Agents Asking For Writing CV

Hi Howie,

If you've just finished, I wonder if you're sure you are ready to submit. Another post concerned your thinking of changing the POV in some chapters. Just curious.

Re your CV question, you'll get some helpful information on that aspect direct from an Agent's mouth in this very recent thread.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36460

It may not alter the quality of the novel, but if you have worthwhile writing or other qualifications relevant to the novel it may whet the appetite a tad if they are mentioned briefly.

Good luck.

I don't think you'd do yourself any harm by metioning the fanzine and the news reporting. Don't worry if you don't have a huge list of credentials. The work you submit to the agent is the most important thing.

Pardon me, but what is CV? I tried to do a search but it says it's too short. I looked through the above link but didn't see the initials CV in it.

CV stands for "curriculum vitae" and is the term used in Europe for what we in the USA call a "resume".

Berry said:

CV stands for "curriculum vitae" and is the term used in Europe for what we in the USA call a "resume".

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The term is reasonably common in the United States as well - I've been familiar with it since my college years in the late 70's, early 80's. Depending on where you live (in the US) and the type of position you may be seeking, many employers ask for a Curriculum vitae by that name rather than a resume!

Or, as we Toads like to call it, Street Cred

If it's a Query letter, it's not the same as an employment application CV. In essence it's simply - please include a final paragraph or couple of lines in your Query letter to show any writing credits or experience you have. Be brief. If, like many first-timers, you don't have any, don't say you haven't any or apologise they're so small and insignificant -just remain silent.

howiehok said:

sorry, I forget this is not just a British site, or that CVs are not called the same the world over! Basically my previous use of CVs has solely been for job applications, and has included qualifications, hobbies, personal details etc. Would not know where to start on a writing CV/resume.

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BAsed on everything I've read on query's, you should list any writing credits you have. For fiction, list any magazines, e-books, novels, etc. that show your work has been judged and accepted by other editors. For non-fiction, you should list any publishing credit to show you indeed are writing with some air of authority and expertise on the subject of your novel. In Stephen King's On Writing, he says a fiction author shouldn't submit anything until they have at least six or seven published credits under their belts.

On what page does he say that?

Granted, if you're lucky enough to have them, use them - they give you a degree of proven credibility, but If the story, characters and writing are good enough, it doesn't matter a hoot if you've publishing credits or not.

NYR94 said:

In Stephen King's On Writing, he says a fiction author shouldn't submit anything until they have at least six or seven published credits under their belts.

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In the fiction markets, when subbing a novel, it does help to list any short story magazine fiction credits you have. It helps additionally if your agent/editor has HEARD or recognizes such publications, but it does not go against you for listing the smaller press pubs. I write SF, and when I subbed my queries/partials/fulls, I included a brief paragraph of magazine sales, starting with the most prominent and ending with the smaller print zines. Amazing Stories, Space and Time, Not ONe of Us, were three that would catch an eye because they've been around for a very long time. I generalized the rest of the sales and did not get overly specfic about dates, editor, vol. # and pay rate. (not necessary unless you want to itemize it)

When you do have short fiction credits, that are at least recognizible, you are seen as a "known quantity", which simply means you're out there in print--and someone has paid you for your writing.

Now, if you have none--not to worry at all. Remember that good story writing trumps all. Having no credits does not exclude you from the pack by any means. All are treated equal in the pile. Credits might be a plus, but I've never, ever seen it sway a decision against another writer. (Unless its multiple novel sales from a big house). So what does that tell you?

Tri

Credits

Almost any credit is probably better than no credit, but when an agents asks for credits they usually want you to know whether you've ever been paid for writing fiction.

A good short story credit or two, meaning short stories in magazines the agent has heard of, or that are important in the field, tells the agent you can write fiction well enough to beat out some stiff competition, and well enough to make an editor part with some money.

Winning, or placing high, in a respectable contest does the same thing.

It tells the agent you know how to write fiction, you have a grasp of grammar, punctuation, story structure, characterization, dialogue, etc.

It means the agent is taking less of a chance in requestion a partial or full manuscript.

In the end, the novel you write must speak for itself, but having credits can mean a much betetr chance that the agent will actually ask to see the novel, and that it won't be read first by a junior bottle washer who may reject it before the agent ever sees it.

It is easier to get your novel in teh hands of a top agent or editor if you have some solid credits, but writers with no credits manage to sell novels each and every year. Good credits merely make it easier to get read by a top agent or editor. Good credits won't sell a bad novel, and lack of credits won't stop a good novel.