How to put “wrote fan-fiction” on your résumé:
Leveraged an inventory of established fictional character and setting elements to generate a disruptive custom-curated narrative entertainment asset.
I worked in HR, handling applications and interviews, and if someone turned in that string of techno babble nonsense, I would have rejected them out of hand.
A resume doesn’t need to sound fancy or overly technical, it needs to tell us why we should hire you.
“Independent novelist/writer” is more than sufficient here. If you want to express the skills that fan fiction taught you, something like, “creative writing, editing, and publication,” will get you a lot further than… Whatever that just was.
A resume should be tailored to the position, if you can afford the time and energy for that. But if not, then just think about what writing got fandom taught you. How to respond to criticism, how to present a professional pubic face, how to correct punished mistakes, creative thinking, project planning, persuasion via emotional leverage, html formatting, office suite fluency.
There are a lot of actual, marketable skills that go into fan fiction.
How to put “I was in a zine” on your resume
Writer:
- Published short fiction stories for anthology collection
- Able to write short fiction within a designated word count for layout purposes (900-1500 words, 1500-2000, 3000-5000)
- Wrote short articles for independent publication
- Assisted with editing short stories for publication
- Able to reduce or expand written content based on layout needs
- Able to check for basic spelling, grammar and syntax
- Familiar with Microsoft Office and Google docs
Artist:
- Produced full-colour digital illustration for independent magazine
- Able to produce digital illustrations optimized for both online and print display
- Produced full-colour 2-page spread for art anthology
- Published 4-page short comic in anthology collection for charity
- Able to transfer traditional art to digital illustration
- Illustrated the cover (always brag if you’re on the cover) of an independent art publication
- Familiar with professional illustration tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Clip Studio Paint and stylus tablet
Merch artist / graphic designer:
- Designed 2″ clear decorative double-sided keychain charm as bonus sale item
- Designed 5″ x 6″ sheet of graphic stickers included in art anthology
- Able to design bold graphics that are measured for laser cutting production
- Designed layouts for 65-page art and writing magazine, focusing on (art placement, text layout, etc)
- Able to keep layout design simple and in accordance with the project director’s chosen theme
- Created promotional art, icons and banners tailored for social media sites like Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, etc
- Familiar with professional layout and design software such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign
Running a zine
- Produced an independent art and writing collection for sale / for charity
- Managed (10, 20, 30) independent artists and writers out of over 500 applicants to create a short-run independent magazine
- Worked in online sales and social media promotion selling an independent comics anthology
- If it’s really spectacular you can brag about specific numbers
- Our book raised over $4,000 for charity in under six months of production
- We sold over 750 copies in two weeks of online sales
- Produced a digital PDF and printed version of anthology, mailing to recipients all over the world
- Communicated with printers and manufacturers of plastic accessories and paper goods, assembling professional packages of our merchandise for mailing.
- Built a custom digital storefront and navigated professional market and payment systems including Paypal and Tictail / Bigcartel / Wix etc
- Created promotional events to boost sales, including raffles and giveaways over social media
- Organized participants through mass emails and use of social media posts on tumblr and twitter
- Familiar with organizational software such as Microsoft Excel, Google spreadsheets and Trello
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