How to Write a CV
Writers who want to become published authors, ghostwriters, or write for business need a Curriculum Vita. This is a resume that focuses on their achievements, accolades, and experiences, where a regular resume focuses on education, employment, and pay scales.
Curriculum vitae means ‘story of your life.’ It should paint a picture of you as a person.
There are some important elements to a CV that are important to potential clients. The following offers a list of dos and don’ts for writing a good CV. This link is to a sample CV used by author and ghostwriter Suzanne James.
http://www.ifreelance.com/share/providers/8436/samples/22781.pdf?v=1
A CV is a marketing tool. Its purpose is to ‘sell’ an author’s skills and abilities. The client wants to see what they are interested in, and where they focus their time. This helps them divide the ‘wanna be’ writers who are willing to write for pay, and the people who are experienced in a particular niche and can write good content.
Personal information - This should talk about the writer as a person, not as an employee.’
Objective – The goal should not be to win a client. Instead, it should focus on the writer’s ‘next step’ in their career.
Publishing & Awards – unlike the resume, the CV has a place for publishing credits and awards.
CVs are either chronological or skills-based. Either method works well for writers.
A CV for a writer should link to online samples, excerpts, and client testimonials. Do not put all these in the CV. Just include a link to an easy to manage online profile.
You may include education if it is relevant to the writing job, but don’t worry too much about it. If you have an arts degree, state that and leave it. Do not go into detail.
Photos, book covers, media clips.
Failure - exams, marriages, businesses, etc.
Excuses of any sort
Reasons for leaving a job, missing a deadline, losing a client.
Salary information
Fancy patterns/borders /logos
Title pages, binders and folders
Do not include a list of publications unless they are asked for and relevant. Keep publications in their own section. When submitting to a financial client do not list the 23 published short stories. Only list financial publications, and summarize the rest.
Age, weight, height, health, is irrelevant
Do not use photocopies of your CV.
The important thing to remember is that this is a list of your skills. It is possible to put two or three jobs together if they included the same tasks, skills, and responsibilities.
One of the biggest mistakes writers make is trying to sound like the biggest and the best. They fill their writing with publishing credits, but don’t tell the potential client why they wrote on the topic, their interest in the topic, and what made them able to write the best book on that topic.
Resumes are still popular in the US. When working with a US client submit a short resume with the CV as an attachment. The employer may not even know what a CV is.
CVs are short and to the point. Unlike a resume, the client doesn’t want to know that you wrote a book in 30 days, had it published at the first publisher submitted to, make $40 on the book. Do not write long explanations. In fact, bullet points are best for listing multiple publications or articles.
CVs are one step up from a resume. This means that they should convey a sense of leadership. The client should know that deadlines can be made without needing to read it. The client should be able to ‘see’ in the CV that the writer doesn’t need their hand held, to be told where to research, or need multiple rewrites. The CV will not say this – but everything will express the idea.
The shorter the CV, the more succinct, the better, without using sentence fragments and sacrificing grammar.
Remember the Keep It Simple rule and you’ll be okay.
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