The Freelance Writer's Resume

Update: I'm working on publishing my first science fiction novel! Check out the Kickstarter page to learn more :)

A few weeks ago, I applied to write for one of the big online content sites. This site required that I submit a resume and a writing sample. So, I dusted off my old resume, tweaked it a bit to add my (at the time, somewhat sparse) freelance writing experience, and sent it out.

Unfortunately, the site turned me down, and I have to wonder whether it might have something to do with my resume. I did some research, and came across this interesting resource, written by Moira Allen at Writing-World.com.

I hadn't really stopped to think that a writer's resume might be different from any other type of resume, but according to this site, it was. I thought back on what I knew about resumes, and specifically what I knew about formatting your resume when you're changing your career (which is, after all, what I'm doing). The thing is, companies hiring freelance writers want to know specifically that those writers can, well, write more than they want to know what jobs they've held over the past five, ten, or fifteen years.