Difference Between Biography and Auto-Biography

The selection of books is made upon the decision of what knowledge needs to be acquired. Both autobiography and biography are read about a person’s life journey and their responses to each obstacle and happy moment.

The book is often written about someone who has been influential in his life. The person on whom the book is written is the one who has left his mark on the world in a non-conventional way.

Key Takeaways

1. A biography is a written account of a person’s life written by someone else.
2. An autobiography is a written account of a person’s life written by themselves.
3. Biographies and autobiographies can provide valuable insight into the lives and experiences of individuals.

Biography vs Auto-Biography

An autobiography is written by a person about his life, whereas a biography is a book written about a person by someone else. The author of a biography researches the book’s subject and then writes the book. The book is often written in third-person pronouns. However, the auto in autobiography suggests that the author is the self.

The book is often written in a first-person pronoun. While writing a biography, the person about whom the book is written could be liable to get his royalty fee. The author must also get the influencer’s permission before publishing the book.

Sometimes, the influencer even edits and proofreads the manuscript written on him before it is converted into a book. His opinion is the first and last call.

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Comparison Table

Parameters of comparison	Biography	Autobiography
Definition	A biography is a book written on an influential individual by an author.	An autobiography is a book written by an influential person by himself or herself.
Author	A researcher.	The self.
Royalty fee	The person who is the subject is liable to receive the royalty fee.	No royalty fee is paid.
Narration	Third-person narration.	First-person narration.
Content	External research plus the person’s life journey.	Personal memories and opinions.
Information	A secondary source of information.	The primary source of information.
Story	The story could be of the person or an aspect related to the person.	The story is about a person.
Introduction	Includes why the book is written on this person.	The introduction is about a person’s basic details.

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What is Biography?

A biography is a book written by an author on an individual’s life journey. The author that wrote the biography is called a biographer, and the person on whom the book is written is called the subject of the biography.

While writing a biography, the book always uses third-person narration to describe the life events of the subject of the biography and their obstacles and achievements in life.

The book involves aspects of a person’s life and factors of external research.

The biography includes life, childhood, work, and achievements until death or retirement. An individual author writes the biography, and hence the person on whom the book is written needs to permit the author for the same.

The individual on whom the biography is written also proofreads the script and has the final call regarding the edits and events to include.

The biography could also be only about a single aspect of someone’s life that has influenced the author.

The person on whom the book is written is liable to receive royalty fees.

Several steps are involved while writing a biography:

1. Ask the person about the subject of the biography.
2. Research the person by interviewing the subject and their family and friends.
3. Visiting places is essential and relevant to the person’s life journey.
4. Make a chronological timeline of the events of the person’s life that is to b included in the biography.

 

What is Autobiography?

An autobiography is a book written by the person himself. The book mentions a person’s memories and opinions.

An autobiography is a non-fiction book that is written to solely inspire people through the person’s life journey and how he or she overcame their struggles.

It’s written to set an example. The autobiography includes life events such as childhood, essential and extraordinary people who influenced the author’s life, the love life, struggles, achievements, and musings regarding their life.

It is usually written after the person retires and has contributed to their field as much as they can. The book is written in a first-person pronoun.

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Main Differences Between Biography and Auto-Biography

1. An autobiography is written by the self, whereas a biography is written about a person by an author he has influenced.
2. The autobiography is written in the first person, but the biography is written in the third person.
3. An autobiography includes a person’s memories and opinions, but a biography includes their life and external research done on a person.
4. For a biography, a person needs permission to pay a royalty fee to the subject of the biography, whereas this isn’t needed for an autobiography.
5. The autobiography is the first source of information, and the biography is the second source.
6. An autobiography is about a person’s life, but a biography could be about an aspect of a person’s life that the author found significant.
7. The autobiography is like a memoir, but the biography is factual.
8. The introduction of the autobiography includes basic personal information, whereas an introduction of the biography includes why the person was chosen to write a biography.

References

1. https://prezi.com/kbq2qewccsen/autobiography-and-biography-comparison/
2. https://brill.com/view/title/36668
3. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uiCBDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=Biography+and+Auto-Biography&ots=Xa8Fxrr96C&sig=O6wEnCscgO_3AwHMwLIi-ma1F9g