Bio Writing: Understanding The Creative Process

Clients sometimes ask writers, “Why do you need five hours to write a one-page bio?”
This is definitely a fair question to ask a writer who’s given you an hourly estimate that seems surprisingly high to you. We understand that the process is not all that familiar to the general public, and people feel far more at ease with their buying decisions if they fully understand what they are getting for their money.
Although it’s true that a writer could, if he had to, write a bio in less than five hours, it may not reflect his best work. Here’s why:
First, before he/she can begin to write your bio, the writer needs to talk with you. The interview itself usually takes an hour to an hour and a half. So there’s two hours spent already.
Next, the creative process takes time. If you give a bio writer an assignment, and only give him/her one hour to complete it, they will be forced to pick the first direction that comes to mind and proceed in that direction, focused on finishing. That’s fine. It could be very productive and many writers could certainly take on many more projects if they worked that way. It would probably be an okay piece of writing. You’ll never really know how much better it could have been…
On the other hand, if you allow a few more hours, Your bio writer can tinker with it, and explore a few possible avenues, and see what ideas develop by playing with the wordings and concepts. There is a brainstorming process that has to be allowed the time to happen. As we toy with different ideas, combine them, or explore the opposite spectrum, and try things on without committing to them, dissect the piece a dozen different ways until its true natural form starts to take shape. Then, you stand a much better chance of getting the writer’s best work. You’ll ultimately end up with a really great, original piece of writing… which you fully deserve.
So while it is true that the physical process of writing a page of text takes but a mere few minutes, the preparation and creative process takes a lot longer. If you’re looking for a writer who will pump out large volumes of content at reduced rates, they are out there. But if you seek a piece of writing that will hit home, resonate, and leave your reader stricken, then please respect the creative process, and allow your writer the time needed to deliver the end product that you were promised.