Resume guide · Updated October 2026
Writer Resume Example and Writing Guide (Freelance and Staff)
Short answer
A writer resume should open with a headline naming the kind of writing you do (content, copy, journalism, technical), a short summary with your niches and formats, and a link to your portfolio. List each employer or freelance business with output and results, such as articles per month, rankings or conversions, plus your CMS, SEO and editing tools.
| Median pay (May 2025) | $76,910 per year ($36.98 per hour) |
|---|---|
| Typical entry-level education | Bachelor's degree |
| Job outlook, 2025-35 | 0% (Little or no change) |
| Number of jobs | 140,300 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Writers and Authors, checked 27 October 2026.
Writer resume example
Below is a full writer resume for Maya Okafor, a fictional freelance B2B Content Writer, SaaS and Fintech in Portland, OR. Keep the section order, then replace each line with your own work and results.
Maya Okafor
Freelance B2B Content Writer, SaaS and Fintech
Portland, OR · maya.okafor@example.com · (555) 017-3382 · mayaokafor.com/portfolio · linkedin.com/in/mayaokafor
Summary
Content writer with 7 years across newsroom, in-house and freelance work. Writes search-focused articles, case studies and email sequences for SaaS and fintech brands, delivering 10 to 14 pieces a month for retained clients. Turns subject-matter interviews into clear copy and keeps every client on a single editing round.
Experience
Freelance Content Writer, Okafor Content Studio (self-employed)
Mar 2022 to present
Remote
- Write 10 to 14 long-form B2B articles a month for 6 retained SaaS and fintech clients, from brief and expert interview to CMS upload.
- Rebuilt 60 posts around search intent for a payroll software blog; organic sessions grew from 18,000 to 41,000 a month over 14 months.
- Wrote a 9-email onboarding sequence for a budgeting app; trial-to-paid conversion rose from 4.1% to 5.6% the following quarter.
- Delivered more than 300 pieces on deadline; keep a style sheet per client so most drafts need one round of edits.
Content Writer, Brightwater Health Media
Jun 2019 to Feb 2022
Portland, OR
- Wrote 3 to 4 consumer health articles a week, each reviewed by a clinician editor and cited to peer-reviewed or government sources.
- Owned an 85-article medication explainer series and updated every piece on a 12-month review cycle.
- Rewrote meta titles and internal links on 200 legacy pages; 34 moved onto page one for their target query.
Editorial Assistant, Cascade Weekly
Aug 2017 to May 2019
Eugene, OR
- Fact-checked 15 to 20 stories per issue and wrote 2 news briefs a week in AP style.
- Managed about 120 community event listings a month in WordPress.
- Pitched and reported 11 features, including a three-part series on local housing costs.
Selected clips
- How payroll taxes work for remote teams (2,800-word guide, B2B SaaS blog)
- Customer story: cutting month-end close from 9 days to 4 (fintech case study)
- What your pharmacist wants you to know about generic drugs (consumer health explainer)
Education
Bachelor of Arts in English, minor in Journalism, Willamette State University · Copy editor, student newspaper
2017
Certifications
Content Marketing Certification (HubSpot Academy)
Skills
Long-form B2B content · SEO writing · Copywriting · Expert interviews · AP style · Editing and fact-checking · Email sequences · WordPress · Google Search Console · Ahrefs · Google Docs
Writer resume summary examples
4 writer summaries, one each for entry level, freelance writer, senior or staff writer and copywriter. Pick the closest and rewrite it with your own title, years and one real result.
Writer with a B.A. in Communications and 40 bylined pieces from the student newspaper and a marketing agency internship, from 300-word news briefs to 1,500-word features. Writes clean AP style copy on weekly deadlines and is comfortable in WordPress, Google Docs and basic keyword research.
Freelance writer with 4 years of retained clients in HR tech and cybersecurity. Produces 8 to 12 articles, case studies and landing pages a month from expert interviews, and handles briefs, invoicing and revisions directly with marketing leads. Portfolio includes guides ranking on page one for competitive software queries.
