The about the author page: what readers do next.
The about the author page is read by the people who just finished your book, the readers most likely to want more of you. Here is where it goes, how long it should be, the one next step it should offer, examples by type of author, a fill-in template and the Amazon author page version.
What the page is, and how it differs from your bio
"About the author" is the page inside your book that introduces you, usually near the end. It is built from the same facts as your bio, but the reader is in a different place. Someone reading your bio in an event program or on a back cover is deciding whether to listen to you. Someone reading your about the author page has already listened, for two hundred pages. They do not need persuading that you know your subject. They want to know who you are and what to do if they want more.
That changes what the page is for. If your author bio earns attention, the about the author page turns finished readers into the next thing: a subscriber, a client, an event booking, a reader of your next book.
| Back cover or flap bio | About the author page | Amazon author page | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who reads it | A browser deciding whether to buy | A reader who just finished | A shopper, before buying |
| Its job | Make the book believable | Offer the next step | Make the author believable and show the other books |
| Length | About 50 words | 150 to 300 words | 100 to 200 words |
| Person | Third | Third, with a closing line that may speak to the reader | Third |
| Next step | Usually none | One, specific | The Follow button and your other books do this |
The lengths are working ranges, not rules. Use the space your designer gives you.
Where it sits and how long it is
In most nonfiction books, the about the author page sits in the back matter, after the acknowledgments, and is often the last page of text in the book. Some books also print a short bio on the back cover or the inside flap of a hardcover jacket. The two can coexist: a 50 word version outside, a longer one inside.
Keep the inside page to one printed page. That is usually 150 to 300 words, less if your designer adds your photo. One page means the reader sees the whole thing at once, including the next step at the bottom. If the page runs over, the next step lands on a page nobody turns to.
Photo or no photo is a design choice. If you include one, use the same main headshot as everywhere else, as the photo and look guide recommends, so a reader who meets you at an event recognizes you.
The next step: what readers do with it
A reader who reaches your about the author page has given you hours of attention. Many will close the book and never think about you again unless the page gives them something to do. The Scribe Method says the same of the conclusion: tell readers exactly what step to take next, and make it a valuable one, such as a free resource, a course or a community (read the chapter on conclusions). The about the author page is where that step gets an address.
Choose one, matched to why you wrote the book.
| If the book is for | The next step to offer | How to word it |
|---|---|---|
| Staying in touch with readers | A newsletter, with something useful for joining | "Get the worksheets from chapter four, and a short email each month, at [site]." |
| Winning clients | Your website's work-with-me page | "[Name] works with a small number of [clients] each year. Learn how at [site]." |
| Speaking | Your speaking page | "To bring [Name] to your event, visit [site]/speaking." |
| A cause or community | The organization or group | "Join [number of] [people] already doing this at [site]." |
Real authors do versions of this. Dr. Monifa McKnight told Author Hour she invites readers to subscribe on her website, where she sends guides on the leadership topics the book covers (listen to the episode). Paul Zak's The Little Book of Happiness includes a QR code for a free companion app, so readers can try the activities (listen to the episode). Shaan Patel's Prep Expert Digital SAT Playbook puts the offer on the front cover itself: free bonus chapters, practice tests and cheat sheets at prepexpert.com (read his story).
Why it matters: when someone buys your book from a retailer, you usually do not learn who they are. The next step on this page is how a reader introduces themselves to you.
Two practical rules. First, use an address you will own for years: your own domain, not a social profile that may change. Second, if the address is long, give a short web address that forwards to it, or a QR code your designer can place cleanly. Make sure the page it leads to works before the book goes to print, and keep it working. The author website guide covers what that page should say.
The structure, part by part
Who you are and who you help
One sentence, in the third person, using the exact words from your brand core: "[Name] helps [reader] [result]."
Why you wrote this book
One or two sentences on the moment or the work that led to it. The reader has just finished the book, so this can be more personal than a jacket bio.
The credential that matters most
One or two specific, checkable facts. Pick the ones that make the book's advice believable.
Your other work
Other books, a podcast, a program, a company. Only what a reader of this book would want.
A human detail
Where you live and one thing about your life outside work.
The next step
One sentence and one address. It can switch to speaking to the reader directly: "If this book helped, I would like to hear how."
About the author examples by type
Every example below is invented to show the pattern. None describes a real person or book.
