Author Website Archives - Jeanne Burrows-Johnson's Word Empowering Blog

LESSONS FROM AN EVENT

Creative tablescapes dynamically introduce your unique work!

Make your participation in a retail, wholesale, or non-profit event memorable for both participants and attendees!

Recently, I participated in an art fair that reminded me of the need to anticipate inherent challenges you may experience in any event. As the old adage notes, you have only one opportunity to make a good first impression. One way to effectively introduce your unique work to new audiences is with a creative tablescape! While thinking about the elements that make your work remarkable, consider the following issues…

As a seller of the books I write, I have many opportunities to introduce my work. Sometimes the events are large like the Tucson Festival of Books [one of the largest book fairs in the U.S.]. At others, the occasion is small and cozy. Regardless of size, each event provides a chance to review your self-introduction and marketing from a new perspective…

BASIC ISSUES

Selecting Venues
The holiday season presents many occasions to participate in community or targeted audience events. With probable limits on the availability of time and money, you will want to choose among your opportunities carefully.

Appropriateness
Will the event you are considering increase public awareness and appreciation of your brand? While I now live in Tucson, Arizona, most of my work focuses on Hawai`i. Accordingly, I seek venues that appeal to a broad demographic of attendees and am unlikely to participate in a western-themed event.

Location and Travel Considerations
Is the event located in or near your city? How far will you have to travel to participate? The distance you must travel from your home to the event will affect the cost of transporting yourself and your product[s].

Event Size
The size of an event will impact the numbers of people with whom you will have contact. That may affect the nature and dimensions of your materials and tablescape layout. Do you already possess the materials you will need, or are there extraordinary expenses to be paid or traded in one opportunity over another?

Attendees
Some events, like a county or state fair will attract diverse types of people. Others may be focused on a niche market. Ask yourself, which among your top opportunities is the best fit for meeting your current customer/reader base and what might appeal to a new demographic?

Cost of Event
In addition to the fee for participating in an event, there may be additional expenses such as: Lodging; meals; parking; secondary transportation such as delivery and setup of your product[s] and display elements; paying for assistants. There may even be financial transaction fees, as some non-profit events charge a percentage for each sale you make.

Secondary Benefits of an Event
Beyond the event itself, are there any benefits to be realized, like connecting with family, friends, colleagues, and your editor and/or publisher? Might there be an opportunity for you to combine the benefits of this event with something else…an advertising campaign? A book signing at a store or library? A podcast and/or interview?

PACKING PRODUCTS & SUPPORT MATERIALS

Carefully pack your products and promotional materials with an eye toward unpacking and setting them up for the event. For example, if you will be using tablecloths, it is a good idea to have them available for immediate use upon your arrival at the venue. As an author, I am also careful to place my supplies of books at the bottom of carts and boxes as they are heavy and could damage lighter weight décor and other display materials.

DISPLAYS

Your tablescape should be a stimulating yet tasteful presentation of your product[s] should include consideration of maintenance throughout the activity as well as the distinctive elements of your branding! What are colors and textures distinguish your brand? What will be the backdrop for your space? Can you hang a colorful curtain…on the back of a tent, or perhaps a screen behind your table display? Might a montage of book jackets make an appealing branding accent? Are there elements in your tablescape that can be easily dislodged by visitors?

Fliers, folding business cards and bookmarks, and bookplates are the primary handouts I offer visitors. At the art fair, I found that fewer readers desired bookmarks than in the past, and no one wished to leave their contact information, even if they were returning customers. Thank goodness my other handouts assure people can contact me if they wish to do so! And, with my distinctive name, I think everyone will be able to find their way to “Contact” forms on my websites!

