Your Writing Resume

If I've learned anything in the past couple of months, it's this: build your writing credentials BEFORE you get published.
Easier said than done, you might say, and at one time I would agree with you, but not anymore. Your writing resume, or credentials for being published and marketed, is actually easy to build, as long as you use your ever-so creative brain and put some work into it.
First, let's start by defining writing resume. It is similar to a professional resume, in that you will use it to present yourself in a way that seems credible. For writers, you want to present yourself as marketable. You want what you've done for the world of writing and reading to stand out so that you already have a viable market in place to sell your works.
'But what if I've never published anything?' you might ask. Don't worry. Neither have I. At least not until now. And this is the aspect of your resume I want to talk about. Just because you've never been published doesn't mean you can't write. It doesn't mean you can't sell, and it doesn't mean that your stories are going to flatline. It simply means you haven't been given the chance to showcase your talent yet, and soon a publisher will pick you up and present you to the wonderful world of being a published author. Keep that hope in the forefront of your thinking.
Anyways, I digress. Having a list of published works is great, but there is something else you can add to your resume that shows you have a potential audience/market- your involvement in the community. More precisely, your hometown. Are you active in any clubs? Is there a book club in your city of residence? No? START ONE. Are you involved in any library organization, any church organization, or any organization that could serve as an audience? No? Then get busy! Join whatever club/organization/committee you can that has anything to do with books, or really people for that matter(since your goal here is to show you have a base audience to market to, and that may help you market your works in the future). Your goal is to build relationships so that once you are published, you already have part of your marketing strategy in place. For example, let's say you've been contacted by a publisher, you've signed the contract, and now your publisher wants you to create a marketing plan. They want to know how you are going to involve yourself with getting the word out there about your book. Well, if you are a member of your hometown book club, you can start by letting the other members know that you are now published, your book will be out on such and such date, and the book is about such and such a thing, and would any of them like a free copy to read and pass around to anyone they know?
It's that easy.
And you can do the same thing with other clubs you are a part of. You can even go to local bookstores and speak to the managers about your upcoming book, just so they know you. Plant those little seeds anywhere you can, and to anyone who will listen.
A writing resume will not only help you after you get published, it will help tremendously beforehand as well, especially if you have no publishing credits to your name(such as newspaper articles, blogs, etc.) You will look a little more sparkly, if you will, when you submit to a publisher and can say that you are involved in x amount of clubs, and all the members know you are aspiring to be published.
So build your resume. Join whatever you can locally. And if I had it all to do again, I would have tried to write newspaper articles or something along that nature, just so I could have that extra credential to my name. It couldn't hurt, and it definitely will help you look more attractive. But even if you've never been published(I'm stressing this point if you can't tell), you can still build a market, which in my opinion is the most important aspect of becoming a published author. Until next time, ink well!