Natalie Poole

Experienced and reliable professional with customer-facing retail experience, alongside hands-on, self-driven experience in marketing, content creation and writing. I have worked as a part-time customer assistant while studying for a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing at The Open University. Independently planned, wrote, marketed and self-published a full-length novel.

Helping me build end-to-end skills in project management, audience research, social media strategy, and editorial/production work.

Freelance Writer, Content Creator & Marketer at Self-Employed (2020-10 – Present)

• Planned, wrote, edited and self-published a full-length novel via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and IngramSpark.
• Managed the complete production process, including manuscript formatting, margins, headers and footers, cover design (Procreate), and submission across two publishing platforms.
• Developed a full marketing strategy for the novel, including competitor research, target audience profiling, content planning, posting schedule and influencer outreach — all managed independently.
• Built a social media presence from scratch, growing accounts across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook with original, platform-tailored content.
• Researched and approached bookstagrammers and social media influencers to secure pre-publication review partnerships.
• Gathered and incorporated feedback from test readers, applying editorial revisions to both the manuscript and its market positioning.
• Comfortable adapting tone and voice to a brief, with experience relevant to ghostwriting and copywriting for long- and short-form content.
• Balanced all freelance writing and marketing activity alongside part-time employment and full-time university study, consistently meeting deadlines.

customer Assistant at The works (2023-10 – 2026-04)

• Delivered friendly, knowledgeable advice on product selection, consistently achieving positive customer feedback.
• Created attractive visual merchandising and shop window displays.
• Managed customer complaints and resolved issues promptly using strong interpersonal and conflict-resolution skills.
• Balanced this part-time role alongside self-publishing a novel and studying for a BA in English Literature, developing excellent time-management skills.

BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing – The Open University, Milton Keynes (2023)

Arts and Language Access Module – The Open University, Milton Keynes (2022 – 2023)