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What is a Byline And Where Do You Put it in Your Article?

• February 26, 2024
• blogging , Freelancing Tips

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What is a byline, the importance of the byline | attributing authorship and building trust, what are the different types of bylines in writing, where can i put a byline, how to write a byline.

Have you ever flipped through a magazine or scrolled through news articles and wondered, “Who wrote this captivating piece?” The answer often lies in a simple yet crucial element: the byline.

This seemingly small detail carries significant weight, both for writers and readers alike. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the world of bylines, exploring their meaning, purpose, and best practices for placement.

Whether you’re a seasoned writer or embarking on your writing journey, understanding the power of the byline is essential.

It not only credits the individual behind the words but also serves as a key element in building an authorial brand and fostering trust with readers.

So, buckle up as we unveil the byline’s significance and guide you on where to strategically place it within your articles.

Read Also: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing a Memoir: Finding Your Story

In an article, a byline is a line of text that identifies the author of the piece. It typically appears either below the title or at the end of the article and can include the following information:

• Author’s name:  This is the most common element of a byline.
• Title or credentials:  Sometimes, the byline might also mention the author’s title (e.g., Dr., Professor, etc.) or relevant academic or professional qualifications.
• Brief bio:  In some instances, particularly for online content or guest posts, the byline can include a brief author bio outlining their expertise, experience, or other relevant information.

The purpose of a byline is multifaceted:

• Credits the author:  It acknowledges the creator’s effort, expertise, and unique perspective in crafting the piece.
• Builds trust with readers:  By knowing who wrote the article, readers gain a sense of the writer’s voice, experience, and perspective, fostering trust and credibility.
• Establishes an authorial brand:  Consistent use of bylines helps authors build a recognizable name and reputation, making them more sought-after for future writing opportunities.
• Provides context and credibility:  In certain contexts, a byline can add important context to the content, especially if it comes from a subject-matter expert or a reputable journalist.

There are various forms of bylines depending on the platform and context, including:

• Simple byline:  Just the author’s name.
• Enhanced byline:  Includes additional information like titles, credentials, or a brief bio.
• Company byline:  Used for content created by a team or organization.
• Anonymous byline:  Used for content where the author’s identity isn’t revealed.
• Ghostwritten byline:  Credits the individual or entity for whom the content was created, not the actual writer.

By understanding the significance of bylines, their various forms, and best practices for placement, you can effectively utilize this tool to establish your identity as a writer, build trust with your audience, and confidently navigate the writing landscape.

At its core, a byline identifies the author of a written piece. It typically consists of the writer’s name, though it can sometimes include additional information like their title, qualifications, or a brief bio. This seemingly simple attribution serves several important purposes.

1. Crediting the Creator: First and foremost, the byline acknowledges the writer’s contribution. It recognizes their effort, expertise, and unique perspective in crafting the piece. This sense of accountability fosters a sense of ownership and pride in the writer, motivating them to produce high-quality content.

2. Building Trust with Readers: A byline establishes a connection between the author and the reader. By understanding who authored the piece, readers understand the writer’s voice, experience, and perspective. This transparency can build trust and credibility, encouraging readers to engage with the content and potentially seek out more of the author’s work.

3. Establishing an Authorial Brand: Bylines become building blocks for an author’s professional identity. By consistently publishing articles with proper bylines, writers begin to build a recognizable name and reputation within their chosen field. This brand recognition becomes valuable, making writers more sought-after and potentially attracting freelance opportunities or future collaborations.

4. Providing Context and Credibility: In certain contexts, a byline can also add significant context and credibility to the content. For example, an article written by a subject matter expert or a reputable journalist carries more weight in the reader’s eyes compared to an anonymous piece.

Read Also: How Much To Charge For Copywriting | Rates In 2024

While the core purpose of identifying the author remains constant, bylines can manifest in various forms depending on the platform and context. Here are some common variations:

1. Simple Byline: This is the most basic format, typically consisting only of the author’s name. It’s prevalent in online publications, newspapers, and magazine articles.

2. Enhanced Byline: Beyond the name, this format can include additional information such as the author’s title, credentials, or a brief bio. This is often seen in guest posts, expert articles, or personal blogs where authors want to establish their expertise or build their online presence.

3. Company Byline: In some cases, particularly with content generated by a team or organization, the byline might reflect the entity instead of a specific individual. This is common for corporate blogs, press releases, or industry publications.

4. Anonymous Byline: While less common, certain publications or platforms might choose to publish content under an anonymous byline. This can be due to safety concerns, protecting the author’s anonymity, or adhering to editorial policies.

5. Ghostwritten Byline: Some situations involve ghostwriting, where the writer’s name is not officially credited, and the byline might attribute the work to the individual or entity for whom the content was created.

When deciding which byline format to use, consider the following factors:

• Publication Guidelines:  Always consult the platform’s or publication’s specific guidelines regarding byline format and placement.
• Article Purpose:  If your article aims to establish your expertise or build your brand, an enhanced byline with additional information might be beneficial.
• Audience Context:  Consider your target audience and what information might be most relevant and informative for them.

A byline is a short text that appears at the beginning of an article or news story, typically just below the headline. It credits the author or authors of the piece. By providing readers with the name of the person or people who wrote the article, a byline establishes credibility and accountability.

The byline usually includes the author’s full name, but it can also include their professional title, affiliation, or social media handles. In some cases, the byline may also include a brief description of the author’s background or expertise.

Bylines are commonly used in newspapers, magazines, websites, and other forms of media to identify the author of a particular piece of content. They help readers understand who is responsible for the information presented and allow them to make informed judgments about the credibility and reliability of the source.

In terms of placement, the byline is typically located at the beginning of the article, either directly below the headline or slightly to the right. This placement ensures that readers can easily identify the author and understand who is responsible for the content they are about to read.

Related: Mastering the Essentials in Writing: A Guide to Effective Communication

Now that we’ve explored different byline formats, let’s delve into the question of placement. Generally, there are two main locations where bylines are positioned:

1. Below the Title: This is the most frequent placement, appearing directly under the article’s title. It offers immediate recognition for the author, drawing attention to their name early on.

2. At the End of the Article: This placement is typically found in shorter articles, blog posts, or online content. It can be integrated into a brief author bio or a dedicated “About the Author” section below the article’s closing paragraph.

Ultimately, the preferred placement may vary depending on the platform, article format, and specific editorial preferences. However, the key is to ensure consistency within your own work and adhere to the guidelines of the publishing platform.

Here are some additional tips for effective byline placement:

• Maintain consistency:  If you have a preferred format and placement, stick to it for all your publications. This helps build brand recognition and ensures easy identification by your readers.
• Consider visual appeal:  When formatting your byline, pay attention to font size, alignment, and overall aesthetics. Ensure it complements the article’s overall design and remains visually appealing within the layout.
• Optimize for searchability:  If your byline includes your website or social media links, ensure they are clickable and optimized for search engines. This can help readers learn more about you and potentially find your other work.

By understanding the significance of bylines, their various forms, and best practices for placement, you can effectively utilize this tool to establish your identity as a writer, build trust with your audience, and navigate the publishing landscape with confidence. Remember, a well-crafted byline is more than just a name; it’s a sign of ownership, credibility, and a gateway for connecting with your readers on a deeper level.

