He Clicks, He Scores!
How to Use the Internet to Break Into Sports Writing

by Chuck Bednar

You are a veritable fountain of sports knowledge. You can name all the Daytona 500 winners from the past decade and the last five Heisman Trophy winners. You know who holds the NBA record for highest career free-throw percentage. Not only do you know what OPS is, but you can actually explain it. And you can write. But you don't know where or how you can pursue a career as a freelance sportswriter.

Fear not. The road to success as a freelance sportswriter is only a few mouse clicks away.

First things first. Without published samples of your writing, it's next to impossible to hit the big time. The first thing you need to do is to build up a healthy collection of clips. Quality is more important than quantity, but it's important to have a wide array of samples. Not just different sports, but also different styles of articles, such as features, news, editorials, etc.

With nearly 1,500 topics, it can be hard to find a sport to cover at Suite 101 (http://www.suite101.com). Still, it is one of the better places on the web to cut your teeth as a writer. In addition to writing articles, you also have to perform basic site maintenance, such as checking links and participating in discussions. You have the option of updating your site weekly, biweekly, or monthly. This market no longer pays, making it far less attractive than it once was.

Like Suite 101, AllSports (http://www.allsports.com) doesn't pay, but they do provide free web hosting and the freedom to choose what sports, league, and/or team you want to cover. Also, they have won numerous awards for their work, making it both a comfortable place to work and a well respected addition to your resume.

E-Sports Media Group (http://www.esportsmediagroup.com) also offers flexibility and the advantage of working for a popular service. E-Sports syndicates the works of accepted authors and promises royalties based on article sales. It's always a risk working on commission as you never really know how much you'll be making from month to month. But the exposure makes E-Sports worth checking out. Note (as of 11/04): Currently, eSports has had to change its business model and no longer syndicates its articles or offers royalties to authors. However, eSports still welcomes authors, who have been accepted, the opportunity to write articles on their favorite sport's topics and see them published, usually within 24 hours.

Once you feel comfortable with the amount and quality of your clips, it's time to look for bigger and better things. First, stop by SportsEditor.com (http://www.sportseditor.com). Join the discussion list to make some valuable contacts in the business. Get yourself listed in their member directory, and check out their list of job openings.

Then point your browser to Content Exchange (http://www.content-exchange.com/cx/index.cfm). List yourself in their database and see if there are any openings that fit your qualifications. Subscribe to newsletters such Writers Weekly (http://www.writersweekly.com) and Freelancing for Money (http://freelancing4money.com). They are invaluable commodities. Check out the help wanted listings at these sites for valuable leads to potential employment:

Sunoasis Jobs
http://www.sunoasis.com

JournalismJobs.com
http://www.journalismjobs.com

Telecommuting Jobs
http://www.tjobs.com/new/writers.shtml

For more information, see How to Succeed in Sports Writing, by Neil Barraclough.