I continually monitor the restocking and alignment of the elements of my tablescape. This includes business cards, bookmarks and fliers, which means I have to select bookends and containers that are sturdy enough to keep your display tidy. With three titles and several editions in the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mysteries, plus other projects, I’m contemplating using folding metal shelving to display my books to full advantage…

OPERATIONAL SUPPLIES

What secretarial/display supplies might you need? While you can prepare a standard container of supplies, review your collection prior to every event. When I will be outside, I make sure to include a few heavy items to keep paper materials from being caught up in unexpected changes in wind or other weather conditions.

~ Pens. In addition to pens for general writing purposes, I must include a few that are waterproof and can flow appropriately across title pages at book signings.

~ Secretarial supplies. These might include scissors, pencils, tape, plastic bags [for storage and product purchases], paper clips, rubber bands, string and/or cording, a lined note pad may prove useful to fellow vendors if not you.

~ Transactional supplies. Receipt forms/books, note pad for random reminders of products to order, etc., and a mechanism for taking electronic payments.

PERSONAL PREPARATION

Dress appropriately for your product and the event. Have a filling meal before the event and drink fluids during it. Snack foods should not be messy nor create crumbs you cannot swallow easily. Carry several bottles of plain water that are not too cold. Carbonation may cause digestive discomfort; and anything with color can become a disaster to clothing or products if spilled. If you will be speaking for prolonged periods, you consider adding lemon juice, but only if you’ve tried it previously. Remember to have a go-to-bag with a comb, tissues, disinfecting handwipes [good for post cash sale usage], lip balm and/or lipstick to moisten your lips. Throat lozenges will also moisten your mouth, freshen your breath, and can provide an emergency boost to your sugar level.

PUBLICITY AND MARKETING

While there may be a limited potential for making sales at an event, can you gain positive attention for your work before, during and after the event? For the art fair, I added announcements to the News and Events pages of my author and marketing tip websites, as well as my personal and professional Facebook pages. In addition, I included a notice about the event in general emails sent to a couple of hundred people and organizations in my data base. Your options may vary from mine, but consider them all…especially social media!

POST-EVENT CONSIDERATIONS

~ Preparing for Departure. Hopefully, you have sold and distributed much of the product and promotional material with which you arrived. Keep in mind that that is no guarantee that everything can be repacked in the methodical manner in which you arrived. If you will be participating in frequent events, have a plan for repacking in preparation for the next occasion, with heavy items on the bottom and more fragile pieces on top.

~ Expressing Your Gratitude. Customized expressions of gratitude will help assure that your participation is memorable and that you may have made significant contacts for future! This includes thanking event organizers and media outlets that may have enhanced the experience for both event vendors and attendees.

~ Announcing the Results. To truly benefit from the exertion it takes to participate in even a small event, you will find it appropriate to notify colleagues, the media, and followers of many types about the results of the event. On the last day of the arts fair, my latest Hawaiian mystery, Murders of Conveyance, took first place in the category of Fiction-Adventure in the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards. This provided me with an excellent reason for contacting many people and organizations in my database!

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker

To learn more about the award-winning Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mysteries, including Murders of Conveyance [Winner, Fiction Adventure-Drama, 2019 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards] and other projects, please drop in at my author’s website JeanneBurrows-Johnson.com . You’ll even find Island Recipes that might inspire your culinary creativity.

For more ideas to strengthen your Wordpower^© and branding, please visit: Imaginings Wordpower and Design Consultation.

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave

AUTHOR TIME MANAGEMENT

Successful Time Management with a Simple Matrix!

As I wrote the blog that will first appear on Hometown Reads beginning on November 5, 2019, I realized the irregularity with which I’ve been writing for this site. Setting aside the publication of Murders of Conveyance, the third Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mystery and two bouts of flu, scheduling my time has been a major challenge to my productivity this year…Thus, time management has been on my mind.

SUCCESSFUL SCHEDULING
Every professional finds challenges in maximizing productivity. Often the problem exists in both personal and professional living. That has certainly been true for me. The Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mystery series is growing, and I maintain two websites, this blog, and two Facebook pages. These ongoing projects are my excuse for untimely scheduling this year. It has seemed that there are several deadlines I have faced each day and while I’m putting out those fires, I’ve failed to follow a simple time management matrix.

