This is a guest post from Monica Shaw , a freelance writer specializing in science, technology, food and fitness. Monica is co-creator of Writer’s Residence, a tool that lets writers create an online writing portfolio through a web browser. You can read more of her articles on writing at the Writer’s Residence Blog or check out her own online writing portfolio at Monica Shaw.com.
Do You Need an Online Writing Portfolio?
One of the things I love about the Tumblemoose blog is the variety of writers who visit and comment on George’s posts. From authors to bloggers to freelance journalists, we all come together because we have one thing in common: we want to make a living as a professional writer. So when George asked me to write a guest post on the benefits of an online writing portfolio, I was elated to contribute my thoughts on a subject that all types of writers could benefit from.
There comes a time in every writer’s life when she asks herself if she should set up a website. For me, that was in early 2008 while I was still working full-time at a bank but dreaming of going solo as a freelance writer. I decided to register a domain and hack together an online writing portfolio to promote myself as a writer. Although I would have rather spent the time pitching articles and writing stories, the effort paid off – I got my first commission, for a national newspaper, after sending the website address to an editor who asked to see some writing samples.
Do all writers need an online writing portfolio? My short answer: absolutely. This fact only becomes clearer as my career progresses and I build up my portfolio with clips and samples. Here are just a few benefits of putting your work online:
Foster a professional image
This is one of the biggest benefits of having an online writing portfolio. Think about it: everyone and their moose has a blog these days, not to mention a Twitter feed, Facebook page, and countless other social network subscriptions. While all of these are great ways to network, they won’t cut it if you want to promote yourself as a professional writer. An online portfolio differentiates you from the rest of the pack by telling editors and clients that you consider yourself a professional writer who’s serious about your product (i.e. you).
Show off your work and accomplishments
Your online writing portfolio is like an uber-resume. This is where you show off your best work, list your awards and achievements, highlight your publishing credits, and showcase client testimonials. All of this information helps feed your professional image and inspire confidence in potential clients that you’re a legitimate writer who takes her business seriously.
Host your writing samples in one convenient place
An online writing portfolio is as great for marketing as it is for personal organization, a hot topic for many of us Tumblemoosers! In his recent post, George said “the key to becoming and remaining organized in these key areas is proper foldering.” Think of an online writing portfolio as an online folding system. It’s your one stop shop for all of your best work. You can even get fancy by using tags or categories to separate your work into specific topics (e.g. “Copyrighting”, “Fiction”, “Newspapers”, “Magazines”). Having all your work on the web also means you can access it anywhere, anytime, no matter what computer you’re on, provided you have an internet connection.
Make it easy to share your work with others
By hosting all of your work in one convenient place, is simple to share your work with the rest of the online world. With an online writing portfolio, you don’t have to worry about email attachments, file uploads, or incompatible file types. Whenever you want to send a writing sample to an editor or potential client, simply send them a web link to the specific sample. Done!
Makes you searchable on the internet
What is the top hit on Google when you search for yourself? Do you find a complete stranger? An impostor? Or worse, that out-of-date livejournal page you started while you were still in high school? An online writing portfolio helps people find the real you. Better yet, people searching for topics related to your niche might find you, too. All of this helps you grow your web presence and connect with potential customers.
It doesn’t matter where you live, an online writing portfolio connects you with the rest of the world. And as we all know, it’s a big world out there just buzzing with opportunities. Why not put your best self out there and let that world find you?