Senior content writer with 9 years across agency and in-house teams. Plans the editorial calendar, writes flagship guides and edits 3 junior writers. Built the style guide and briefing template that cut average revision rounds from three to one.
Direct-response copywriter with 6 years writing landing pages, paid social ads and email for ecommerce brands. Writes and tests subject lines and headlines with the growth team and documents every winning variant in a shared swipe file.
Writer resume objective examples
Use an objective instead of a summary for new graduate and career changer situations: one or two sentences on what you bring and the writer job you want.
Recent journalism graduate seeking a junior content writer role on a B2B marketing team, bringing 30 published clips, two semesters as copy editor of the campus paper and experience writing to weekly deadlines.
Former high school English teacher with 7 years of curriculum writing, moving into content or instructional writing where clear explanation, editing and audience awareness carry over directly. Portfolio of 12 sample articles and two course modules.
Writer resume bullet points
Bullets grouped by writing output and formats, SEO and content performance, freelance business and clients and editing, research and collaboration. The numbers are illustrations; put in your own.
Writing output and formats
- Wrote 12 blog posts, 2 case studies and 1 white paper a month for a cybersecurity software company.
- Ghostwrote 40 LinkedIn posts and 6 bylined articles for the CEO, published in two trade outlets.
- Produced product descriptions for 450 new SKUs in one season, matched to the brand voice guide.
- Turned 25 recorded customer interviews into case studies approved by each customer's legal team.
SEO and content performance
- Researched keywords and wrote briefs for 80 articles; 22 reached the top three results within 9 months.
- Refreshed 45 decaying posts with current data and internal links, recovering 30% of lost organic traffic in one quarter.
- Wrote landing page copy for a webinar series that drew 1,900 registrations across 4 events.
Freelance business and clients
- Built a freelance practice to 6 retained clients and an average of 11 billable pieces a month.
- Scoped projects, wrote proposals and negotiated rates directly with marketing managers and founders.
- Kept a 100% on-time delivery record across 2 years of weekly deadlines.
Editing, research and collaboration
- Edited 15 freelance submissions a week for accuracy, tone and house style before publication.
- Interviewed engineers, clinicians and finance leads to verify technical claims before drafting.
- Created a 20-page style guide and a briefing template adopted by a 7-person content team.
Skills for a writer resume
18 skills employers list in writer postings. Include the ones the posting asks for and that your bullets prove.
| Type | Skills |
|---|---|
| Hard skills | SEO content writing, Copywriting, Long-form articles and guides, Editing and proofreading, AP and Chicago style, Interviewing and research, Fact-checking, Keyword research, Content briefs, Email and landing page copy, Content strategy, CMS publishing |
| Soft skills | Meeting deadlines, Taking editorial feedback, Curiosity, Clear communication with clients, Self-management, Adapting voice to the audience |
| Tools and software | WordPress, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, Semrush, Grammarly, HubSpot, Asana or Trello, Canva |
Certifications for a writer resume
| Credential | Issued by | When it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Content Marketing Certification | HubSpot Academy | Optional and free. Useful when you are moving from journalism or teaching into marketing content. |
| Google Analytics Certification | Google (Skillshop) | Optional. Shows you can read the traffic and conversion numbers you put on your resume. |
How do you list freelance writing on a resume?
Treat your freelance practice as one job. Use a title such as "Freelance Content Writer", your business name or "Self-employed" as the employer, and one date range. Under it, write bullets about volume, client types and results, not a list of every client.
If clients are under NDA or you ghostwrite, describe them by industry and size ("Series B HR software company") instead of naming them. Name the well-known clients you are allowed to name, because recognizable logos help a hiring manager place your work fast.
- Retained clients: "6 retained SaaS and fintech clients"
- Monthly output: "10 to 14 articles a month"
- Formats: guides, case studies, white papers, emails, product pages
- Results the client shared with you: rankings, traffic, sign-ups, conversions
Should a writer resume link to a portfolio?
