Author page and portfolio

A journalist or columnist portfolio should answer a question faster than a CV: what can you write, and about which subjects? Five strong publications with a consistent byline are often more useful than a folder containing fifty random files. An author page makes this even easier because the texts are gathered in one place and linked to one person.

What an author page should contain

At minimum: a name or stable pen name, photograph, short biography and list of publications. The biography does not need to retell an entire career. Two or three sentences should explain what experience the writing rests on and which subjects the author covers.

Use a consistent byline. If one article appears as “Alex P.”, the next as “Alexander Petrov” and a third under a company name, both readers and search systems have a harder time connecting the work. Choose one public form and use it consistently.

How to build the first five pieces

If the portfolio is empty, do not wait for a random commission. Create a small series that demonstrates different skills within one area:

1. an explanation of a difficult subject; 2. an opinion column with a clear thesis; 3. a practical guide; 4. analysis of a specific event; 5. an interview or a piece built on another person’s expertise, where the outlet permits it.

This shows a range of work rather than five versions of the same genre.

Why a publication is different from a screenshot of a post

A screenshot proves that a text once existed. A publication in a media outlet provides context: name of the outlet, date, section, layout and a preserved page. It is not a magical quality mark, but it is a more verifiable unit in a portfolio.

If an article is withdrawn or the site disappears, keep your source file and publication metadata. Do not present an archived file as if it were still a live page.

How to write the bio and choose the photo

A useful bio follows the formula “who you are in relation to the subject + what you write about”. For example: “Residential architect writing about planning, urban space and everyday design decisions that shape daily routes.” That says more than a list of generic qualities.

The photo should make the person easy to recognise: neutral background, face large enough for a small card, no tiny text or decorative clutter. In the service, the profile photo is stored through Chakloon Passport and can be cropped and scaled before saving.

Example of a complete author page

Name: Maria K.

Bio: Education project manager. Writes about how schools and families exchange information, why instructions are misunderstood and how decisions around learning are communicated.

Five pieces: “Why a school email loses the reader after the first paragraph”; “What parents mean by an urgent message”; “How to explain a new rule without ten follow-up questions”; “Why a timetable is also an interface”; “What a school learns from a newcomer’s questions”.

The set immediately shows both subject area and way of thinking. It is stronger than a random mix of a travel piece, a phone review and two promotional notes.

Portfolio checklist

• the name or pen name is consistent across publications;
• the bio is 2–4 sentences and related to the topics;
• the first five pieces show a range of skills;
• each article has a clear date and publication context;
• no one else’s text appears under your name;
• archived material is honestly labelled as archived;
• the photo works at small author-card size.

If you already have twenty publications

A portfolio does not need to be a complete archive. First decide who is viewing it and what decision they are making. A news editor wants to see work with facts and sources. A client looking for expert content wants evidence that you can explain complexity. A local-media employer may care about versatility and knowledge of place. One selection does not have to satisfy all three.

Choose five pieces by function. The first shows your main genre. The second shows subject complexity. The third shows work with people or sources. The fourth shows another pace, perhaps a short news item instead of a long analysis. The fifth points toward the work you want to do next. Remove pieces that duplicate each other even if each one is good.

The order also tells a story

Do not automatically put the newest article first. The first piece should prove your profile promise fastest. If you present yourself as a writer on city politics, opening with an old film review is confusing even if it received more views.

One line of context per piece is enough: genre, task and your role. “Interview and write-up”, “open-data analysis”, “on-site report” tells more than self-praise such as “strong article”. If the work was collaborative, say exactly what you did.

What to do with an old weak article

You do not have to delete early work just because your writing has improved. It can remain in a full archive. But it does not have to appear in the selection you show an employer or client. A portfolio is an edit, not proof that you never made mistakes.

A factual error is different. Correct it where possible or do not use the article as a quality sample. Style can be outgrown; an incorrect fact should not be kept in the showcase simply to increase the number of links.

For a digital portfolio, make sure every selected item still opens and is clearly labelled. If a page is gone, replace it with another example rather than forcing the viewer to guess what was there. Portfolios are often judged quickly, and a broken entry point reduces the value of a strong archive.

If you work in two languages, do not mix pieces in one list without explanation. Label the language so the reader knows what they will be able to read and evaluate.

Where to publish it

A portfolio can live on your own site, in a professional profile or through author pages inside publications. It is better to have one main place where 5–10 of your best pieces are easy to see than to make someone search your name across the internet.

What Columnist gives you

After your first article in a specific publication, an author page is created where your texts are collected. Each column includes an author card with name, photo and biography. A pen name is allowed, but every article is signed. The dashboard also stores published articles and drafts, although it does not provide a separate view-count statistic.

Start your portfolio with a series of five articles and publish them through Columnist at columnist.mib.news.

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