Building a writing profile – Part 2 (Resume)

Creating a writer’s resume/CV is as important as your website. Most of the submissions ask for a resume and lot of your chances of publication depends on it. Therefore, one should be careful when making one.

Though there isn’t much difference between an online profile and a resume in terms of content, it is the arrangement which would matter. Below is the recommended format:

• Objective
• Experience by category of writing
• Experience by years
• Publications/achievements
• Educational background
• Hobbies/interests

Contact information which includes address, phone number and website should be at the top right of the resume. One can also put it at the top centre right below the name.

As with online portfolio, mentioning experience by category like editing, proofreading, ghostwriting, etc would help giving the resume meaning. It is important that you keep the descriptions short and crisp highlighting your expertise in the area. Too long description not only spoils the look of the CV but also, reduces the reader’s interest.

One important feature of a writer’s resume is publications. Since not everyone is published in New York Times, it is essential that a background of the publication is included along with it. A typical publications page in the resume would go like this:

Newspaper/magazine/Website name
Article title and date
Article genre
Publication background

Again, make effort to keep it short.

A repeated concern expressed by lot of writers is how to include the samples in the resume. I find it unnecessary to include them in a resume. It is equivalent to adding Java codes in a Java developer’s resume! A resume is a summary of your work history and it is wrong to include any pieces if writing in there. Your experience and publication information you have included would speak volumes of your writing skills. The purpose of a resume is to induce enough interest for someone to ask you samples. One can do that by inserting a line after experience part or publications stating that samples/published clips can be provided on request. Proactively, one can also attach few samples along with the resume when you are approaching a publisher. However, never add your writing samples in the resume.

Last but not the least, edit your resume often. A writer’s resume is a living document. Not only should you keep updating with the latest in work life, one should also modify it to suit every submission’s requirement. Your potential customer would be receiving hundreds of applications every month. Putting in phrases or keywords that he is looking for would help you in locking his attention on to you for sometime.

Writer’s resume is a very important document that every writer should go around with. Therefore, it is often recommended that it is done by an expert. Resume writers specialize in this field and investing in your resume is not a bad idea at all. After all, the returns are much higher!