Your artist bio should project confidence


One of the things I’ve noticed lately, as I read bios written by my peers (and ask them to write bios, in some cases), is how afraid so many people are to project any sense of artistic legitimacy in their bios. Even if you’re insecure in real life, your bio is not the place for that.

You can write whatever the hell you want in your bio, and no one will side-eye you, unless you outright lie about your credentials or accomplishments. Bios are how you choose to present yourself, not just to the world, but also to your peers and colleagues. If you don’t even pretend to believe you belong in a space, no one is going to believe that you belong for you.

Your bio shouldn’t say something along the lines of “Rebecca is a computer science student who writes in her spare time and aspires to be a published author someday.” It should say something like “Rebecca is a writer and computer science student.” It is not that deep.

If you’re submitting work to a literary magazine, random people are going to read it anyway, especially if your work is published. May as well at the very least pretend to be confident in your bio.