Whether you’re a novice in the freelance writing arena or a seasoned professional, nailing your byline is crucial. Check out our key recommendations:

• Limit your byline to two or three concise sentences.
• Aim for approximately 50 words.
• Include a high-quality image reflecting your confidence, warmth, and authority.
• Highlight your expertise without overtly promoting your services.
• Infuse personality or a relevant fun fact.
• Provide links to incentives from your product or service range, such as free templates, courses, or recipes.
• Link to your blog or website’s landing page.
• Customize your byline for each publication, ensuring relevance.

Crafting a brief and impactful byline is essential. Readers are drawn to your content for insights and expertise, with information about the author serving as an added bonus. Use powerful words like “effective,” “reputation,” “specialist,” and “mission,” tailoring them to the publication’s tone. Consider the target audience; a financial journal demands a different language than a parenting life hacks blog or a classic motorcycle magazine.

Your choice of photo also plays a role in shaping readers’ perceptions. A confident first impression fosters trust in your words.

Leverage your byline to guide readers to more of your content by including links to your website’s homepage or blog landing page, enhancing your freelance writing following.

Check Also: 27 Best Books On Writing To Make You A Top Writer

The modest byline, often overlooked, holds immense significance for both writers and readers. It acknowledges the author’s contribution, fosters trust with audiences, and lays the groundwork for building a recognizable name in the writing landscape.

By understanding the different forms of bylines, choosing the appropriate placement, and maximizing their potential through various strategies, you can transform this simple element into a powerful tool for your writing career.

Remember, a well-crafted byline is more than just a name printed on paper or displayed on a screen. It’s a mark of ownership, a symbol of credibility, and a gateway to connect with your readers on a deeper level.

So, embrace the power of the byline, use it strategically, and watch your journey as a writer blossom into a vibrant and impactful career.

As you embark on this path, remember to stay curious, keep learning, and most importantly, never stop writing!

A byline is a line of text that identifies the author of a written piece, typically found below the title or at the end of an article. It can include the author’s name, title, credentials, or a brief bio.

Bylines are important for several reasons: They credit the author:  They acknowledge the writer’s contribution and effort. They build trust with readers:  Knowing the author helps readers assess credibility and connect with the author’s voice. They establish an authorial brand:  Consistent use of bylines helps writers build recognition and reputation. They can provide context:  In some cases, the author’s expertise can add context or significance to the content.

Simple byline:  Just the author’s name. Enhanced byline:  Includes additional information like titles, credentials, or a brief bio. Company byline:  Used for content created by a team or organization. Anonymous byline:  Used for content where the author’s identity isn’t revealed. Ghostwritten byline:  Credits the individual or entity for whom the content was created, not the actual writer.

There are two main options for placing your byline: Below the title:  This is the most common placement, offering immediate recognition for the author. At the end of the article:  Typically found in shorter pieces or online content, often within an “About the Author” section.

Here are some ways to maximize your byline: Share your published work on social media:  Promote your work and draw attention to your authorship. Include a call to action:  Add a link to your website or portfolio in your byline. Engage with readers:  Respond to comments and questions to build a community. Track your progress:  Monitor the reach and engagement of your published articles. Network and build relationships:  Use your byline as a conversation starter with potential collaborators or editors.

• https://elnacain.com
• https://thecyphersagency.com
• https://knowadays.com/blog/what-are-bylines-and-how-to-write-one/

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What Are Bylines? (And How to Write One)

• By  Lynn Godson
• Nov 03, 2023
• Freelance Tips

Share this article:

If you write blog posts, articles, or news stories, you’re likely to come across the term byline . For a freelance writer, a byline is a way to take full credit for your work, get your name out there, and add to your portfolio .

But what is a byline, exactly?

This blog post will explain exactly what a byline is, why you need one, and how to write one.

What Is a Byline?

A byline is a line that tells readers who has written a piece of content (such as a blog post or article). At the very least, it comprises the author’s name, but a great byline can contain much more than that. Some bylines are more like mini-bios and may include a summary of the author’s background, a photograph, and contact information.

What Are the Benefits of Bylines?

As a freelance writer, it can be difficult to get your work noticed, but a byline can really help.

Your byline not only tells readers that you wrote a particular piece of content; it also gives them an insight into your areas of expertise . It allows you to establish credibility in that area and, in turn, develop a readership who trust your opinions.

Your byline also actively associates you with the brands and publications you write for. If that brand or publication is trusted, you are more likely to be trusted – so it’s a great way to boost your reputation. You are more likely to reach an audience of people who are interested in your particular area of expertise (whether that’s readers or potential clients). All of this can increase demand for what you do and the services you offer. Just keep in mind that readers tend to attribute the values of a publication to its writers, so take care that you do actually want to be associated with their values!

Finally, bylines help you build your portfolio. When seeking new writing opportunities, you need to be able to share examples of your work with potential clients. Clients want reassurance that you have the right knowledge and experience to deliver on their brief . Examples of previous work are the best way to showcase your skills and provide that reassurance.

How to Write a Byline

Whether you’re new to freelance writing or have plenty of experience, it’s important to get your byline right. Here are our top tips:

• Keep your byline to two or three sentences.
• Use around 50 words.
• Include a high-quality image that shows your confident, warm, and authoritative self.
• Emphasis your expertise but don’t try to sell your services.
• Show your personality or add in a fun fact, if it seems appropriate for the publication.
• Link to an incentive from your service or product range, such as a free template, course, or recipe.
• Link to a landing page for your blog or your website.
• Tailor your byline to each publication. Relevance is key.

It’s important to keep your byline short and punchy. People come to your article primarily because they want to read your content and learn from your expertise. Getting to know a little about you as the author is a great add-on, but it’s not their priority. So, what you say in your byline needs to be impactful.

Use strong words, such as “effective,” “reputation,” “specialist,” and “mission.” If you’re writing for an informal publication, add in adjectives that show your lighter side. There are thousands of dull bylines out there already. Don’t add to their number!

Focus carefully on the type of publication you’re writing for. A byline for a financial journal will contain very different vocabulary than a byline for a blog on life hacks for busy parents or for a magazine on classic motorcycles.

Your choice of photo is another means of influencing your readers toward seeking out more of your writing. If their first impression of you is confident, they’re more likely to have confidence in what you say.

Your byline is a great opportunity to direct readers to more of your content, so add in your website’s homepage or blog landing page, with an incentive if that’s appropriate. Your byline can really help you to build a following for your freelance writing.

Three Byline Examples

Our first example, from US Today , just gives the writer’s name, as is common in newspapers, whether online or in print.

The next example, from The Guardian , gives the writer’s name and a photo. The author’s name is a clickable link, which directs the reader to a portfolio of the author’s previous work for the publication.

This example, from the online version of the UK’s Motorcycle News , gives information about the writer’s role and his relevant interests. Much like the example above, the author’s name is a clickable link that takes the reader to a more in-depth bio, examples of previous work, and contact details.

