Creative writing requires patience but, on the other hand, it’s also a good idea to get your writing bio built up fairly quickly. How do you do that?

Develop a Strategy for Submission. When you send your work out, you are making opportunities so it follows that, when you don’t send any work out, you don’t make those opportunities. If you want the doors to open for you, you must knock on them so get your work out there for everyone to see.

Join a Writing Organization. Choose a well-known one that matches your genre. You will probably need to pay to join but you gain endless benefits from doing so. You can put their name in any query letter you send and you also get access to tons of resources, not to mention the opportunities for networking. Not only that, you get to show your chosen agent that you are deadly serious about your writing.

If your resources don’t stretch to joining one of the better-known organizations, go for one that isn’t quite so well known. Writers conduct workshops everywhere and if you can tell your agent that you go to these regularly, you tell them that you are diligent and resourceful. You also get to improve your writing and meet other like-minded people.

Volunteer.  If writing is your passion, pass it on. Volunteer at your local library or anything else that relates, and you demonstrate to your agent that you truly do care.

Take Some Classes.  Whether you have tons of published material or none, you can prove your dedication by taking writing cases. Editors love to work with people who are truly dedicated and committed to their craft. You don’t have to go to a school to do this, there are plenty of online writing courses.

Attend a Writing Conference. If your budget allows, these are a great way to network and to learn. You meet new friends, new contacts and you get to namedrop in your query letter!

What is important is that you only do these things for honest reasons. If you are doing it just to say you have, don’t bother because an agent will see straight through you. You need to do them to build up your reputation as a writer as well as your writing abilities. While there is no substitute for genuine published works and the absolute best way to build up your bio is to get those works published, demonstrating your genuine commitment can be done by using any of the above tips and all of them can work in your favor.

These are just some of the ways that you can build your writing bio up quite quickly as well as helping you to provide extra information when you write your query letters. Don’t overdo it though; an agent or editor will see you for what you are without needing a whole list of courses and classes! It doesn’t matter whether you published anything or not; what they want to see is dedication, commitment and a genuine love for writing.