Help Me Flist!

[mmerriam]

Last night, while careswen and I were in the process of doing the final layout of Shimmers & Shadows, my lovely wife turned to me and said she thought it might be a good idea if I posted my "About the Author" bit and asked for feedback from my flist. Because she is wise (and because I hate talking about myself in the third-person), I agreed. So here it is, and I am requesting your input.


About the Author

Michael Merriam was born in Michigan, in 1965, but spent most of his life in Oklahoma and Texas, moving to Minnesota in 1999.

Like most writers, Michael has worked a variety of odd jobs over the years, including musician, short order cook, and freight logistics manager. In 2003, after being laid off and declared legally blind, Michael began writing again, rekindling a passion he had set aside nearly two decades earlier.

Michael has sold science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction to a variety of magazines, including Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Fictitious Force, From the Asylum, and The Harrow. He was nominated for the James B. Baker Award in 2007 and Preditors and Editors Reader's Choice Awards in 2006 and 2007, and he has been a semi-finalist twice in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest.

Michael is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association and the Twin Cities Speculative Fiction Writers Network. He lives in Hopkins, Minnesota, with his wife and an ordained cat.

Visit Michael's homepage at www.michaelmerriam.net.


How could this be improved? What could be taken out? What would you like added? Does anyone even read the "About the Author" page? All ideas and suggestions welcome!

Comments

[kelly-swails.livejournal.com]

I like it. I think it's fine as-is.

As for me, I always read the About the Author page, as well as any Author's Notes and the Acknowledgment page, usually multiple times. I read them with a sense of longing (I want other to read my Author page someday) and wonder (wow! people really do this for a living! How lucky are they?)and curiosity (I'm holding in my hands a piece of this person's psyche ... I wonder what they're really like in person?). I think part of it is because I've wanted to be a writer since grade school.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the reply! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section.

[mela-lyn.livejournal.com]

Actually, I really like it. Simple but with some wit. Shows some of the great things you've done. And ending with 'an ordained cat'... that will definitely get a few people wondering. :) So nice! (And yes, I almost always read the writer's page... the only time I don't is if I don't like the book.)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the reply! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section. We tried to keep it short and simple.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

It's clean and simple. I always read About the Author pages because I am curious to catch a glimpse of the mind behind the images. I think my only wish is that there be a line about why you write, but if you're going to have a preface or foreword or introduction, that would make it unnecessary.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input! We might put something about why I write in the introduction.

[careswen.livejournal.com]

We didn't write an introduction. Did you want to?

[mnfiddledragon.livejournal.com]

I like it - and yes, I always read the "About the Author" pages - because I read books and stories as much for the people who wrote them as the stories themselves. :)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section.

[stillnotbored.livejournal.com]

It's very nice, Michael. Gives a good sense of who you are and how you came to be the author of this collection.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section.

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

I like it very much. I always read this, the acknowledgements, dedication, and any notes. I think this is well done.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

It's good to know that people actually read all that stuff!

[janradder.livejournal.com]

I like it. Personally, I wouldn't change anything (and I as well, really like the "ordained cat" bit). I always read the about the author page -- just to get a sense of the person who's story or book I just read.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section.

[damncutekitty.livejournal.com]

Definitely keep the part about the ordained cat!

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

That's one of the best bits!

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I Too read these sorts of introductions to the writer. I'd like to know more, having read this one. I'd like to know how the various places you've lived influence your writing (to me Oklahoma is another planet). I'd like to know how your vision influences your writing. I'd like to know what else is of interest to you, any hobbies or other interests?

At very least, I'd add the names of the towns or nearby cities you lived in. (My mother was born in Michigan.... are you from her town....?)

But, it does stand on it's own, if you want it to.

K.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

We might add something about how the blindness influenced me in the introduction, because I do tend to write from the PoV of disabled characters.

We might go back and add the towns, as I can certainly see how people would be interested.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

I always read them!

I would eliminate the comma after Michigan, but otherwise I think it looks great. You should include Rev. Selena's name, though! :)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input! Kill the comma, got it!

[songwind.livejournal.com]

I read the About the Author pages, and like them when they tell me more than "lives in a two bedroom shack in Hackensack," so yours looks good.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section.