Becoming a Freelance Writer

A good byline is the writer’s equivalent of a business card. We hope that, after reading our blog post, you’re ready to write your own!

If freelance writing is your dream career, let our Becoming A Freelance Writer course inspire you to realize that dream! The course covers everything you need to know to go from amateur wordsmith to full-fledged professional. Why not give it a go for free?

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What Is an Article Byline?

The byline tells the reader who wrote the article

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In design, a byline is a short phrase that indicates the name of the author of an article in a publication. Used in newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other publications, the byline tells the reader who wrote the piece.  

In addition to giving credit where credit is due, a byline adds a level of legitimacy to the article; if a piece has a byline from an experienced writer with a good reputation, it's a sign of credibility for the reader.

Bylines in Online Articles

When the byline appears on an article on a website, it's often accompanied by a hyperlink to the writer's website, email address, or social media handle, or even to another web page on that same site that's full of information on that writer.

This isn't necessarily a standard practice; if a writer is a freelancer or not on staff with the publication in question, there might be no obligation to link to their outside work.

Bylines in Newspapers and Other Publications

Bylines on paper usually appear after the headline or subhead of an article but before the dateline or body copy. It's almost always prefaced by the word "by" or some other wording that indicates that the piece of information is the name of the author.

Difference Between Bylines and Taglines

A byline should not be confused with a tagline, which usually appears at the bottom of an article.

When an author credit appears at the end of the article, sometimes as part of a mini-bio of the author, this is usually referred to as a tagline. Taglines generally serve as complements to bylines. Usually, the top of an article is not a place where a publication wants lots of visual clutter, so things like dates or the writer's area of expertise are saved for the tagline area at the end of the copy.

A tagline may be used if a second writer (other than the one in the byline) contributed to an article but was not responsible for the majority of the work. Taglines also may be used to provide additional information about the author such as his or her email address or phone number.

If the tagline is positioned at the bottom of the article, it's usually accompanied by a couple of sentences giving the writer's credentials or biography. Usually, the author's name is bold or in a large font, and differentiated from the body text by a box or other graphics.

The Appearance of a Byline

The byline is a simple element. It's distinct from the headline and body copy and should be set apart but does not require a prominent design element like a box or a large font.

Here are some byline examples:

• By John Q. Public
• Written by John Q. Public
• John Doe, Political Correspondent
• John Doe, as told to John Q. Public
• By John Doe, MD

After you decide on a style — font, size, weight, alignment, and format — for bylines in the publication you're working on, be consistent. Your bylines should look uniform and be unobtrusive unless there's a compelling reason to prominently highlight the writer's name. 

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How to write a byline

Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels

• By Edwin L. Battistella
• October 9 th 2020

A while back, I wrote a post on how to write a biography , with some tips for long-form writing about historical and public figures. However, that’s not the only kind of biographical writing you might be called upon to do. You might need to write about yourself.

Many people are comfortable writing a personal bio of about two hundred words, but it can be surprisingly tricky to write a short byline for use in a newspaper, magazine, web article, or announcement for a talk. Here are a few tips.

Keep it short: The challenge of a byline is not just what to say but what to leave out. We’ve all suffered though dreary introductions that go on way too long. A byline is not a résumé. More is not always better.

Be yourself, but without the boring parts and with some sass: When I teach writing for publication, I ask students to craft a handful of 12-15 word bylines on the first day. Here are some examples, where writers both exhibit personality and give readers something to ponder.

Aurora loves jogging, juggling, and haggling, not necessarily in that order. Joni plans a career in publishing once she is finished staring into the abyss. Brian is trying not to say “um” any more than is absolutely necessary. Cassidy is an incredibly sleep-deprived Pisces with a mild Twitter addiction. Readers can identify with these personal characteristics.

Build credibility indirectly: So-and-so “is the award-winning author of” is fine for some audiences, but often an interesting personal detail is a more engaging way to build your credibility. You can paint a picture:

Jasper Fforde recently traded a varied career in the film industry for vacantly staring out the window and arranging words on a page.

You can offer authority and authenticity, as these two mystery/thriller writers do:

John Straley, a criminal investigator for the state of Alaska, lives in Sitka, with his son and wife, a marine biologist who studies whales. April Henry knows how to kill you in a two-dozen different ways. She makes up for a peaceful childhood in an intact home by killing off fictional characters.

Consider the audience and occasion: You can—and you should—tailor your byline for particular audiences. What aspect of your background can you emphasize to make a connection to your audience? When I include that I’m from central New Jersey or that I own more dictionaries than anyone needs, I almost always get a reaction.

Use a byline to keep your focus: When you begin a piece of writing, consider writing a byline as your first step. The byline establishes a persona and defines your voice in the piece.

A student of mine, writing on the ways that millennials are revitalizing the plant industry, started with this byline, which gave her a voice to navigate the botany and economics of her topic.

Laura Becker is a tail-end millennial from California and currently resides in Oregon. She enjoys reading, spending time with her fur baby Ponyo, and watering her plants. When she isn’t doing one of those things, she can be found browsing Etsy or Amazon for her next plant.

When in doubt: If you are s tuck on a byline, make a list of your favorite things to do, places to go, or things to eat. Look through some old photos or memorabilia, or through your closet.

Browse your bookshelves to borrow from other writers. Here’s one from poet Zeke Hudson, that I really wish I had thought of:

Zeke Hudson is… he’s uh… well, he’s usually much better at writing bios. This one’s a real clunker. You can see some of his better bios in Wend Poetry, Nightblock, and Banango Street , or in his chapbook from Thrush Press . Sorry everyone.

What’s your twelve-word byline?

Featured image by Rishabh Sharma via Unsplash

As an undergraduate,  Edwin Battistella was the world's worst Russian major. Linguistics came along just in time. His books include  Bad Language: Are Some Words Better than Others? ,  Sorry About That: The Language of Public Apology ,  and   Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels: Insulting the President, from Washington to Trump .

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Quite interesting! Useful instructions.

Thank you so much for the amazing insights that you have shared with us, indeed the tips that you shared are quite unique and amazing will surely share this with my friends and family as well.

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What Are Author Bios and Bylines and How to Write Them (+ Examples)

• Updated on Dec 05, 2023
• No Comments

This page contains affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

Since I started publishing in magazines and websites owned by somebody else, I’ve had to consider these terms. If you’re a writer, I bet you’ve heard about them yourself. So, today, let’s look at what they are, why and when you need them, and how to write them.

And then, we’ll wrap up with some author bio examples for inspiration.

The Difference Between Author Bios and Bylines

A lot of people confuse author bios and bylines. Believe it or not, I’ve seen some bloggers literally say that bylines and bios are the same thing. They are NOT.

A byline is just the author’s name while a bio includes the name of the author and a paragraph with an overview of the author’s identity and/or accomplishments.

So, first thing first, let’s define a byline and a bio clearly and see how they’re different from each other.

What is an author’s byline?

The screenshot below is an example of a byline from the online magazine Splice Today . The byline with the author’s name (mine!) is in gray in between the headline (title) and the subheading.

In other words, a byline is simply the author’s name and nothing more.

