I wasn’t really expecting to do a Part 2 on this but over on the Threads app, follow me @janetheauthor, I discovered that a lot of people don’t want or need to know about the author who wrote the book they are reading. So perhaps this little mini-series I’ve been curating with the intention to introduce myself to people is going to do more harm than good.
However I thought I would go ahead and expand on everything I do look for, or read into when I read the ‘About the Author’ section at the back of a book.
Firstly, I mentioned that I look for whether an author is local to me. I come from a place that is heavily stereotyped, I am sure a lot of people are aware of the stereotypes that surround the place we live and it is very interesting to me to pick up books by local authors and read the very varied work that comes from them. Yesterday, I bought a work about my town and its history highlighting all the marginalised communities it is home to, it is a beautiful book but it is also indicative of how rich one town can be.
With this in mind although I don’t think it is necessary for authors to declare these values about themselves, I do find it impacts me to read own voices stories from own voices authors. When I have related to a book emotionally or superficially, i find it informative to turn to the back page and find out that the reason I did was because the author shared some of my values.
Another thing I look for is influences, some authors may state the writers or artists they read when they were starting out, or they may mention that they are also a journalist, a sculptor or a ballet dancer. I then look for this when reading their work, can I see those influences now that I am looking back?
One of the ‘About the Author’ pages that stuck with me recently is when Becky Chambers wrote that she hopes to see Earth from orbit one day. I had never thought about an Author including a dream, goal or ambition on this page, but I think they are so much a part of writing and creating. This really elevated her writing for me, as I felt that she was connected to space rather than grounded on Earth.
I am really hoping this becomes a new trend.
Although I understand that nowadays there is a push for authors to share more and more of themselves on social media, and that for many it is tiring and some wish for this to be reversed. For books to stand on their own merit without the need for writers to sell themselves in order to sell their books.
If you would like to read my own ‘About the Author’ page, you can find it at the back of my literary Novella Not All There available for pre-order now!