I was wondering if anyone had any advice toward writing a truthful yet tactful and professional biography for submission to an agent or producer when one has a lot of experience with various different artistic things but not a lot of actual accreditation.

The totality of my artistic experiences is large but there’s not much validation. I find I can wow people with my experiences but I have nothing much really to show for it.

Is it okay to throw in little successes you’ve had from other media like music or involvement in the organizing of artistic events or does that violate protocol and just serve to make you look like you’re trying too hard to impress?

How do you write an impressive writer’s biography without prior success in that particular medium?

In short, how do you write a biography when you haven’t achieved much?

Hi Tomson,

I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t make my post clear. I’m not talking about a screenplay biography. I’m talking about an author bio to submit with loglines or pitches to agents, etc.

These are usually no more than a page and give a resume of your experience as a writer. In music, they are submitted with what’s called a press kit. In film, they are sometimes submitted with query letters.

I want to put together a professional author bio for when agents request it and I’m seeking advice on how to do that when your actual bio information is less than stellar.

Good Question,
I had a similar request from a production company when I was submitting "Devil's Peak". Unfortunately, I too did not have any scholastic background in writing, so I mentioned my academic background and a couple of interesting facts related to my writing.

I'm not sure if that was correct or worthy but it was all I could think of.

Stew

Stew,

Thank you so much for responding. It helps to know I’m not on the ship alone. :)

I’ve had producers want to check out my resume before my work and I’m concerned that it’s a weak point. I hope this thread will help people like us cover this potential snare.