Exceptions to bylines:

• Sometimes, especially in online publications such as personal blogs where there’s only one author—the owner of the blog website—they may choose not to publish their name in every single blog post. In this case, there are no bylines. However, in this scenario, the author’s identity is obvious even without the byline.
• Ghostwriters never get a byline because that is the nature of ghostwriting. These writers’ names are hidden, or they write under someone else’s name. In the latter case, this “someone else” may get a byline even though they’re not the original author.

The screenshot below is from Neil Patel’s blog. Here, there is no byline, but it is clear that Neil Patel is the writer because it is his website. We also see his bio in the sidebar (we’ll talk about author bios in a minute!) and his photos are splashed all over the website, making it obvious who the author is.

However, is it really Neil Patel who wrote this article? Is it possible that a hired/contracted ghostwriter has written this post? We’ll never know because there’s no byline!

Why should you care about bylines?

A byline is proof that you’re the author of a piece of writing. To us writers, bylines help us create our writing portfolios. We need them for our resumes.

If you pitch an editor of The New York Times and tell them you have bylines in The Atlantic and The Washington Post, they’ll likely pay it more attention than a total rando with no bylines.

Even in the world of bloggers, bylines can be handy, especially if you’re a freelance blogger/content writer. SaaS and UX writers, for example, can benefit from having bylines on websites like Zapier, GoDaddy Garage, HubSpot, etc. The reason why so many writers covet guest posts, even when it’s labor without monetary compensation, is for this very reason — they want to build up their writing portfolio.

Without a byline, there’s no proof of your accomplishments. Nobody will know what you’re capable of or if you’re worth hiring or commissioning.

So, unless you’re ghostwriting for a hefty payment, make sure all your writing comes with a byline. Otherwise, there’s no point in publishing in a magazine or blog that isn’t your own.

Should you have a byline in your own blog?

Depends on your personal taste.

In any case, on your own website, you should make it perfectly clear that whatever is written comes from you or has your approval. Basically, you are responsible and accountable for everything that is published on your website.

For example, in Neil Patel’s blog, even though there’s no byline, it is abundantly clear that it is indeed his website. His images are splashed all over the site. His face is basically the brand of his business. No matter who is writing these blog posts, it’s Neil’s words.

Personally, I like having a byline on The Side Blogger . This also allows me to commission other writers or have guest bloggers from time to time and they all publish under their own bylines. So, having a consistent design across the site where you always see the author’s name in every single article is useful.

Now, let’s talk about author bios.

What is an author bio?

The image below shows the author bio of Si Quan Ong who writes on Ahrefs blog .

In blogs or online magazines and news outlets, you may see the author bio in a few different ways:

• In a website, an author bio may not appear alongside the article. But, the byline may be hyperlinked with the author’s bio page (as in, when you click the author’s name, it takes you to a separate page that has the author’s bio and a list of articles they have published on that website.)
• A website may have the author’s bio alongside their article(s) on the same page. It may appear in the sidebar or under the article.
• Some websites have an author page that lists all the articles published by that author on that website, but no bio.
• Some other websites have the byline only and no bio or author page.

Do you need an author bio?

Author bios are typically built into the website’s larger system. Some websites have them. Others don’t. And they’re not nearly as important as a byline. Even if you do not have a bio, your byline proves your authorship of a piece of writing.

To give you an example, I’ve written several pieces for Splice Today and my author page simply includes a list of articles and no bio. But that’s fine. That’s how all of their author pages look like and I don’t care whether or not they include my bio.

But, if a website has author bios built into their system, then they’ll ask you for one. And when they do, you must provide it. And since it’ll be on that website, you better do a good job and not send over a sloppy paragraph, right?

Author bio specifications

All websites have their own specifications for author bios, and they’ll let you know what these are. If you’re writing for a website and they have author bios (do a little research before you pitch them or send over a piece of writing) and they haven’t given you specs, then feel free to ask for these.

Typical specifications include:

• Whether or not you’ll need to give them a profile photo, and if so, what are the required dimensions?
• Is there a minimum and/or maximum word/character count?

How to write an author bio

There’s no rule for writing author bios and it depends entirely on what you’re trying to achieve.

As I said earlier, the byline is the most important thing for a writer; the bio is a sweet extra.

What to include in an author bio:

I’ve seen writers include one or more of the following in their author bios.

• Personal details (pronouns, sexuality, BIPOC denomination, or whatever establishes their identity, personality, background, etc.)
• Past publications
• Author’s social media and/or website
• Author’s location (it doesn’t have to be specific, just the state/province or even just the country is fine.)

Author bio examples

Let’s look at a few author bio examples, shall we?

A mini resume

Often, SaaS, UX, and content writers will use their bio as a mini resume and they’ll list what they do, where their expertise lie, and a link to their website or a larger portfolio. This way, potential employers or anyone interested in hiring a writer with similar skill sets can get in touch with the author.

Below you’ll see an example of an author bio from Hubspot . I like it because it’s short but gets to the point quickly — introduces who Stephanie Trovato is and who she’s worked with to establish her expertise — all business, no play but that’s perfect for these short bios.

Stephanie is a content marketing expert with a passion for connecting the dots of strategy and content. She has worked with industry leaders including HubSpot, Oracle, Travel + Leisure, and Forbes.

You’re not only your job title

Krystina Martinez’s author bio on Zapier is a mix of business and fun facts about herself. I like this one a lot! It doesn’t have a link to her website or a long list of past clients, but maybe that’s not necessary? I mean, but the sound of it, she has a J.O.B. as a content writer at Zapier, so maybe the bio is just a nice touch here and not so much a tool for prospecting new clients or employers.

Krystina Martinez is a writer on Zapier’s content marketing team, based in Dallas, Texas. When she’s not working, you can find her sewing, exercising, or watching anime and gymnastics.

The braggart

If you have names like the New York Times and the New Yorker on your resume, wouldn’t you want to boast too? That’s what Hala Alyan has done in Guernica .

Hala Alyan is a Palestinian American writer and clinical psychologist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, POETRY, and elsewhere. Her poetry collections have won the Arab American Book Award and the Crab Orchard Series, and her debut novel, Salt Houses, won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Her latest novel, The Arsonists’ City, was a finalist for the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize. Her forthcoming collection of poetry, The Moon That Turns You Back, will be published by Ecco.

Vainglory is not mandatory

In the end, nobody really cares about your author bio… except maybe you.

Let me remind you once again: your byline is more important than your author bio. If you want to brag about your long list of accomplishments in that tiny paragraph or two, you’re really just tickling your own ego… which is totally fine, by the way. I mean, when I’ve published in Guernica or Granta or the Paris Review , you bet I’ll be listing those names off on all of my bios whether or not other people give a damn! ‘Cause I do, dammit!

My point is, if you don’t care about listing off your past publications, that’s totally fine. The author bio has neither made nor dismantled anybody’s writing career as far as I know.

Here’s a modest author bio of Doug Crandell from The Sun magazine even though he has plenty to brag about.

Doug Crandell has fallen in love with fall crocuses. He plants the bulbs on a little farm in Douglasville, Georgia.

A few tips for author bios

Earlier I said an author bio neither makes nor breaks a career. I stand by it.