STEPHEN R. COVEY & DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

One of the most important philosophers in my life has been author and business consultant Stephen Covey [1932-2012]. He was a dynamic man who based his secular advice on his personal faith in the precepts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His doctoral dissertation was based on analysis of self-help books which he would add to later for the benefit of people of many professions and philosophies. For many of his readers, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was his most impactful book, which helps to move one from dependence to independence to interdependence. I found the most memorable advice he presented was the Eisenhower Matrix, a decision-making tool for prioritizing one’s activity, which he attributed to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. [Note, the President credited the concept to an unnamed college president.]

EXAMINING YOUR INBOX
Consider the following classifications for the items in your existing calendar and inbox:

A. URGENT, IMPORTANT B. NOT URGENT, IMPORTANT
C. URGENT, NOT IMPORTANT D. NOT URGENT OR IMPORTANT

Obviously that which is Urgent and Important must be addressed first. This could be the biographical paragraph your publisher has requested for your latest book or a cover letter that you will package with gift copies. Conversely, items that are not Urgent or Important [Quadrant D] should be examined for worthiness; do they even merit being on your schedule? If they are indeed things worth keeping, can you handle them in a more effective way?

For instance, maintaining good relations with colleagues and service suppliers can be vital to your success. But rather than having frequent personal meetings, consider scheduling occasional festive events that include several of these people…or if they are not in close proximity to you, consider meaningful gifting at unexpected times. For instance, rather than sending cards and gifts for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Christmas, consider Thanksgiving, New Year, or even an unexpected surprise at Asian Lunar New Year. As to gifts, consider whether there is something distinctive about your work that would be appropriate. In both fiction and non-fiction, the focus of most of my writing is Hawai’i, so it has been easy to share Hawaiian macadamia nut candy.

Once you’ve dealt with Quadrant A’s Urgent and Important items and the elimination or redirection of the Non-urgent and Unimportant things lingering in Quadrant D, look at the Non-urgent but Important listings in Quadrant C. You have declared them to be urgent; but, they are not important in the abstract. This area of concern includes spur-of-the-moment issues that arise, as well as administrative paperwork and organization.

For me, activity in this area usually focuses on filing—especially the growing number of my biographies. These are written in both first and third person, ranging from two sentences to a couple of pages. Generic ones have a conversational tone and discuss my life in general. Others focus on my fiction [especially the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mysteries]. Academic ones present non-fiction projects like Conversations with Auntie Carol, A Series of Hawaiian Oral History Interviews. Organized by word count, I can quickly determine bios that meet the requirements of an unexpected request. Usually, I then copy/paste contenders into a new document and create a new bio or two that can be folded into the master file.

We have now arrived at the all-important consideration of items within our Quadrant B. Why take it out of order? As Stephen Covey would say, this area of concern should be the essential focus of our attention in setting our daily, weekly, monthly, and overall life schedule. If we constantly work on the non-Urgent but Important areas of our professional and personal life, we will find there are less deadlines to be faced…and eventually experience balanced living. Of course, that does not mean that unexpected emergencies will not occur to encroach on our time periodically.

In preparing for expansion of my career as an author, I’ve faced many issues this year. They have included: redesigning my two websites, learning to insert art and audio files into this blog, creating a professional Facebook page, and completing both Yen for Murder (the fourth NS mystery) and writing an annotated introduction to the Auntie C project [including 74 endnotes]. The overlapping of these projects has been daunting at times, BUT the time spent on future editing should be manageable!

ALIGNING YOUR CALENDAR
Let’s complete our time management exercise by re-examining the contents of our daily, weekly, and monthly calendars from this new perspective. You may have pre-set appointments like children’s schooling and other activities, your own working hours, wellness appointments, etc. Even the scheduling of these could be altered or made flexible.