Marcus Lee helps mid-sized manufacturers ship on time without adding headcount. He wrote Always a Week Late after twenty years as a plant manager, most of them spent explaining to customers why orders had slipped. The Late Order Audit in chapter three is the same five questions he uses with every client. Marcus lives outside Milwaukee, where he restores old tractors more slowly than he would like. He works with a small number of manufacturers each year. To see whether your plant is a fit, visit [site]/audit.
Dana Ruiz helps nursing leaders keep new graduate nurses through their first year. She ran medical-surgical units for fifteen years and started the new graduate residency program at her hospital, which she still leads. Through Year One is her first book. Dana trains charge nurses to run the Ten-Minute Round in workshops for hospitals and nursing associations. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, and runs half-marathons badly and happily. To bring the workshop to your hospital, visit [site]/workshops.
Priya Shah is a certified financial planner who has worked only with physicians for fifteen years. She wrote Paid Like a Doctor because the same three mistakes kept arriving in her office, years too late to fix easily. Her Three-Account System has helped her clients save without a budget. She lives in Denver with her husband and two loud dogs. Each month Priya sends a one-page money note for doctors in their first ten years of practice. The templates from chapter five are free when you sign up at [site].
Ellen Burke ran her family's bakery in Providence until it closed in its third generation. At 52 she started over, and Day-Old Bread is the record of what she learned. She now speaks to small business groups about failure without shame, and hosts a monthly online meeting for owners who have closed a business and are deciding what comes next. If that is you, you are welcome. Details are at [site].
Each example keeps the same order: who, why, proof, a human detail, then one next step. Notice that none of them lists every job or award. The book has already done the convincing.
A fill-in template
[Name] helps [who you help] [the result you promise].
[He/She/They] wrote [Title] after [the moment or work that led to the book].
[One or two specific, checkable credentials.] [Other work a reader of this book would want: another book, a podcast, a program.]
[Name] lives in [city or region], where [one human detail].
[One sentence offering the next step.] [Address: your-domain.com/page]
Get the first and third lines from your bio. If you have not written one yet, the bio builder drafts a 50, 100 and 200 word version from your facts; start from the 100 word version and add the "why" and the next step.
The Amazon author page version
Your author page on Amazon is a separate thing, managed through Amazon Author Central. The facts below come from Amazon's own help pages, checked on October 21, 2026.
- Joining is free. Amazon's KDP help page on Author Central walks through signing up with the "Join for free" button, using your KDP account.
- You claim the page through a book. You search for one of your books by ISBN, ASIN or author name and confirm you are joining as that author.
- What you can add. Amazon's Author Central help lists adding your books, a biography in multiple languages, and photos and videos.
- Readers can follow you. The Follow button appears on your Author Page and your book's detail page. Followers can be notified of new releases or pre-orders if the book is eligible and they have agreed to Amazon marketing emails.
- Where it applies. Full Author Central support covers Amazon.com, .co.uk, .de, .fr, .co.jp and .com.br. In some other marketplaces your Author Page is created from your US information and cannot currently be edited there.
- Editorial reviews for your books can be added in Author Central in the US only.
Sources: Kindle Direct Publishing help, Author Central; Amazon Author Central help. Both checked October 21, 2026. Amazon changes these pages; check them before you rely on a detail.
How to write it: the Amazon page is read before purchase, so write it like your bio, not like the back-of-book page. Use the 100 or 200 word third-person version, open with who you help and the result, and put the strongest credential in the second sentence. Use the same main headshot. Leave out the reader-to-reader closing line; a shopper has not read you yet. The Follow button and your list of books already give Amazon visitors a next step, so the bio's job is to make them want to take it.
A final check
- The first sentence uses the same words for your reader and promise as your bio, website and LinkedIn headline.
- It fits on one printed page, next step included.
- There is exactly one next step, and the address works today.
- The address is on a domain you own and will keep.
- The photo, if any, is your current main headshot.
- Every credential is specific and checkable.
- Your Amazon author page uses the 100 or 200 word third-person bio, not the back-of-book text.
Then add the page to your yearly review in the consistency checklist. A printed book cannot be updated as easily as a website, which is one more reason to point readers to an address you control.
Draft the bio it is built from
The bio builder turns your facts into short, medium and long versions in your browser. Start from the medium one.
Sources: The Scribe Method, Outline the conclusion; author tactics from the linked Author Hour episodes and Scribe success story; Amazon details as cited above. All other people and books on this page are invented examples.