However, I also kinda sorta implied that nobody cares about your bio except for you.

Well, that may not be so true, after all.

Here’s why I’m contradicting myself: The only times I care to read an author bio is when I’ve been really impressed by a certain piece of writing. As a reader, I become interested in the person behind the words, so I click the byline and try to find out more about the author.

So, it may be that while bios are not as important for building a career as a byline, they’re still a great way to build connections with readers.

The publishing world looks very different these days, thanks to social media. If you have your own following, you can market your work more effectively, on your own, without having to rely on a third-party PR team. So, a bio could very well be a place where you try to woo your readers into following you or learning more about you.

A crafty writer may convince a reader to buy their books, or follow them on social, or sign up for their newsletter just by flirting their way through that teeny-tiny author bio!

So, brag away if you want to, or use humor to charm your reader, or do both! It’s up to you how to want to engage your readers, after all.

And finally, know that you can craft a bio based on where your writing appears.

For example, this is what my bio looks like on this website: a mix of business and some personal details:

Maliha (they/she) is a writer, blogger, editor, and content marketer. They’re the owner of  The Side Blogger , a Canva Verified Expert, and a confident procrastinator at large.

But I have a totally different bio on Porter House Review where I published a short personal essay last year. Here I wrote whatever I wanted, really. I didn’t even mention anything about content marketing or blogging because, in an author bio for a literary magazine where I published creative nonfiction, these qualifications are unnecessary.

Maliha is an electrical engineer and writer of essays and short stories. She lives in sunny Colorado despite a mild sun allergy, spends way too much time walking around aimlessly or reading in libraries or drinking chai in coffee shops, and has a thing for analog cameras, especially Polaroids.

That is all.

I hope this post helps you understand the difference between an author byline (literally a line in a piece of writing with the author’s name in it) and an author bio (a mini-biography of one or two paragraphs at most) and gives you enough ideas to draw from when you’re writing your own bio.

Questions or thoughts? Share in the comments below.

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Definition of byline

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Definition of byline  (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

Examples of byline in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'byline.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 1

1938, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near byline

Cite this entry.

“Byline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/byline. Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.

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What Is A Byline In Journalism? Discover Its Origin

Learn what is a byline in journalism and how to write one.

A byline in journalism informs an audience of who reported and wrote the story they are reading. It refers to the publishing of the author’s name on the article they wrote. The most common position for a byline is fixed between the story’s headline and its opening paragraph. However, some magazine articles place the byline at the bottom of the page or article.

The Origin Of The Byline

The byline and its critics, different styles of bylines.

Byline (or by-line) first entered the lexicon of the English language in one of Ernest Hemmingway’s best books from 1926, The Sun Also Rises .

His description fits in with the typical definition of a byline: a writer’s name being attributed to a news story.

A passage within the book reads, “He sat in the outer room and read the papers, and the Editor and Publisher and I worked hard for two hours. Then I sorted out the carbons, stamped on a by-line, put the stuff in a couple of manila envelopes.”

Although the word ‘byline’ didn’t exist in print before then, the concept of journalists putting their names to stories they wrote did. Article bylines are linked back to the American Civil War. Back then, it was a means to ensure there was accountability for a reporter who gave away vital information.

Reporter Ted Fraser touched upon this point in an article entitled ‘To Understand the History of Journalism, Look Down’ .

He wrote: “After one newspaper published a piece “that contained information about the size and location of the Army of the Potomac,” Union general Joseph Hooker complained to the Secretary of War. Shortly thereafter, General Order №48 came into effect, “requiring all reporters with the Army of the Potomac to publish their communications over their own signatures.”

That requirement ensured that journalists had to put their signature to stories. Of course, this was for accountability and not all reporters were happy with the process.

In fact, as Fraser later states, French publication Le National argued against the idea. It stated that “the press (…) has to be anonymous. We do not want that a government, if it makes mistakes, only needs to face an individual and powerless opinion; it must face a collective expression”. You might also be wondering, what does off the record mean and what is beat in journalism ?

Since then that hasn’t been the case, as the byline has grown as a means to keep journalists accountable, but also as a means to increase the profile and give credit to the author of an article.

It could be argued that a writer being willing to stand by his story with his published attribution could add authority to a story. However, there is the opposing argument that publishing the writer’s name removes the air of objectivity within the news space.

Adolph Ochs, (1858-1935), owner and publisher of the New York Times, was not a fan of the byline.

In Alex S. Jones and Susan Tifft’s book, “The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family Behind the New York Times” .

It read: “Adolph had an ironclad policy on who got individual credit at the New York Times, insisting that ‘the business of the paper must be absolutely impersonal.”

Even then, other publications heralded the idea of bylines as they believed that they could build a following for their writers and increase demand. However, what became more commonplace was the middle ground. Publications who believe that bylines should be reserved only for outstanding work or stories that are featured on the front page .

However, those days are gone, and now bylines are dominant in newspaper copy. Jack Shafer linked this development to the 1970s in an article he wrote for Reuters.

It read: “At some point… every newspaper story… was deemed worthy of byline commemoration. Bylines on wire service stories, which newspapers routinely cut to distinguish their home-built stories from the conveyor belt of the wires, now appear regularly in many newspapers.

“Just about the only places you won’t find a byline in a modern newspaper these days is the tiny wire story, which a byline tends to make typographically top-heavy, and editorials…”

Putting the writer’s name to the article is virtually universal in all forms of contemporary print journalism. How, the process in which bylines can be attributed is not, with several different styles at play.

For instance, some bylines are accompanied by the news reporter’s position within the organization. An example is ‘By Matt Stout, Boston Globe Staff Writer’.

With other organizations, the byline is simply ‘by’, followed by the name. That is the way the Associated Press publishes its bylines.

Bylines can also be accompanied by datelines, which is a line at the beginning of an article that simply states the origin and date of the story. Whether the byline and dateline is written in capital letters is entirely up to the publication’s style.

Sometimes a byline includes a brief description of the article. An example of this type of byline would be: ”Staff writer Jacinta Henry examines what it takes to become a broadcast journalist in America”.

Magazine bylines and opinion pieces may have a short piece of biographical information about the writer and the article. This would look like this: ‘After working for 30 years as a broadcast journalist, Jacinta Henry discusses how the role has changed through the years’.

Nowadays, on online articles, bylines often feature a hyperlink that links to the article’s writers’ previous stories on a separate page within the website.

Whether you support bylines or not, there is little doubt that they are here to stay. In today’s era of misinformation, that is a good thing. Journalists should have to stand by what they are writing and distributing to the public.

Not only that, but they should also get credit for their work. Bylines ensure that newspaper and print newsrooms are kept accountable, but it also ensures that newsrooms get the credit they deserve when they do the work.

Cian Murray is an experienced writer and editor, who graduated from Cardiff University’s esteemed School of Journalism, Media and Culture. His work has been featured in both local and national media, and he has also produced content for multinational brands and agencies.