Are there other parents with whom you might share transportation? Would your employer consider changes in your schedule like a reduction or shift to earlier/later hours, or even remote work from your home? Can you shift medical, dental and therapy/exercise appointments to days of the week or month to harmoniously fill out set blocks of time? Within those preset appointments, you could double your productivity as I do in performing a bit of library research prior to meetings of my authors salon.

How might you delegate some of the work you now undertake personally? Should you hire an accountant for bookkeeping and tax filing? If this is not an option, consider software that can optimize the hours you do invest in this activity. I am fortunate that many obligations I once undertook have passed to my husband who is retired. He now handles shopping, bill paying, and even the preparation of most dinners, allowing me to pursue completion of inspiration in my work.

Like my protagonist, Natalie Seachrist, I am an avid devotee of list making. When I look at items falling within Quadrant B, I have found that several lend themselves to specific times of the year, when other required and/or predictable activity lessens. That usually means there are gaps in my schedule during the winter holiday season and summer, when many people I work with professionally are on vacation. These are the times that I clean out hardcopy folders, sort through old research, rearrange and re-label files. Well, this summer has passed without any of those tasks being addressed…so, I guess you know how my holidays will be spent!

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker

For more ideas to strengthen your Wordpower^© and branding, please visit: Imaginings Wordpower and Design Consultation.

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave

An Oral History Interview

Conversations with Auntie Carol: Seven Oral History Interviews with Caroline Kuliaikanuʻ ukapu Wilcox DeLima Farias

Researched, Conducted, Compiled & Narrated
by Jeanne Burrows-Johnson
[A sample of our conversation on Maui is below]

**Meet Caroline **Kuliaikanuʻ** **ukapu** Wilcox DeLima Farias**

It seems as though I have been absent more than present on the Internet during the last two years…what have I been doing?

~ Yen for Murder (the fourth award-winning Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mystery) was edited and awaits publishing…and began writing a fifth mystery, A Spineless Murder
~ I redesigned my websites, JeanneBurrows-Johnson.com (with Island recipes and tales of historic Tucson), and ImaginingsWordpower.com (addressing branding and professional development).
~ Added a professional page to Facebook.
~ I completed research for Conversations with Auntie Carol, adding: a summary of the Hawaiian language; a family chart; a few samples of family quilts. I also expanded the introduction and discoursive endnotes, the bibliography, the annotated glossary, and the master index.

The interviews are observations on childhood, family, and events reflecting the inner spirit of Auntie Carol [1923 to 2001]. She was a descendant of aliʻ i , Hawaiian nobility. As readers and listeners will observe, Carol was close to her family and proud of the prominent roles they played in the history of Hawaiʻ i. She was the grandniece of Col. Robert W. K. Wilcox, a major politician and a revolutionary who strove to restore Queen Liliʻ uokalani to the throne of a sovereign Kingdom of Hawai’i. Carol was also the second cousin of Johanna N. Wilcox, the first woman registered to vote in the U.S. Territory of Hawaiʻ i. Auntie Carol’s personal story includes performing hula awana at the Moana Hotel on the beach at Waikīkī on December 6, 1941, the day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other parts of Oʻ ahu that brought the United States into World War II.

Carol was one of the first people to welcome me to Honolulu in 1973. In 1975, Carol’s family helped plan my wedding and I was honored when she performed hula awana at the reception. In 1981, I returned to college. After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in history with distinction at the University of Hawaiʻ i, I continued studies in Asian and American history and worked as a graduate teaching assistant in their World Civilizations program. As I learned more about Hawaiian history, I gained a deeper appreciation of the many aspects of Carol’s life. We remained in touch when I accompanied my husband to Newport, Rhode Island, where he taught classes at the U.S. Naval Education and Training Center and I began my career as a free-lance writer and marketing consultant.

