Sports Writer looking for work

Brady--You are already years ahead of the people you'll compete against for jobs in the future...you're probably ahead of plenty of adults who would never stick their necks out the way you have.

Experience is everything. Contacts, relationships, knowledge. No one is going to give you anything--people who succeed in this business are those who make things happen. Seems like you're already doing that.

Good advice above, to develop thick skin. You'll hear no more often than you'll hear yes....the thrill is getting to yes.

I would wish you good luck, but you already seem to have it.

 

Pulitzer, you beat me to it!

 

Sadly, ITC, I have no prospective employment for you. But I applaud your moxie.

So I'll point you a couple of boards up, to our Writers' Workshop. If you ever have a story you want critiqued, please post it. Somebody here, be it an award-winning journalist or a nutcase shut-in (and usually one or more of each), is always happy to look at a young writer's work.

Good luck.

 

Here's the thing...I never claimed to be the next Red Smith..read this:

"If my columns or articles aren't up to par in your opinion, then show me how to get better, because I'm willing to learn. "

I never said "my articles are definitely up to par with most newspapers, and I feel like I'm ready to take on anything" or something like that...

 

Read, read and read some more -- especially the people you admire. And the more you read, the more people you will admire. Hustle. Work hard. And write -- a lot.

 

This is laughable. It's easy to have thick skin when you are anon. Not so much when your name is out there.

I can't think of a journalist with thick skin.

 

And he hits a drive to left. Back, back, back. Gone!

 

You say it's a challenge because you don't have a working scoreboard or can't get rosters or have to write out your own quotes, instead of tape recording.

None of those things should stop you from doing the job.

Journalism isn't sitting in a college pressbox, waiting for the SID to hand you quotes or stats, etc. You need to get out and do your job and not wait for it to be handed to you.

Taking notes and stats at a high school game is something EVERYONE does that covers a game. You write down your play by play in one notebook and stats in the other.

You've already shown you can take initiative. Not doing those things mentioned above is a sign of laziness tho (and I'm not saying you are lazy).

 

I never said I DIDN'T do those things, I just said I dislike it, heh. I'm not covering the team right now because I can't afford gas money to travel with them. I think my paper may end up paying me though...I'll know next week.

 

Yet, Goon, we have an entire thread about what to do when there aren't rosters available at a HS game.

Step down.


Brady, I agree with most of what was posted above. Read. Read. Write. Read. Write. Ask for feedback. Talk to your editors. Talk to other friends in the business. Post your stuff in the Writers Workshop thread. Read. Read. Read.

 

And get stuff published WHEREVER you can, Brady. Magazines, newspapers, even your school paper ... anywhere. The more you write, the more you'll write.