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Meaning of byline in English

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byline noun [C] ( NEWSPAPER )

• advertorial
• advice column
• advice columnist
• agony column
• agony uncle
• cover story
• double-page
• double-page spread
• opinion piece
• personal column
• press cutting
• problem page

byline noun [C] ( SOCCER )

• 18-yard box
• football player
• football pools
• football pyramid
• premiership
• professional foul
• the Football League
• the Premier League

byline | Intermediate English

Byline | business english, examples of byline, translations of byline.

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Word of the Day

a type of singing in which four, usually male, voices in close combination perform popular romantic songs, especially from the 1920s and 1930s

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BYLINE ESSAY Crossword Clue

All solutions for byline essay, top answers for: byline essay, byline essay crossword puzzle solutions.

10 Solutions - 0 Top suggestions & 10 further suggestions. We have 10 solutions for the frequently searched for crossword lexicon term BYLINE ESSAY. Furthermore and additionally we have 10 Further solutions for this paraphrase.

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That Viral Essay Wasn’t About Age Gaps. It Was About Marrying Rich.

But both tactics are flawed if you want to have any hope of becoming yourself..

Women are wisest, a viral essay in New York magazine’s the Cut argues , to maximize their most valuable cultural assets— youth and beauty—and marry older men when they’re still very young. Doing so, 27-year-old writer Grazie Sophia Christie writes, opens up a life of ease, and gets women off of a male-defined timeline that has our professional and reproductive lives crashing irreconcilably into each other. Sure, she says, there are concessions, like one’s freedom and entire independent identity. But those are small gives in comparison to a life in which a person has no adult responsibilities, including the responsibility to become oneself.

This is all framed as rational, perhaps even feminist advice, a way for women to quit playing by men’s rules and to reject exploitative capitalist demands—a choice the writer argues is the most obviously intelligent one. That other Harvard undergraduates did not busy themselves trying to attract wealthy or soon-to-be-wealthy men seems to flummox her (taking her “high breasts, most of my eggs, plausible deniability when it came to purity, a flush ponytail, a pep in my step that had yet to run out” to the Harvard Business School library, “I could not understand why my female classmates did not join me, given their intelligence”). But it’s nothing more than a recycling of some of the oldest advice around: For women to mold themselves around more-powerful men, to never grow into independent adults, and to find happiness in a state of perpetual pre-adolescence, submission, and dependence. These are odd choices for an aspiring writer (one wonders what, exactly, a girl who never wants to grow up and has no idea who she is beyond what a man has made her into could possibly have to write about). And it’s bad advice for most human beings, at least if what most human beings seek are meaningful and happy lives.

But this is not an essay about the benefits of younger women marrying older men. It is an essay about the benefits of younger women marrying rich men. Most of the purported upsides—a paid-for apartment, paid-for vacations, lives split between Miami and London—are less about her husband’s age than his wealth. Every 20-year-old in the country could decide to marry a thirtysomething and she wouldn’t suddenly be gifted an eternal vacation.

Which is part of what makes the framing of this as an age-gap essay both strange and revealing. The benefits the writer derives from her relationship come from her partner’s money. But the things she gives up are the result of both their profound financial inequality and her relative youth. Compared to her and her peers, she writes, her husband “struck me instead as so finished, formed.” By contrast, “At 20, I had felt daunted by the project of becoming my ideal self.” The idea of having to take responsibility for her own life was profoundly unappealing, as “adulthood seemed a series of exhausting obligations.” Tying herself to an older man gave her an out, a way to skip the work of becoming an adult by allowing a father-husband to mold her to his desires. “My husband isn’t my partner,” she writes. “He’s my mentor, my lover, and, only in certain contexts, my friend. I’ll never forget it, how he showed me around our first place like he was introducing me to myself: This is the wine you’ll drink, where you’ll keep your clothes, we vacation here, this is the other language we’ll speak, you’ll learn it, and I did.”

These, by the way, are the things she says are benefits of marrying older.

The downsides are many, including a basic inability to express a full range of human emotion (“I live in an apartment whose rent he pays and that constrains the freedom with which I can ever be angry with him”) and an understanding that she owes back, in some other form, what he materially provides (the most revealing line in the essay may be when she claims that “when someone says they feel unappreciated, what they really mean is you’re in debt to them”). It is clear that part of what she has paid in exchange for a paid-for life is a total lack of any sense of self, and a tacit agreement not to pursue one. “If he ever betrayed me and I had to move on, I would survive,” she writes, “but would find in my humor, preferences, the way I make coffee or the bed nothing that he did not teach, change, mold, recompose, stamp with his initials.”

Reading Christie’s essay, I thought of another one: Joan Didion’s on self-respect , in which Didion argues that “character—the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life—is the source from which self-respect springs.” If we lack self-respect, “we are peculiarly in thrall to everyone we see, curiously determined to live out—since our self-image is untenable—their false notions of us.” Self-respect may not make life effortless and easy. But it means that whenever “we eventually lie down alone in that notoriously un- comfortable bed, the one we make ourselves,” at least we can fall asleep.

It can feel catty to publicly criticize another woman’s romantic choices, and doing so inevitably opens one up to accusations of jealousy or pettiness. But the stories we tell about marriage, love, partnership, and gender matter, especially when they’re told in major culture-shaping magazines. And it’s equally as condescending to say that women’s choices are off-limits for critique, especially when those choices are shared as universal advice, and especially when they neatly dovetail with resurgent conservative efforts to make women’s lives smaller and less independent. “Marry rich” is, as labor economist Kathryn Anne Edwards put it in Bloomberg, essentially the Republican plan for mothers. The model of marriage as a hierarchy with a breadwinning man on top and a younger, dependent, submissive woman meeting his needs and those of their children is not exactly a fresh or groundbreaking ideal. It’s a model that kept women trapped and miserable for centuries.

It’s also one that profoundly stunted women’s intellectual and personal growth. In her essay for the Cut, Christie seems to believe that a life of ease will abet a life freed up for creative endeavors, and happiness. But there’s little evidence that having material abundance and little adversity actually makes people happy, let alone more creatively generativ e . Having one’s basic material needs met does seem to be a prerequisite for happiness. But a meaningful life requires some sense of self, an ability to look outward rather than inward, and the intellectual and experiential layers that come with facing hardship and surmounting it.

A good and happy life is not a life in which all is easy. A good and happy life (and here I am borrowing from centuries of philosophers and scholars) is one characterized by the pursuit of meaning and knowledge, by deep connections with and service to other people (and not just to your husband and children), and by the kind of rich self-knowledge and satisfaction that comes from owning one’s choices, taking responsibility for one’s life, and doing the difficult and endless work of growing into a fully-formed person—and then evolving again. Handing everything about one’s life over to an authority figure, from the big decisions to the minute details, may seem like a path to ease for those who cannot stomach the obligations and opportunities of their own freedom. It’s really an intellectual and emotional dead end.

And what kind of man seeks out a marriage like this, in which his only job is to provide, but very much is owed? What kind of man desires, as the writer cast herself, a raw lump of clay to be molded to simply fill in whatever cracks in his life needed filling? And if the transaction is money and guidance in exchange for youth, beauty, and pliability, what happens when the young, beautiful, and pliable party inevitably ages and perhaps feels her backbone begin to harden? What happens if she has children?