When I returned to Hawaiʻ i, Carol shared the many changes that had occurred in her life. Three of the sisters of Johanna Wilcox had moved into Carol’s home in Kāneʻ ohe. This was a time of mixed joys and sorrows for the family. For although her aunties rejoiced in being united in Carol’s home, by 1990 the last of them had passed, as well as Carol’s beloved husband Freddy. After attending her birthday celebration in 1992, we discussed her desire to have me help organize the heirlooms and books she had inherited from her elder relatives. I soon realized our work could serve as the foundation for a book highlighting several generations of the Maui Wilcox women. Carol concurred.

Most of the topics we explored in the recorded interviews addressed her early life in ʻ Ulupalakua, Maui, and her second cousins known as the Wilcox Sisters. Our most poignant conversation was on the grounds of land her family had owned in Kalepolepo, Maui, where listeners delight in the sounds of the ocean, wind rustling through kiawe trees and bird song. The following is a sample from the interviews on this trip. I hope you’ll enjoy it and understand why I feel it is important to share Carol’s stories with readers and listeners of today and the tomorrows that will follow. Perhaps you will also catch a glimpse of the rainbows that brightened many of her days!

A Sample from Conversations with Auntie Carol: During A Trip to Maui

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, motivational speaker

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave

AUDIO BOOKS 1

**The award winning first Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mystery**

Audio Books and Other Recordings…

Like many authors, I write both fiction and non-fiction, in essays and articles, as well as books. In addition to Prospect for Murder (the first Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mystery) and the anthology Under Sonoran Skies Prose and Poetry from the High Desert, I have periodically recorded interviews about my writing. Unfortunately, while reshaping my author website and ImaginingsWordpower.com, (my branding and development site), I discovered the new website building system does not allow embedding audio files directly from my desktop. Therefore, I have to place audio files in appropriate blogs, inserting website hyperlinks to connect readers to those blogs. Accordingly, you will find samples from PFM and USS below. Also, a lighthearted article, “Yuletide in Tucson 1876,” is available on the post Website Renewal, which also provides an audio player.”

While you may not have recorded samples of your own authorship, I offer the following background of the development of Under Sonoran Skies, Prose and Poetry from the High Desert in hope that it may help you on your own creative journey. [If you would like further information on this project, you can read about it on my author website. The six-author anthology [published in hardcopy, audio and eBook editions] was one of the top 50 picks of 2012 by Southwest Books of the Year.

HARMONY
I believe an invaluable issue in compiling any anthology is establishing harmony among the authors’ personalities, skill sets, and voices. Fortunately, the co-authors of USS had become acquainted in attendance of writers’ salons for a couple of years.

MY CO-AUTHORS
~ Bill Black, a magician, poet, prosaist, storyteller and MC, who has published numerous books and has been featured in regional and international magazines. His current works may be found at his author page on Amazon.com.

~ Susan Cosby-Patton, retired language arts instructor and poet who is published regionally and nationally.

~ Kay Lesh, PhD, educator and psychotherapist who authors professional articles and books and will soon be publishing a collection of short mysteries as well as a memoir.

~ The late Reverend Patricia Noble, an author, educator, and speaker who aired radio essays and published journal articles.

~ The late Larry Sakin, a political writer, radio talk show host, and green energy entrepreneur active in civic and literacy projects.

OUR COMPLEMENTARY WORK
Over time, we became familiar with the depth of our fiction and non-fiction work and recognized our complimentary voices. This led to a book of eleven themed chapters of poems, short stories, historical articles, and reflective essays. Our intention was to allow readers to work their way through the book sequentially, or select from varied subjects.

The topics of our assembled pieces include: animal companions; business; the environment; history, mythology, personal relationships; phases of life; philosophy; politics; and, war. As most anthologies address a single theme, you may be wondering how we knitted the book together. We began by grouping our disparate works by topic and then placing them in chapters. Imagine our delight when Patricia recognized the synchronicity of flipping the words in the titles of our first and last chapters, “Visioning the Craft” and “Crafting the Vision.”

