Writing Prompt: Write or Modify Your Professional Resume.

Writing Prompt 106

Write or modify your professional resume.

The professional resume is the single-most important tool in a writer’s arsenal, irrespective of the writer’s style or preferences. That means all writers, including those who specialize in fiction writing, need to create a professional resume. The resume is a straightforward to-the-point listing of a writer’s education, professional experience (jobs), and any continuing education activities, such as participation in workshops, seminars, or lectures.

In the ideal world, it is helpful to create one comprehensive document that focuses exclusively on writing-related activities. However, if you happen to be starting out as a writer or have limited experience in writing, feel free to add relevant writing activities to your general resume that lists all work history.

I can’t believe there are just 52 days for NaNonFiWriMo 2013 to be upon us. Has anyone at ALL attempted to complete any of the 105 previous writing prompts? I would love to hear from you!

Please consider leaving feedback directly on this prompt. Thank you so much!

Education – Quick Tips

In this new education section, I’d like to provide a quick tip to motivate nonfiction writers.

Join a street team of like-minded bloggers whose volunteer job is to actively promote your blog posts through social media channels.

Street teams are a relatively new phenomenon in the Internet world. Offline, there are many, many established street teams who are usually groups of college students hitting the streets through informal walks and product-hawking to promote a particular brand. In the Internet world, street teams are a bit more sophisticated (thankfully!) and are not composed primarily of youth.

Street teams in the Internet world are educated, media-savvy professionals who know a thing or two about how to “work it” through various media channels. Every person on a street team has his own set of connections and offers those connections little snippets, soundbytes, images, or URLs as a means of promoting a brand.

As a writer, you do not necessarily have to have “a brand” in order to promote yourself or the writing of someone else. You should, however, be authentic in everything you do and approach your street team marketing activities in a way that is sincere. You can benefit incredibly by promoting your work as well as the writing work of others.

Just ask Dino Dogan what he thinks about street teams. I’m sure he can share some sound advice on the benefits of active street team participation.

Marketing success in writing

Today’s feature is on blogger Dino Dogan.

Dino Dogan created the wildly popular social media platform, Triberr. From this group came the related term “tribes,” which everyone now refers to as a set of specialized “fans of a person.” In real life, famous people like celebrities and musicians have devoted legions of fans waiting for them around every corner. The groupies are loyal, diehard fans of the famous folks.

Down on earth on the Internet, where many of us live, we have what is known as “tribes.” A tribe is a fancy term derived from Triberr that infers that we have a similar group of fans, or readers, or subscribers, or people who support us (our “tribe”). Within our tribes are our “groupies,” so to speak – – the people who read what we write, praise it by leaving comments, and share our blog material to their networks. Joining Triberr and actively promoting the writing of others is one cool way to join a tribe.

The success of Triberr, at least in my opinion, is due to the fact that Dino invented a clever and technologically easy way to share blog posts of fellow writers. Some people refer to this as link sharing. I call it “a really cool street team led by the Pied Piper of lousy mixed martial arts, Dino Dogan.” If you have no clue what I mean by that, perhaps now is a good time for you to research Dino and Triberr. (hint)

Marketing success, non-writing

Here is our fourth feature on Artistic Toy Manufacturing Co. and the wild success of its custom plush and toys.

In November 2011, Artistic Toy received an artistic challenge to create a 3D custom character for food manufacturer SPAM (Hormel Foods). Hormel Foods provided an illustration of their dream character, Sir Can-A-Lot, along with specific suggestions on how the finished product should look like. After undergoing a long process in understanding and interpreting a linear illustration and rendering 3D physical prototypes, Artistic Toy emerged a winner and provided the client with a satisfactory product.

This project resulted in Hormel Foods celebrating the 75th anniversary of SPAM food products with a joyful introduction of its new spokesperson, Sir Can-A-Lot in early 2012.

Know what would be cool? To see Dino Dogan commission a custom Triberr superhero toy plush from Artistic Toy. What do you think – would you buy one?