The thing about using youth and beauty as a currency is that those assets depreciate pretty rapidly. There is a nearly endless supply of young and beautiful women, with more added each year. There are smaller numbers of wealthy older men, and the pool winnows down even further if one presumes, as Christie does, that many of these men want to date and marry compliant twentysomethings. If youth and beauty are what you’re exchanging for a man’s resources, you’d better make sure there’s something else there—like the basic ability to provide for yourself, or at the very least a sense of self—to back that exchange up.

It is hard to be an adult woman; it’s hard to be an adult, period. And many women in our era of unfinished feminism no doubt find plenty to envy about a life in which they don’t have to work tirelessly to barely make ends meet, don’t have to manage the needs of both children and man-children, could simply be taken care of for once. This may also explain some of the social media fascination with Trad Wives and stay-at-home girlfriends (some of that fascination is also, I suspect, simply a sexual submission fetish , but that’s another column). Fantasies of leisure reflect a real need for it, and American women would be far better off—happier, freer—if time and resources were not so often so constrained, and doled out so inequitably.

But the way out is not actually found in submission, and certainly not in electing to be carried by a man who could choose to drop you at any time. That’s not a life of ease. It’s a life of perpetual insecurity, knowing your spouse believes your value is decreasing by the day while his—an actual dollar figure—rises. A life in which one simply allows another adult to do all the deciding for them is a stunted life, one of profound smallness—even if the vacations are nice.

My dying wife hoped to inspire people with her essay. They ended up inspiring her.

Not everyone has moments of clarity when they find out they are dying. My wife did.

The letters began arriving months ago at our house and in our inboxes. By my count there are more than 500 of them, and that’s just from strangers.

People were writing to my wife, Amy Ettinger, who died last month at age 49. You might know Amy from her words in these pages about the end of her life .

Her aggressive cancer had winnowed her body, and her strength was so limited that she dictated the essay to me in a sunlit glass-lined reading room at the University of California at Santa Cruz rather than typing it out herself.

As we overlooked a redwood forest, Amy had no way of predicting that the lines she composed on the spot would be calls to action for readers from all over the United States, as well as Canada, Poland, France and Greece.

She was flooded with responses to her essay, which essentially asked: What would your life look like if you cared much less about what other people think of you?

Could life be “a series of moments,” and not the endless pursuit of stability over bliss, or working for some long-delayed dream of post-retirement fulfillment?

Amy had a history of embracing creative risk and adventure, and wrote how putting friends and family first allowed her to face her terminal cancer diagnosis with a deep gratitude for the life she loved.

“Lasting love is about finding someone who will show up for you,” Amy wrote.

And also: “I’ve always tried to say ‘yes’ to the voice that tells me I should go out and do something now, even when that decision seems wildly impractical.”

Her essay touched people near and very far, and for reasons that surprised us, strangers wanted to connect with her before she died. They wanted to share their own stories and gratitude with her.

It offered her a comfort she did not know she needed.

Here are some of the ones that moved her the most.

“I live in a small town in Idaho that is full of hate, and after reading your story, I need to sell and move!” one message read.

Another reader wrote that he felt trapped on a corporate career ladder and was feeling anxious, which was stressing his mental health and close relationships.

“I have 10 chapters of a weird and wonderful novel and haven’t done anything with that in months even though it would probably only take a few solid weeks to finish writing it,” he wrote. “I will carry a tiny piece of your intrepid creative spirit with me as I rearrange my priorities in honor of remembering what’s truly important in life (which … isn’t corporate America).”

For one Los Angeles-based reader, Amy’s column was the tipping point that made him go ahead and book an endlessly postponed trip and reunion with loved ones.

“You helped me to realize I have said NO to too many life-affirming memories, even as our family has experienced a lot of loss over the years,” the reader said. “I am going to let my wife, daughter and son know that I will take that trip to Kastoria, Greece, home of their paternal ancestors, most of whom were taken to the camps during World War II. We will spend wonderful family time in a beautiful place and thank our family who came before us for their sacrifices. And I will think of you and say a prayer and send my eternal gratitude.”

Other readers spoke of lives crammed with tedious complications, from high-maintenance people to useless possessions.

One such reader thanked Amy for “really driving home [the] message to stop faffing around with crap that doesn’t matter and make the most of whatever time I have left. During the past few years of loss, dislocation, and general global craziness, I’ve forgotten this and come pretty close to giving up—on writing, yes, but more than that, on living. Sure, I drag through the motions for the sake of the people I love, but in a way that thumbs a nose at the monumental gift that life truly is. Your story and, again, your utmost humanity in sharing it have flipped a switch in me, and for that, I sincerely and ardently thank you.”

Some readers said the essay helped them realize that moments of joy and repose can lead to resilience in the midst of suffering. If Amy was dealing with Stage 4 cancer and could find so much light in her life, what was their excuse, anyway?

“Oh, how I cried and cried,” one reader said about reading Amy’s essay. “I then printed it out and placed it in my Bible. It’ll stay there so when I’m ready to give up on life again, I’ll read it and keep going.”

But the message that touched Amy beyond the others came from someone she knew, journalist Dania Akkad , who remembered an intervention Amy made on her behalf while working as a reporter for a California newspaper in the early 2000s. Akkad was an intern at the paper .

“We had a writing coach visit that summer,” Akkad recalled. “Long story short, you overheard me in the bathroom saying he’d made a pass at me when I had a meeting to discuss my reporting career (well at least that’s what I thought it was!). You came out of the bathroom stall and you said if I didn’t report this to management, you would.”

“It all felt so embarrassing and awkward and, well, my fault!” Akkad wrote. “Anyway, I did go to management largely because you put the pressure on. However many years later, I am so glad to have done that - and so grateful you interceded in that moment. It’s a fork-in-the-road event that has informed how I respond to this kind of crap. A real teaching moment. So thank you so very much. And thank you too for writing so lucidly about your experience now.”

Not all the notes were that lovely. Inevitably, a few were unwelcome, including missives from ultrareligious people wanting my proudly Jewish wife to get saved to spare herself from hellfire. And she smiled at the messages promoting quack remedies.

The many grateful responses prove that even now, in this era of online trolls and fake feedback generated by bots, engaged and thoughtful people really can make a difference by reaching out, human to human.

She carried this with her in her final weeks as she’d sit with me watching a great blue heron circling the sky over Santa Cruz Harbor. Or pulling up her favorite chair and watching the skateboarders, dog walkers and street basketball players on the other side of her picture window.

In this way, she embodied the spirit of her words. “I have never had a bucket list,” she wrote. “Instead, I said ‘yes’ to life.”

Dan White is the author of “ Under The Stars: How America Fell In Love With Camping ” and “ The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind And Almost Found Myself On The Pacific Crest Trail .” His website is www.danwhitebooks.com .

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Why Taiwan Was So Prepared for a Powerful Earthquake

Decades of learning from disasters, tightening building codes and increasing public awareness may have helped its people better weather strong quakes.

Search-and-rescue teams recover a body from a leaning building in Hualien, Taiwan. Thanks to improvements in building codes after past earthquakes, many structures withstood Wednesday’s quake. Credit...

