A One Sentence Summary

I've mentioned before that to become a writer involves building a platform. This basically means creating necessary connections—or a tribe of folks—who may one day have an interest in reading your book. New writers are strongly urged to build their platform before a publisher will barely even glance at their work.

I've been agonizing for months over one part of my platform—a biographical sentence. Now this may sound easy—but believe me—it's not. Let me explain.

Try to describe your purpose, existence, passion, mission, and goal in one sentence. And make sure when you're done, the reader knows what you do, why you do it, and what you bring unique to the world.

After attending my last writing conference, seeking insight from close family and friends, and experimenting with several hundred sentences, I came up with this-

Cultivating hope through hardship, Tammy Van Gils plants words, fertilizes with insight, and yields stories of transforming life's bruises into blossoms.

But honestly, it still didn't quite feel right.

So I prayed my Gideon prayer and asked Jesus for a sign. I mean, He is the Word and thus, the greatest writer ever. Surely He knows what is best.

Now I love God's sense of humor because this time, He literally answered my prayer with a sign. While walking in a local Christian bookstore, I discovered this sign on the half-price table.

Yep, I laughed, bought it, and hung it in my kitchen.

Using the message delivered on a literal sign, my new bio sentence bloomed. Although, it feels more like a birthing.

Living the garden life, 

Tammy Van Gils plants words and sprouts insightful stories blooming with hope.

Now this is where I wish we sat across from each other and I could look you in the eye. If you're curious why this this exact wording resonates with me, click on the links in the first line of my bio at the end of this blog and discover why. 

What do you think of this bio sentence? Does it resonate with my blog posts? Do you feel like you know me better after you read it?

I really need feedback. You can post them below, or email me, or message me on Facebook. I'd be indebted for your opinion and your time.

Have you ever had to write a summation of yourself or a bio sentence before? Please share it. I'm curious and excited to learn more about you.

Tweetable-- Importance of making a #writer's bio sentence. #amwriting #socialmedia (click to Tweet)

Living the Garden Life, Tammy Van Gils plants words and sprouts insightful stories blooming with hope. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Word Weavers International, and The Christian Writers Hub. Enjoy a visit to her Authors Facebook Page, Pinterest and Twitter @Tammyvangils. Subscribe to her blog, Writing Hope for the Everblooming Life and enter a monthly drawing for a free book. She's honored to be a Contributor to When Nature Sings Devotion Book, Worthy Publishing Group Dec 2016 and to be a guest blogger for Guideposts- A Military Mom Struggles With God's Will, Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference - Are you a Warrior Writer? And How to Grow into an Outstanding Word Showing Writer.