[tiny-wings.livejournal.com]

I sort of want to rephrase some of it but that may just be because part of my job consists of rewriting artists' project descriptions in different words. I would definitely add that Serena is black, and maybe what church she was ordained by.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

We actually did rephrase parts of it. I think we will be able to send things to the printers this weekend and order a proof to be delivered next week or so!

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

I also tend to read the author's bios in novels and anthologies, especially if I enjoyed the work (in which case, I read the bio with some envy).

There's something clunky to me in the opening sentence. Maybe it's the grammar (which seems technically correct to me) or maybe it just seems like too much information. The rest of the bio has a nice flow to it that doesn't quite work here. I'm thinking something along the lines of "Michael Merriam was born in Michigan in 1965, but found his way to Minnesota in 1999, by way of Oklahoma and Texas." Something with more character?

The best bios I've read have some personality to them, so it's not just a fact sheet on the author. If you can get more of the tone of "an ordained cat" into the rest of the bio, I think it would be even stronger than it is now.

I also suggest combining some of the paragraphs, such as your publication history with the writers group info. And keep in mind that "He lives in Hopkins, Minnesota" at the end is semi-redundant with the opening paragraph, so you may combine them, ie: "Michael Merriam was born in Michigan in 1965, but found his way to Hopkins, Minnesota in 1999, by way of Oklahoma and Texas." (if that's correct, since I don't know if you've been in Hopkins since '99.

Just my two cents!

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the excellent input! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section. We ended up doing a pretty substantial restructure, while keeping the things we liked.

[wordswoman.livejournal.com]

How exciting! I like it overall, but I'd suggest avoiding specific dates, so that the bio remains evergreen as time goes by. I don't think it matters *when* you moved to Minnesota, for example, or exactly what year you resumed writing.

I'd also suggest rephrasing the geography sentence to make it a bit livelier. It's your opening sentence, and it isn't really a hook.

And hey, give your household names: "...with his wife, Sherry, and their ordained cat, the Reverend Selena X. Merriam."

The list of jobs is fun; the publications are good. But it doesn't really reflect how MUCH you've been published. I'd suggest something like "Michael has sold more than ### science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories..."

Can't wait to see the finished collection!

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

That was great input! We did restructure the opening sentence and added a bit about me having sold over thirty short pieces.

[haddayr.livejournal.com]

I always read the "about the author" section. Yours is too long. I'd edit it thusly:

Michael Merriam was born in Michigan and raised in Oklahoma and Texas. He now lives in Minnesota.

Michael's work can be found in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Fictitious Force, From the Asylum, and The Harrow. He was nominated for the James B. Baker Award in 2007 and Preditors and Editors Reader's Choice Awards in 2006 and 2007, and he has been a semi-finalist twice in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest.

Michael is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association and the Twin Cities Speculative Fiction Writers Network. He lives in Hopkins, Minnesota, with his wife and an ordained cat.

www.michaelmerriam.net.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Sometimes shorter is better! That was a great suggestion, thank you so much.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Very impressive.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[tiny-wings.livejournal.com]

Something like:

Born in Michigan, Michael Merriam spent most of his life in Oklahoma and Texas, before moving to Minnesota in 1999.

For the intro anyways.

[alaneer.livejournal.com]

I like it. Don't take anything out.

I always read the blurb, bio, acknowledgments, everything a writer puts between the cover.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section.

[cristalia.livejournal.com]

I'd take the dates out, but that may speak more to my notion of privacy than anything else.

Otherwise, it's great. :)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section.

bio input

[mojos-lady.livejournal.com]

I might change the second paragraph from:
"Like most writers, Michael has worked a variety of odd jobs over the years, including musician, short order cook, and freight logistics manager. In 2003, after being laid off and declared legally blind, Michael began writing again, rekindling a passion he had set aside nearly two decades earlier."
to
"Like most writers, Michael has spent many years researching his future novels by working a variety of jobs. In 2003, divine intervention, (being declared legally blind),forced him to put his years of research and observation of character interactions onto paper."

- I might also mention somewhere in the bio a bit about how you're a part-time god.

;)

Re: bio input

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input!

[mehub.livejournal.com]

I tend to agree with those who suggest leaving out the dates. I also agree that adding the ordained cat's name would add a bit more insight. I enjoy reading the author bios, acknowledgements, thank yous, etc. Thank you for sharing yours, and letting us see a little more of what makes you tick!

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input! I was worried that people don't read the "About the Author" section.