I have a question for all of you freelance writers/fiction writers out there. Do you use your published fiction as a sample in your writer’s portfolio or not? I’m especially interested in responses from freelance writers who mainly deal with business clients but write fiction on the side.

You see, I’m asking this question for a hypothetical friend, Yennifer Jescalona. Yennifer is a fiction writer who chooses to keep her freelance writing portfolio on point by only including business writing. On the other hand, she was recently offered a freelance writing job because the client felt that her fiction “stood out.” That, of course, presents Yennifer with a problem:

Do fiction stories have a place in the freelance writer’s portfolio?

Why They Do – Like the client said, they make you stand out. Not only can you write a killer landing page, you have the capacity for creative thought, can tell that story on paper, and have been recognized by your peers for it.

Why They Don’t – In my… Yennifer’s line of work, she’s not going to get asked to write fiction, therefore fiction stories included in a portfolio are distracting and off point. Further, fiction is highly subjective. If you were in Yennifer’s place, a potential client could be thrilled about your work and then put off by the subject matter or tone of your fiction, thus costing you the job.

So Yennifer and I want to know – should the fiction stay in the portfolio and serve as a conversation piece, or stay where it belongs, on the bookshelf? Even if you aren’t a night time fiction writer, I look forward to hearing your opinion.