Why is it that I can write tens of thousands of words a week, but I have a difficult time crafting a succinct paragraph? Whether it’s structuring a paragraph about myself or trying to summarize my book, this is hard work for those of us who are more wordy than not!

It’s become easy to verbally describe the plot of my first book when people ask me what it’s about. “It’s about a mom who is trying to make a better life for herself and her kids. There are some fun characters along the way. She grows in her journey and becomes a better version of herself.”

Okay, so I’m not usually that sappy when describing it, but you get the gist. Short and simple…and yet this is too short for the back of the book description. 

And then there’s the bio blurb about myself. Yikes! I currently have a paragraph that says I’m a debut author who is being reunited with my passion for writing. Apparently, this spells out that I’m also unseasoned and probably have bad writing as a result. 

I met with author consultant Chris Baird who breezed through my current portfolio. This was exactly what I needed, an hour-long meeting with someone to take a peek at my current work and let me know if I’m on the right path! I ferociously took notes as he gave me suggestions while also praising certain areas that look good. One thing he suggested was sprucing up my page on Amazon’s Author Central. 

Following through with this has proven to be difficult! Every sentence is erased, every word is replaced, and everything I write sounds corny as hell. How do authors do this?

Then, I had the idea to make a simple list of words to later piece together into sentences. Why do I like to write? What kind of emotions do I want to instill in my readers when they pick up one of my books? These one or two-word answers are helping me begin to craft a better, more gripping paragraph about myself instead of: Jean Shelby is a mom who likes to write and exercise. 

Don’t get me wrong, those things are important and are dear to me, but this sentence doesn’t have anything to do with the reader. It’s you who I want to connect with! It’s you out there who are reading my books who I hope to tickle your funny bone, bind you to my characters, and, if I’m lucky, maybe make you shed a tear or two.

Just like with anything else, continuing to restructure those itty bitty writing assignments will eventually ensure that I land on something bearable to read. 

Now, on with changing that bio!