Building a Professional Writing Portfolio
Build a Professional Writing Portfolio any Writer Would Be Proud Of
Jan 7, 2009
One of the most important assets any writer has to have, aside from the ability to write well, are examples of good writing. Not only does the writing need to be good, but it needs to be good and applicable across a wide range of topics. For writers that are just beginning to take up a freelance writing career, or who are just thinking about it, take a look at the following suggestions and put a little time and sweat into assembling a sample portfolio that any writer would be proud of.
Volunteer Your Writing Skills
When beginning a professional writing career, one of the easiest ways to build a writing portfolio is to put your skills out there to benefit a good cause or two, or three, or four. Non-profit organizations, Churches, and other young businesses all have little to no money set aside for writing and designing advertisements, brochures, or sales materials. So step up and do something for these organizations that will benefit you both.
Also, there are web-based organizations that will allow you to write on a wide range of topics, usually any topic that you would like, and pay you for it. However, they pay very little, so in the beginning it is more like donating your time than it sounds. Other websites pay you a small fee per article, and these are also a good way to get paid a little for your time.
School Assignments
You do not have to be an English major to begin build your portfolio using writing samples written for an academic purpose or setting. Most degree programs require their students to write papers, so if you have even the slightest desire to write professionally in your field of study, keep your papers. You can ask your professors to help you improve your papers, even after the assignment is over and graded. Just tell them you are building a writing portfolio and that you could use their help improving your papers. More often than not, they will give you at least some guidance.
Enter Writing Contests
There are literally hundreds of writing contests available that cover every known genre. Many of these contests require an entry fee, and the fee amount varies greatly. Most of these contests have prizes attached and will publish your writing if you win a prize. Some of these contests are very prestigious.
Winning a writing contest looks very good on a resume, and can act as a tie-breaker in situations where a possible employer is trying to decide between you and one or more other job candidates. Even if you don’t win a prize, contests give honorable mentions to a handful of writers, and if you make it that far, put that on your resume, too. Even being accepted by a writing contest is a resume-worthy event. If anything else, you can use your entry (entries) as part of your writing portfolio.
Writing in Your Current Job
Many aspiring writers write for their current job positions and do not realize that they can use what they write for their portfolio if their employers or clients allow it. You may be able to add a provision to your writing contract that will allow you to use your writing in your portfolio.
There are many great things about writing professionally. One of them is that it is great fun to make a living writing. Another thing is that your portfolio lets larger and more diverse with each assignment. Focus for a while on building a good, solid portfolio, and you may get to the point that potential employers and clients come looking for you. How great would that be?