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS
Production work was apportioned based on experience and interest. Because Kay possesses a well-modulated voice, we asked her to record the front piece material and chapter headings. Susan had been involved with the fabrication of other publications. Therefore, she undertook text layout to meet the requirements of hardcopy and Online production. We also benefited from the breadth of Bill’s technical knowledge and Patricia’s grammar checking.

While Larry obtained most of the art images in the book, I addressed the overall design. This included utilizing a sunset image shot from my back lānai for the cover, and folio art to frame pagination. Because of my work in historical projects, I also undertook preparing a comprehensive index.

THE AUDIO EDITION
As the majority of our group had performance experience, we immediately decided to produce an audio, as well as a written edition. We were fortunate that Larry had been working with Jim Waters of Tucson Waterworks Recording for several years. With confidence in both the man’s technical and directing talents, it was easy for each of us to enter the studio for one or more recording sessions. Once Jim had the raw material, he was able to smooth out differences in speed, cadence, and tone. His final work was to prepare our audio files in several formats.

IN SUMMATION…for now
Was our work perfect? I don’t believe so, but I hope we have met our listeners’ expectations of a work addressing multiple subjects in truly varied voices. You will be the judge of the strengths and weaknesses of the few areas of consideration I’ve raised in this brief project overview.

I think my greatest advice to you is to consider the individual gifts of anyone involved in such a project. This means being aware of yourself, as well as those with whom you are working. A well-produced audio book can generates income. It is also a wonderful way of enhancing recognition of your brand and introducing your work to a greater audience!

Please be aware that the voices you’ll hear in USS vary. And I’ll admit that not all of us would be appropriate to undertaking the reading of an entire book. Finally, none of us would suggest publishing a work in any form without the input of other established authors, let alone a professional editor and perhaps a performance coach….

Now without further ado, here are a few audio samples from Under Sonoran Skies, Prose and Poetry from the High Desert. I hope you’ll enjoy these selections and understand why it’s my pleasure to continue working with these talented authors.

The Bourbon Eulogy by Bill Black

Prologue to Prospect for Murder by Jeanne Burrows-Johnson

As a Jewel in the Crown by Susan Cosby-Patton

Cookie Time by Kay Lesh

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief introduction to one of my favorite projects! I have kept notes on the processes that I have undertaken in recording my writings as well as experiences in oral history projects. At some point, I will assemble them into another blog, if not a self-help book. For additional notes on my preparation of scripts for public speaking and recording audio projects, you might like to visit Public Speaking 1.

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker

For more ideas to strengthen your Wordpower^© and branding, please visit: Imaginings Wordpower and Design Consultation.

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave

EMPOWERING BIOS

WHO NEEDS A POWERFUL BIO?

With 2019 quickly unfolding, authors and artists face a multitude of challenges and opportunities. Beyond financial planning and tax preparation, this is the ideal time to strategize and schedule events, design and/or revise our websites and social media outreach, and shape marketing materials to support these endeavors. While professional service providers can address many of these issues, there are expenditures that can be avoided if we are able to do some of the work ourselves. The essential question is whether we possess the skills and artistic vision to do so…as well as the time that will be required. Fortunately, like book synopses, several elements of biographies can be utilized repeatedly. Your picture, logos and slogans, descriptions of your work, and biographies of varying lengths and emphasis will all prove useful eventually. Today, I will suggest requisite elements of effective biographies.

WHEN WILL YOU NEED AN EMPOWERING BIOGRAPHY?
You are invited to view points raised in a humorous discussion of the need for biographies at imaginingswordpower.com/bios-to-empower-you.html. The gist of the piece is that everyone, both in and out of public view, has a need for one or more biographies…ranging from single sentences of self-introduction, to paragraphs for professional publications, and even a lengthy eulogy that will enumerate key aspects in one’s life.

