Build a Novelist Resume for Agents and Teaching Posts
Novelist resume examples with publication credits, genre and word count, residencies and the keywords agents and programs actually read.
Example Novelist summary
Novelist in literary and upmarket fiction with three published novels between 90,000 and 130,000 words, plus short work in literary magazines. Delivers structural revisions inside a six week editorial window, teaches long form fiction to graduate writers, and reads 60 manuscripts a year. Seeking representation for a fourth novel and a visiting faculty term.
Skills to list on a Novelist resume
- Narrative structure
- Character development
- Point of view
- Scene construction
- Dialogue
- Developmental revision
- Line editing
- Outlining
- Query letters
- Manuscript formatting
- Research
- Workshop teaching
- Public readings
- Copyedit review
What actually gets this resume read
- Lead with a publications section: title, press, year and word count, newest first.
- Name your genre and comparable shelf placement, because agents and programs sort by category.
- List residencies, fellowships and prizes with the awarding body rather than the prize name alone.
- Give teaching credits their own section if you want a faculty post, with class size and level.
- Include short fiction and essays only when the outlet is one an editor will recognize.
- Say how you work: outline or discovery, daily word count, and how you handle a structural rewrite.