For the conference this fall, as well as some markets, they require a bio. I've resisted writing one, but now I gotta. Here it is. Not everything made it in, but I wanted to keep it under 75 words and be entertaining. Let me know what you think.
"Steve Buchheit was born to write, but only figured that out 35 years later. He has mowed lawns, flipped burgers, been a computer geek, shelved books, tossed mail, given tours, been an elected politician and a graphic designer, lived on both coasts and now resides in Ohio. For seven years he has been writing. So far he has been rejected by the best in the business, but has no plans on giving up."
9 comments:
Way better than mine, that's for sure ;)
Yeah, like I can compete with field testing electronic boards under fire. I don't think so.
"For the conference this fall"...
Does this mean you're going to Viable Paradise after all? Or is this some other conference? Sorry, I've got you on RSS feed but I sometimes miss stuff.
You're a couple years ahead of me in your writing career - consistent writing effort will do that for you! - and so I'd like the chance to cheer for you if you are!
Like I have any room to critique, but here goes anyway.
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For seven years he has been writing and being rejected by the best in the business, but has no plans on giving up.
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Jeri, no Viable Paradise for me this year. I didn't get my butt together enough to do it. I was invited to be a panelist at Conclave. So now I need to behave like a real writer.
Although, speaking of VP, I am using that as my personal whip to get this novel written for next year's application. I could have used some short stories this year, but with the overtime reduction and my wife not having a class this summer, funds are tight. Spending the $1000+ on VP wasn't in the cards. We could pay for it with debt, but my wife and I abhor being in debt (the house was a big thing for us, and we're paying it off as quickly as we can, but we don't carry credit card debt - the worse kind of debt - and pay off our loans early). Maybe next year will be better, or maybe we'll talk about an extra debt load. VP is about the only workshop I would qualify for that I could go to. Most others are for people in other stages of their careers, invite only, or are built around the 6 week schedule, which would mean quitting the day job and I'm the major wage earner. I'm too chicken to do that.
Dan, no worries about the critique. I think that was one of the rewrites I had done, but I like the break of the long lines with the short statement of writing for 7 years (makes it sound definite). And then the smart alecky/definance statement in the last sentence stands alone. I am going to rewrite it probably one more time, and I'll take your suggestion in consideration for the rewrite.
Very funny bio, and effective too. You made me connect with you, and want to know more about you. For anyone who wants help with writing a professional bio, I have a website called www.howtowritebio.com that has fill-in-the-blank templates for various types of professional bios. Your readers might find it helpful.
Hey barbra sundquist, thanks for dropping by. I don't mind "commercial messages" as long as they're on target. As a writer, the main target I had about the bio was to keep it entertaining and short. I've left out a ton of info (like having been in the Air Force, working in Texas, West (by God) Virginia, etc).
What panels are you going to be on at Conclave?
Camille, well, I know I'm on a writers panel. I've asked to be on six other panels, all dealing with writing (there's one on dialog, which I've been told is my strongest suit).
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