Have you ever considered creating an online portfolio to showcase your work? An online portfolio gives you the opportunity to display your creative work in a format that is more convenient for the viewer. You can put your work online for the world to see.
If you’re looking for inspiration on what to include in your portfolio, then check out some of the best online portfolios for writers. They will give you an idea of what elements make for a good creative writing sample.
The Best Online Portfolios For Writers
An online portfolio is a great opportunity to demonstrate your work to a potential employer. It is important to get the format of your choice – whether it’s.DOC,.PDF, or.RTF – but it is even more important to keep the file size small. Anything larger than 10MB and you start to lose out on potential viewers.
Based on current trends and what is generally in demand, it is a good idea to look for online portfolios that allow for.DOC and PDF downloads. These file types can be viewed and most often are viewed on a desktop device. If you want to make sure that your work can be accessed on a mobile device, then you should look into a smaller file size option such as.RTF.
Here are some of the best online portfolios for writers:
The Huffington Post
One of the most popular online portfolios for writers is the The Huffington Post. The website was launched in 2005 and now houses over 500 million monthly page views. The Huffington Post allows for submissions via their Creative Writing page. While the details of their submission guidelines vary by site, they generally ask for a short story or novel excerpt.
What makes for a good sample? Ideally, you want to show a complete story with several chapters. If you’re submitting a short story, then you want to keep it under 500 words. In addition, you want to include a few sentences describing the main characters.
The New York Times
Another great resource for writers is The New York Times. Similar to The Huffington Post, the Times also accepts unsolicited submissions via their Editor’s Blog. Like most newspapers, The New York Times looks for fresh material to publish. Therefore, their focus is on short story samples rather than full-length novel excerpts.
You can find an email address for editorial comments on their website. Feel free to send them an email to let them know that you’ve submitted a story and to ask any questions you may have about their process.
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed is another great platform for writers. The content-sharing website was launched in early 2010 and quickly became one of the most popular websites in the world. Their blog section welcomes content creators from all over the world and allows for unsolicited submissions. BuzzFeed primarily looks for funny, entertaining pieces that they can share with their audience.
You can find email contacts for various departments on their website. If you want to reach out to a human, then you can also use their online form to get in touch with an editor. Alternatively, you can use their Public Relations department to send press announcements or engage with journalists online using their media accounts.
The Atlantic
The Atlantic is a well-known magazine that focuses on politics, current affairs, and science. They also publish a number of short-form articles that they call Snapshots. The Snapshot format was introduced in 2006 and allows writers to share their work with the magazine’s audience using a short story or novel excerpt.
Find email addresses for various editors on their website. You can also use their contact form to get in touch with a human to discuss your story. Alternatively, you can use their Social Media team to post on their behalf.
Vogue
Vogue is another well-known fashion magazine that publishes short-form articles and online portfolios. They also accept unsolicited submissions and use a variety of platforms to display work including blogging, instagramming, and tiktoking. Like many of the other magazines on this list, they look for fresh material to include in their next issue.
You can find contact information for various departments on their website. If you want to get in touch with a real person, then you can use the online form on their website to send a query or use their editorial team to get a fast response via email.
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is one of the most well-known publications in the world and they also have a digital arm that allows for the publication of short-form articles. These articles are generally between 4000 and 7000 words in length with a preference for literary fiction, science-fiction, and fantasy.
You can find their email addresses on their website for various editorial positions. Alternatively, you can use their Contact Us form to send an email directly to a human being. They may not always respond to emails quickly, but they will definitely get back in touch with you if they like your work.
The Guardian
Similar to The New Yorker, The Guardian also publishes short-form articles that they call Daily Drops. These daily drops give you the opportunity to show off your work to a global audience with over 500 million monthly page views. Similar to other publications on this list, The Guardian looks for articles that are fresh, unique, and of good quality.
You can use their contact form to get in touch with a real person rather than an automated response from their Editorial team. Like many other publications on this list, The Guardian also accepts unsolicited submissions via their Creative Writing page. However, their submission guidelines are a little different. They generally ask for a completed short story (8000 words minimum) and they also prefer a novel excerpt rather than a short story.
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is another well-known and popular newspaper that also publishes short-form articles. These article types are generally between 2000 and 6000 words in length and can be used to showcase your work to potential employers or connections.
You can use their contact form to get in touch with an editor rather than sending your work to an automated response. The Washington Post also accepts unsolicited submissions and uses various platforms to allow for the publication of short-form articles including blogging, instagramming, and tiktoking. The submission guidelines for their Editorial team are very similar to those of The Atlantic, mentioned above. In fact, they use many of the same keywords in their requests for articles.
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is a business newspaper that is often regarded as the father of modern-day newsrooms. Like other publications on this list, the Journal also uses an editorial approach to selecting content rather than simply taking what is submitted to them. Therefore, quality is always a top consideration.
You can reach out to their editorial team via their contact form and find email addresses for various departments on their website. Alternatively, you can use their Digital Media department to get in touch with a real person rather than an automated response.
Red Ventures
Red Ventures is an international media company that owns over 20 websites and publishes over 40 newspapers worldwide. Many of their publications accept unsolicited submissions and use a number of platforms including blogs, podcasts, and tiktokers to showcase new talent. Similar to other publications on this list, they also primarily look for articles that are of high quality.
You can find contact information for various editors on their website. Alternatively, you can email them to reach an editor rather than a fully automated response.
A good short story sample should be no more than 10MB in size. If you have submitted a novella or novel, then make sure that it is between 20 and 40MB.
Grand Tour
Grand Tour is a publishing company that focuses on lifestyle content and digital nomads who want to grow their business.
They have a variety of platforms including YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn that they use to showcase content including blog posts, Instagram stories, and profile pics.
Similar to other publications on this list, they also look for unique material to include in their magazine. However, their focus is on documenting the everyday lives and adventures of digital nomads around the world.
You can find contact information for various departments on their website. Alternatively, you can email them to get a response rather than using their general inbox.