Taming the CV…

It’s been FOREVER and my blog needs some serious dustbusting. The lag in posts couldn’t be helped, I was busy getting my MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, which could also be called the greatest experience of my life. So, for the last two years all reading had to meet bibliography requirements (suck it, 50 Shades of Grey) and all writing was focused on the critical and creative theses (sorry, blog!)
 

Graduation was January 19, 2013. I came away with my diploma and a finished manuscript. The last two months have been spent revising and polishing that manuscript (sleep was seriously over-rated anyway). It’s now ready to go out into the world and have its day. But it can’t go alone. It needs a query letter and in my case, a CV. Here’s the nutshell of my background as contained in my blog profile.

For MONEY I have written: TV series, cartoons, comic books, graphic novels, magazine articles, Business Plans, Direct Music Marketing letters (as Mariah Carey, MC Hammer and others), Corporate Newsletters, Mens Style (online) Magazine (as managing editor), screenplays (well, okay maybe not so much about the money there) and Restaurant and theater reviews (for free food and theater tickets) Now… I am writing for love and what I LOVE are YA mystery/thriller novels.

It’s catchy… but it needs to be organized into a professional, easy to peruse list and I should mention some specific titles, too. So, I decided to put it to Google and check out what the new mandates and guidelines recommend for a writer’s CV.  While I was at it, I thought I’d share these helpful online resources with you.
Bang2Write – nice, clear, straight forward info. Easy to follow. Makes sense.
Purdue.edu – as long as we’re being scholarly, why not?
And finally, CV consultants — if you’re thinking of hiring someone to do it for you. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the off-shore approach to the writers I know because all of you can probably write circles around these guys.That’s not to say there isn’t valuable info contained in this article. The specific points and qualifications that make these guys desirable consultants will tell you a lot about things you should include (or not include) in your CV… I call it a great background resource. (Plus, I stole their photo, so they should get something out of it, right?) 
If you have any suggestions for how to organize a colorful — but snarly — serpant of a writing career into a kick-ass CV, I’m open to suggestions.
In the next few days I’ll be back with a look at the dreaded query letter. 

About Sheryl Scarborough

For MONEY I have written: TV series, cartoons, comic books, graphic novels, magazine articles, Business Plans, Direct Music Marketing letters (as Mariah Carey, MC Hammer and others), Corporate Newsletters, Mens Style (online) Magazine (as managing editor),screenplays (well, okay so not so much about the money there) and Restaurant Reviews (for free food!) Now... I'm writing for love and what I LOVE are young adult mystery novels.
MFA

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