WHERE TO BEGIN SHAPING YOUR BIOGRAPHY
By reviewing hardcopy and electronic files that contain materials addressing your life and work, you can gather facts, as well as previous stylistic choices from which you can draw. In addition, I suggest you create files of bios that have impressed you. These can include materials from colleagues and co-authors, as well as the brochures of professionals whose offices you visit.

Regardless of whether you work on a computer, or with pen and paper, begin listing words, phrases and other verbal images that you find attractive and worthy of positive public attention. At this point, do not be concerned about the length of your notes, their chronology, or even the vocabulary you are utilizing. For example, if you were writing a physical description of yourself, you might begin with the basics of hair and eye color with simple words like “brown” and “black.” You can add interest later by replacing “brown” with more dynamic words like coffee, chestnut, or charcoal.

IS THERE AN IDEAL LENGTH FOR A BIOGRAPHY?
If you are a professional, you will interact with colleagues and the general public in differing ways. Each time you are required to produce a new bio, you will face varying requirements in length and style.

~ A casual meeting or elevator speech requires a single sentence of self-introduction in a first-person voice

~ Casual reference by another person requires similar length, but should be written in a third-person voice

~ Your brief self-introduction, should be about three sentences in a first-person voice

~ A brief introduction by another person requires similar length, but should be written in a third-person voice

~ Detailed self-intros often range from a paragraph to a page, written in a first-person voice

~ Complex intros that are to be delivered by someone else should be similar in length, written in a third-person voice

~ Anything longer can be used for slow elevators or tall buildings

BIOGRAPHY ELEMENTS
Regardless of usage, I recommend you utilize verbiage that expresses your personality, as well as the products or services you offer. This allows readers or listeners of your promotional materials [especially prior to an event] to feel they have actually met you. You should consider including the following.

~ Education and training
~ Career highlights and focus of work
~ Professional accreditation and affiliations
~ Photographs are optional and may be appropriate to only some uses. Authors can be photographed holding one of their books and artists may wish to show a sample of their art. Head and bust shots, as well as images of you standing on a stage or at a podium will all prove useful someday. If you have action shots featuring other people, you should obtain a signed release from them.

BIOGRAPHY LAYOUTS
Biographical layouts vary with length and purpose. To maximize harmony with other promotional materials, your biography should utilize elements from your style sheet with your signature font[s], colors, logos, slogans, etc.!

USAGE OF BIOGRAPHIES
Once you have created biographies of varying length and style, you can utilize them in numerous places. Bios can be placed in several places on the internet, including: One or more pages of your website[s], your blog; Facebook and other social media sites; a framed copy can face visitors to your office or studio.

I send copies of appropriate bios to organizers of public speaking engagements twice; once when arrangements have been confirmed, and just prior to the event. I also carry copies to the event in case the host does not have one. Depending on the purpose of the engagement, the bio/intro may be short or long. If short, I print it on cardstock, as well as 8.5 x 11- inch stationery. I also carry a copy with bulleted key points in a non-glare archival quality sleeve in my presentation folder…for those unexpected occasions when I end up having to introduce myself. [With bulleted data, I can choose to add or delete points that I may decide are, or are not, appropriate to the day’s audience.]

FYI: I recently received a call from a radio personality wanting to interview me. For a mere $125 per quarter of an hour, I can be featured on a drive-time radio show…This has reminded me of other [free] opportunities I have had. Not only am I glad to have varied bios at the ready for those I choose to pursue, but I’m thinking about preparing a series of questions that I might want an interviewer to ask…

Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker

For more ideas to strengthen your Wordpower^© and branding, please visit: Imaginings Wordpower and Design Consultation.

Follow Me:
Amazon, Arizona Authors Association, Apple Books
Audible, Authors Den, Barnes and Noble, Blogarama, Book Bub
Cozy Mysteries-Unlimited, Facebook, Good Reads, Hometown Reads

Book sellers may contact book distributors such as:
Baker & Taylor, Follett, IPG, Ingram, Mackin, Midpoint, TitleWave