more compelling pitch for that book than what could fit in my author bio:

It even includes print and audio samples. And being able to show the cover is worth its weight in gold.

All the strategic considerations aside, the new bio is a much more fitting representation of the author. That is me. I do gaze over at my coffee mug, marveling at how I’ve only had one cup and it’s already 12:00. For 2+ years, I thought scaling back would be impossible, that it would destroy my productivity at work.

And then, in the span of a month, I’d fully reined it in. Now I’m down to one cup on the weekends, too. Sometimes zero.

That line in my bio is only a slight exaggeration of my wonder and pride in myself for cutting back so seamlessly.

And tonight, I’ll be reading the first book in the Jock Miles series from William Peter Grasso in the gym, then eating leftovers because I meal prep almost faster than I can eat it. It’s a good way to be.

Maybe someday I’ll reach Gustavo-level numbers of achievements and opt for a more traditional bio once more. Until then, I’m leading with my genuine self and trusting that to leave far more of an impression than a few book titles and awards ever would. If it wins me a couple new fans or readers, then mission accomplished.

Even if it doesn’t, I’d like to imagine it will help lighten someone’s day. Especially when surrounded by much more rigid, boring bios like what I had before. And that’s enough for me.

Bonus: If you were wondering how I square comedy writing and my Horror Writers Association membership, I don’t. Thanks to Medium’s tiny character allowance, I leaned into that fully when improvising a new bio on the spot:

A comedy writer stuck in a horror writer's body. Satirical novelist and Horror Writers Association member. Find more of this nonsense at stephenaroddewig.com