“Can you send me your writing portfolio?”
For many writers, that’s the moment everything stops. You might feel like a deer caught in the headlights. Not because you haven’t written anything — quite the opposite. You might have hundreds of pages in files on your computer or in journals: novels, short stories, essays, scripts, articles, perhaps you’ve even published one or more pieces. The problem is that you don’t have your best work collected in one place, carefully selected and ready to send to anyone who might ask for it.
In this article, I’ll explain what a writing portfolio is, why every writer should have one regardless of where they are in their career, and how to build one that genuinely represents your best work. Lastly, I’ll give you a Story Weapon to help your portfolio tell a stronger story about you.
A strong writing portfolio is a selective collection of a writer’s best work, not an exhaustive archive, designed to answer one question: can this reader trust the quality and consistency of what you write? It should stay focused on the type of writing a writer wants to be known for, whether that means a polished first chapter and manuscript excerpts for novelists or personal essays for memoirists, and it works best when every piece earns its place with a clear reason.
What is a writing portfolio?
The phrase “writing portfolio” may sound more intimidating than it is. You might be picturing an elaborate author website filled with bestselling books, publication credits, glowing testimonials, and awards. But that’s actually not what most editors, agents, or clients are looking for here.
A portfolio is a collection of your best work, be it previously published or unpublished. Its purpose isn’t to prove you’ve written a lot or won accolades, but simply to help someone quickly understand what kind of writer you are. Think of it as introducing your writing voice.
If an agent is interested in your manuscript, they might want to see more to decide whether your writing is worth considering promoting on a long-term basis. You could show them another strong opening chapter, a polished short story, or an essay that clearly demonstrates your voice. Something that tells them within a few minutes, “This writer knows what they are doing.” That’s what a portfolio is designed to do.
The mistake some writers make here is thinking they need to include everything they’ve ever written. A portfolio becomes stronger when it’s selective. Every piece you present needs to earn its place as it quietly shapes the reader’s opinion of your work. It tells them what you want to be known for.
Let’s consider how this might look with an example:
When Maya completed her first novel, she was convinced that the hard part was over.
For four years, she had been living with her characters until she finally had a breakthrough with her story and everything flowed. She went through a couple of rewrites, cut out scenes she liked but weren’t serving the story, and had an editor go over the manuscript. When Maya typed The End on her laptop, she was smiling. She had accomplished something that most people could only dream of — she had completed a novel. She allowed herself a couple of days of celebration.
Maya started learning about literary agents, read through some submission guidelines, and started to draft her first query letter. Everything seemed easy until she reached the line:
“Please include a link to your writing portfolio.”
Maya stared at the computer screen. Initially, it seemed unfair. Haven’t I shown that I can write? But then she understood that it was not another obstacle to pass. It was another question to be answered.
The novel answered, “Can I tell a story?” with a resounding yes.
In her portfolio, she provided the answer to another question, “How does a reader know whether to trust me?”
A manuscript presents what you have done in the past. A writing portfolio, however, proves the consistency and quality the reader, editor, or literary agent can expect from you every time they read something you’ve written.
It’s kind of like a movie trailer. It doesn’t show everything about the movie; it shows just enough to make people believe that the story is worth their time. Your portfolio does the same thing.
It is not a storage folder for all your writings, just a collection of the best ones — a selection that speaks volumes on your behalf. It is your first promise to any future reader.
Common writing portfolio mistakes
What really matters is being able to represent your best work clearly. The main distinction between a good portfolio and a great one can lie in presentation rather than in skill.
Don’ts:
- Don’t put unfinished or rough drafts into your portfolio
- Don’t stuff it with too many writing samples
- Don’t include your resume here
A few quality samples will work much better than many average ones. Begin your portfolio with your best sample, since it will create the first impression.
Make your portfolio look professional by including some personal information, such as an author bio and your contact information. Remember, your writing portfolio is not a resume, it’s a showcase of your writing skills.
Agents don’t reject portfolios due to their size; they reject portfolios because they cannot understand what type of writer they have before them right away.
Your portfolio should tell your story, not someone else’s
Just as no two writers take the same road, so also their portfolios should not look alike.
The works included in your portfolio should be able to demonstrate your potential as well as your desire to explore particular opportunities. You don’t need to show off multiple kinds of writing abilities, but demonstrate what you do and are interested in particularly well.
A note for different types of writers
Novelists: The most important thing about a novelist’s portfolio is that it should be able to demonstrate their storytelling skills. For instance, a good idea for a portfolio would be to include a polished first chapter, your best short stories, and excerpts from your manuscript.
Memoirists: It’s all about authenticity for memoirists, and personal essays are sometimes better at proving this than a list of achievements. Select essays and short stories that illustrate your unique voice and convey honest emotions.
Screenwriters: Show that you know how to format a screenplay and can follow industry guidelines (more on that here). You can feature short scripts, pilots, or selected scenes with well-crafted dialogue and good pacing.
There is no single ideal portfolio, but the right one will certainly let you speak to your strengths.
Where should your portfolio live?
Having selected the writing samples you want, the next question is: where will you store your portfolio? Again, the answer is connected to your intentions.
When querying literary agents and/or publishers, the most convenient format is a PDF portfolio since it can easily be sent via email and contains all your writing in one professional document.
If you are applying for freelance writing positions, writing contests, or internships, a Google Drive suffices. Sort your work into folders and send only one link with your portfolio visible in read-only mode.
If you plan to develop your career as a writer, then you can create your own portfolio on a website. This will provide you with a permanent place for storing your best writings, your full biography, and contact info.
The portfolio that changes everything
At some point in every quest, the hero realizes that it was not about the destination itself. It was about becoming the kind of hero who can reach their goal.
As you compile all of your best writing in one place, the patterns start appearing. You can start to see for yourself the writer you’ve become. The topics you write about time and time again. The questions you keep asking yourself. The characters you keep revisiting. The emotions you always return to.
Without realizing it, you may have been writing the same story in different ways. Not because you don’t have enough material. Every writer spends their life exploring the subjects that mean most to them.
Stop trying to impress
Often new writers ask, “How can I make my portfolio stand out?”
It is quite an obvious question, but standing out is not the purpose of great storytelling. Connecting is.
People will not remember a story because it was bold. They will remember the story because it felt genuine.
It’s the same with your portfolio. You don’t have to use bombastic language. You don’t have to act smarter than you are. You don’t have to copy other writers.
Your strength lies in clarity.
When people come across sincere writing, they relax and get curious. Building interest is the first step towards every good connection you can make with your portfolio.
Your story weapon: Build a portfolio that tells one story
While you’re selecting pieces to include in your portfolio, consider this question: “Is this the kind of writing that I want potential agents, publishers, or audiences to think that I write?”
If the answer is no, don’t include it in your portfolio.
Make a list for yourself of your top three writing samples on a piece of paper. Underneath each writing sample, write one sentence to describe why it’s included in your portfolio. If you can’t articulate the reason, it shouldn’t be included.
Each writing sample must earn its place to tell the story of your identity as a writer. Again, your portfolio is not about proving how much you have written; rather, it is all about convincing someone that you are the right writer for the job, and your wifi is worth investing their time in.
Keep building and refining your portfolio as your writing skills grow.
A manuscript is evidence that you completed one story. A writing portfolio is proof that you can write the next one. Sometimes, that makes all the difference.
Building a strong writing portfolio begins with developing the storytelling skills and body of work that you can confidently present to readers, agents, and publishers. To strengthen your craft and develop work worthy of representing you as a writer, join one of my next workshops: The 90-Day Novel, The 90-Day Memoir, Story Day.
