Thoughts on Port Bio-Blocks

Thoughts on Port Bio-Blocks

Today I received another email in my writing.com inbox, reminding me again to update my bio-block in my port. I’m sure many of us have deleted that email without even opening it. The subject line told us what it was about. Maybe the bio-block was updated recently, but maybe it is sitting blank. It’s been a long time since I looked at the public view of my port and saw the message posted there.

About five weeks ago, I became curious about what my fellow writers and readers think about bio-blocks. After all, since most of us will never meet, that might be our only clue to the person behind those words. I don’t believe a writer can be known only through their words; horror writers are a good example of why that doesn’t always work. I posted a poll, asking "Invalid Item"  to find out.

I am happy to share with the folks who neglect their bio-block that it is not affecting your reviews. Most members told me a blank bi-block doesn’t impact their decision to review items by that specific author. Many are following request links from the Request Reviews or Plug Page forums. They are more concerned with a good description on the item. There were even a few who had no idea what I was talking about.

That’s not to say there are not some members who will exit your port in favour of the next one over a blank bio-block. I found their emails very revealing. Disappointing, anti-social, careless and lazy were descriptions repeated numerous times. It’s about attitude. It only takes a moment to add something and, if you don’t care about that author’s note, are you going to care about the little details of your writing? This comment made me sad every time it came up.

I didn’t expect many comments on the completed bio-block since it wasn’t my focus. To my surprise and delight, I got more comments on the positives of the filled in block than anything else. Reviewers want to read that bio to help them tailor their review appropriately. No one wants to give a harsh review to a very young author or a writer who is not writing in their mother tongue. Context is helpful as well; a serious writer in pursuit of publication may be reviewed more critically that a casual writer. My favourite reason to have something fun listed is this: when someone is going to your port to add you as one of their favourite writers, they will see your bio-block

I checked my bio-block today and added a line to it. It can’t hurt.