Writing Your Writers Profile

The professional profile, as opposed to the amateur profile, is written using the style called the third person. The third person style is written as though someone else is writing a profile about you. Commonly, your name or he/she is used.

An amateur profile, on the other hand, is all about “I” and “me”. Example: “I live on the East Coast of Florida and I have lived here for over 10 years.”

The third person style would be:  “Angelo lives on the East Coast of Florida. He has been living there over 10 years.”

Not much of a difference (you would think); just the change of a few words. The third person style, if written for your writer’s profile, however, gives the reader the impression (true or false) that you know what you are talking about.

Below are several examples. The information has been changed and is not factual.

Example 1

Amateur:

I have been writing for Triond since April, 2009. Most of the articles I write have to do with how to craft using seashells. I graduated from Lane Tech High School and attended the local college for a year or two. Although I do not have any formal education (college degree), I have always wanted to write.

Professional:

Angelo has been writing for Triond since April, 2009. His writings include articles on “how to” craft with seashells. Angelo graduated from Lane Tech High School and attended the local college. He does not have a formal degree but has always wanted to write.

Example 2

Amateur:

I like writing about natural places, the beach, and beach cities. I have over 10 years of experience as a writer for a variety of magazines and websites. Writing is my passion, and I am always looking for topics to write about. I attended Florida State University and now live near the Treasure Coast of Florida.

Professional:

Angelo’s writing is mainly about natural places, the beach and beach cities. He has 10+ years of experience as a writer for magazines and websites including Triond. He attended Florida State University and now lives near the Treasure Coast of Florida.

Example 3

Amateur:

I am an award-winning author. I started writing in 1990, and my works have been published in USAToday.com, Philosophy, and Science. I love to write about current politics, golf, fishing, and meditation. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Philosophy University.

Professional:

Angelo Rodriguez is an award-winning author who started his writing career in 1990. His works have been published in USAToday.com, Philosophy, and Sports magazine. His writings include articles on current politics, golf, fishing, and meditation. He possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Philosophy University.

The best professional profiles are only 3 – 4 sentences long. They do not contain a lot of extra information. Sometimes one more sentence is added that may be a link to the writer’s blog, a website, or another writing site. Websites may not allow publishers to promote their own places, therefore it is probably wise to make it the last sentence in your profile.  

Some amateurs put everything under the sun in their profile. They may list all the members of their family, and even all their pets. Sometimes they include long lists of website links (you know http:// this and that). In In researching the creation of my own profile I found a few sites with over 5 links (one profile I saw had 15 links).

Poetry, short stories, and essays do not belong in your writer’s profile. Even if they are well written and entertaining, they don’t belong there. Keep your “about me” profile about you.

If you really feel that you need to have all that information available to everyone on the web, set up a blog. Wordpress and Blogger are two sites that will allow you to set up blogs for free. After you set up your blog, add the link to the last sentence of your profile (see example below).

For more information about Angelo, visit “blog or website name.” 

You could also use the blog to expose readers to your poetry, stories, your article links and whatever else you may think of.

In summary, keep your profile short and sweet, and always write in the third person.