Yes. Editors and content leads decide on your clips, so put the portfolio link in the contact line where it is impossible to miss. A simple personal site, a Contently or Muck Rack profile, or a shared folder of PDFs all work, as long as the link opens without a login.
Pick 3 to 6 pieces that match the job: B2B guides for a SaaS role, reported features for a magazine, conversion copy for an ecommerce brand. You can also add a short "Selected clips" section at the bottom of the resume with titles and formats.
What should a writer resume summary say?
Three lines are enough: what you write, for whom, and one result or volume figure. "Freelance B2B writer for HR tech and cybersecurity, 8 to 12 pieces a month, guides ranking on page one" tells a content lead more than a paragraph about passion for words.
Change the first line for each application so it echoes the posting: "content writer", "copywriter", "technical writer" and "UX writer" are screened as different jobs by both recruiters and applicant tracking systems.
Building a writer resume with no experience
Build a body of published work before you apply. Student newspaper and magazine pieces, a niche blog you keep updated, guest posts and pro bono writing for a nonprofit all count as clips, and they can sit under a "Writing experience" heading.
Add jobs that used writing even if writing was not the title: grant drafts, training manuals, newsletters, social posts for a small business. Spec pieces written for a real brand show you can match a voice, but label them as samples rather than client work.
How long should a writer resume be, and which template works?
One page for most writers, two if you have a decade of staff roles or a long list of bylines worth keeping. Your portfolio carries the detail, so the resume only needs the evidence that gets a reader to click.
Use a clean single-column template with standard headings. A writer resume is your first writing sample: one typo or an inconsistent tense will cost more here than in almost any other field, so proofread it aloud.
ATS keywords for a writer resume
Terms that show up in writer job postings. Mirror the exact wording of the posting you apply to, but only for work you have done.
- writer
- content writer
- freelance writer
- copywriter
- SEO writing
- content strategy
- editing
- proofreading
- AP style
- WordPress
- CMS
- long-form content
- blog posts
- case studies
- white papers
- email marketing
- keyword research
- content calendar
- B2B
- ghostwriting
Mistakes to avoid on a writer resume
- No portfolio link. Without clips, a writing resume is a set of claims no editor can check.
- Client lists instead of results. Naming 20 clients says less than "6 retained clients, 11 pieces a month, 3 guides ranking in the top three".
- Typos and inconsistent style. Mixing serial commas, tenses or date formats reads as careless in a field that sells precision.
- Hiding freelance work. Leaving freelance years off creates a gap; list the practice as a real job with output and results.
- Claiming results you cannot explain. Only cite traffic or conversion numbers the client shared and you can talk through in an interview.
Frequently asked questions
What should a writer put on a resume?
A headline with your writing type, a three-line summary, a portfolio link, each staff job or freelance practice with output and results, your tools (CMS, SEO, editing software) and your education. Add a short selected clips section if it helps.
How do I list freelance writing on my resume?
List it as one job titled "Freelance Writer" with your business name or "Self-employed", one date range and bullets about client types, monthly volume and results. Describe NDA clients by industry instead of by name.
How do you write a writer resume with no experience?
Use student publications, a niche blog, guest posts, nonprofit work and labelled spec pieces as clips, and list them under "Writing experience". Add any job where you wrote newsletters, manuals or social posts.
What is a good summary for a writer resume?
Name what you write, for which industries, and one volume or result figure, in two or three sentences. For example: "Freelance B2B writer for HR tech, 8 to 12 pieces a month, guides ranking on page one for competitive software terms."
How much do writers make?
The BLS reports a median pay of $76,910 per year for writers and authors in May 2025, with a projected outlook of 0% (little or no change) for 2025-35. The BLS also notes that many writers and authors are self-employed.
Should a writer resume be one page?
Usually yes, because your portfolio holds the detail. Go to two pages only when you have many years of staff roles or bylines that a hiring editor would want to see on the resume itself.
Related guides
Sources, checked 27 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Writers and Authors (median pay, education, outlook, number of jobs, self-employment)
- O*NET OnLine: Writers and Authors (27-3043.00) (job titles including freelance writer, tasks and common software)