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By Chris Buckley ,  Meaghan Tobin and Siyi Zhao

Photographs by Lam Yik Fei

Chris Buckley reported from the city of Hualien, Meaghan Tobin from Taipei, in Taiwan.

• April 4, 2024

When the largest earthquake in Taiwan in half a century struck off its east coast, the buildings in the closest city, Hualien, swayed and rocked. As more than 300 aftershocks rocked the island over the next 24 hours to Thursday morning, the buildings shook again and again.

But for the most part, they stood.

Even the two buildings that suffered the most damage remained largely intact, allowing residents to climb to safety out the windows of upper stories. One of them, the rounded, red brick Uranus Building, which leaned precariously after its first floors collapsed, was mostly drawing curious onlookers.

The building is a reminder of how much Taiwan has prepared for disasters like the magnitude-7.4 earthquake that jolted the island on Wednesday. Perhaps because of improvements in building codes, greater public awareness and highly trained search-and-rescue operations — and, likely, a dose of good luck — the casualty figures were relatively low. By Thursday, 10 people had died and more than 1,000 others were injured. Several dozen were missing.

“Similar level earthquakes in other societies have killed far more people,” said Daniel Aldrich , a director of the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern University. Of Taiwan, he added: “And most of these deaths, it seems, have come from rock slides and boulders, rather than building collapses.”

Across the island, rail traffic had resumed by Thursday, including trains to Hualien. Workers who had been stuck in a rock quarry were lifted out by helicopter. Roads were slowly being repaired. Hundreds of people were stranded at a hotel near a national park because of a blocked road, but they were visited by rescuers and medics.

On Thursday in Hualien city, the area around the Uranus Building was sealed off, while construction workers tried to prevent the leaning structure from toppling completely. First they placed three-legged concrete blocks that resembled giant Lego pieces in front of the building, and then they piled dirt and rocks on top of those blocks with excavators.

“We came to see for ourselves how serious it was, why it has tilted,” said Chang Mei-chu, 66, a retiree who rode a scooter with her husband Lai Yung-chi, 72, to the building on Thursday. Mr. Lai said he was a retired builder who used to install power and water pipes in buildings, and so he knew about building standards. The couple’s apartment, near Hualien’s train station, had not been badly damaged, he said.

“I wasn’t worried about our building, because I know they paid attention to earthquake resistance when building it. I watched them pour the cement to make sure,” Mr. Lai said. “There have been improvements. After each earthquake, they raise the standards some more.”

It was possible to walk for city blocks without seeing clear signs of the powerful earthquake. Many buildings remained intact, some of them old and weather-worn; others modern, multistory concrete-and-glass structures. Shops were open, selling coffee, ice cream and betel nuts. Next to the Uranus Building, a popular night market with food stalls offering fried seafood, dumplings and sweets was up and running by Thursday evening.

Earthquakes are unavoidable in Taiwan, which sits on multiple active faults. Decades of work learning from other disasters, implementing strict building codes and increasing public awareness have gone into helping its people weather frequent strong quakes.

Not far from the Uranus Building, for example, officials had inspected a building with cracked pillars and concluded that it was dangerous to stay in. Residents were given 15 minutes to dash inside and retrieve as many belongings as they could. Some ran out with computers, while others threw bags of clothes out of windows onto the street, which was also still littered with broken glass and cement fragments from the quake.

One of its residents, Chen Ching-ming, a preacher at a church next door, said he thought the building might be torn down. He was able to salvage a TV and some bedding, which now sat on the sidewalk, and was preparing to go back in for more. “I’ll lose a lot of valuable things — a fridge, a microwave, a washing machine,” he said. “All gone.”

Requirements for earthquake resistance have been built into Taiwan’s building codes since 1974. In the decades since, the writers of Taiwan’s building code also applied lessons learned from other major earthquakes around the world, including in Mexico and Los Angeles, to strengthen Taiwan’s code.

After more than 2,400 people were killed and at least 10,000 others injured during the Chi-Chi quake of 1999, thousands of buildings built before the quake were reviewed and reinforced. After another strong quake in 2018 in Hualien, the government ordered a new round of building inspections. Since then, multiple updates to the building code have been released.

“We have retrofitted more than 10,000 school buildings in the last 20 years,” said Chung-Che Chou, the director general of the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Taipei.

The government had also helped reinforce private apartment buildings over the past six years by adding new steel braces and increasing column and beam sizes, Dr. Chou said. Not far from the buildings that partially collapsed in Hualien, some of the older buildings that had been retrofitted in this way survived Wednesday’s quake, he said.

The result of all this is that even Taiwan’s tallest skyscrapers can withstand regular seismic jolts. The capital city’s most iconic building, Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world, was engineered to stand through typhoon winds and frequent quakes. Still, some experts say that more needs to be done to either strengthen or demolish structures that don’t meet standards, and such calls have grown louder in the wake of the latest earthquake.

Taiwan has another major reason to protect its infrastructure: It is home to the majority of production for the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest maker of advanced computer chips. The supply chain for electronics from smartphones to cars to fighter jets rests on the output of TSMC’s factories, which make these chips in facilities that cost billions of dollars to build.

The 1999 quake also prompted TSMC to take extra steps to insulate its factories from earthquake damage. The company made major structural adjustments and adopted new technologies like early warning systems. When another large quake struck the southern city of Kaohsiung in February 2016, TSMC’s two nearby factories survived without structural damage.

Taiwan has made strides in its response to disasters, experts say. In the first 24 hours after the quake, rescuers freed hundreds of people who were trapped in cars in between rockfalls on the highway and stranded on mountain ledges in rock quarries.

“After years of hard work on capacity building, the overall performance of the island has improved significantly,” said Bruce Wong, an emergency management consultant in Hong Kong. Taiwan’s rescue teams have come to specialize in complex efforts, he said, and it has also been able to tap the skills of trained volunteers.

Taiwan’s resilience also stems from a strong civil society that is involved in public preparedness for disasters.

Ou Chi-hu, a member of a group of Taiwanese military veterans, was helping distribute water and other supplies at a school that was serving as a shelter for displaced residents in Hualien. He said that people had learned from the 1999 earthquake how to be more prepared.

“They know to shelter in a corner of the room or somewhere else safer,” he said. Many residents also keep a bag of essentials next to their beds, and own fire extinguishers, he added.

Around him, a dozen or so other charities and groups were offering residents food, money, counseling and childcare. The Tzu Chi Foundation, a large Taiwanese Buddhist charity, provided tents for families to use inside the school hall so they could have more privacy. Huang Yu-chi, a disaster relief manager with the foundation, said nonprofits had learned from earlier disasters.

“Now we’re more systematic and have a better idea of disaster prevention,” Mr. Huang said.

Mike Ives contributed reporting from Seoul.

Chris Buckley , the chief China correspondent for The Times, reports on China and Taiwan from Taipei, focused on politics, social change and security and military issues. More about Chris Buckley

Meaghan Tobin is a technology correspondent for The Times based in Taipei, covering business and tech stories in Asia with a focus on China. More about Meaghan Tobin

Siyi Zhao is a reporter and researcher who covers news in mainland China for The Times in Seoul. More about Siyi Zhao

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