How to Become a Freelance/Telecommute Sports Writer


There are people who have never outgrown their love for high school or college sports. These are the very candidates for journalists who can become their very own freelance sports writer.

Whether it's for love of a $28,000 minimum annual income or for love of the game, it's a field worth playing. That's because, in the world of sports, there's always going to be a lot of thrill and drama behind each success story.

On being a freelance sports writer

As a writer who's going to be into the niche of sports, you'll be playing an important role. Your role isn't only to entertain people with the latest news on which football hero made it to the big league by being the season's pick or which golfer said bye-bye to the birdie just by being indiscreet. These are entertaining to fans, but their novelty simply comes and goes.

If you're going to play a bigger role in the sports arena, then you could write to educate your readers. Through informative news articles, tell them more about their favorite sports. Through trivia items, share little-known secrets which both surprise and amaze them. Through helpful FAQs, provide answers to their most commonly-asked questions about who was first, last, or best.

In this way, you help promote more than sports magazines and books. You also help build legends among athletes and players who have been or could be heroes in their own right.

The specialty and its challenges

Because sports casting is as active and changeable as the game, be quick to pick up on the latest tips. Utilize all your resources just to get your facts right. Always have access to the internet, to a mobile phone, to a fax machine, or even to the nearest taxi stand and airport.

Since most news is reported in real-time, be very familiar with things such as names, faces, dates, and years. These won't be any trouble at all if you're an avid sports fan yourself.

Especially when it's a who's who, you must be an expert on which player is playing for which team, which team is being trained by which coach, and which athlete is being managed by which agent. Even their jersey numbers are something you must commit to memory and heart.

On becoming good at what you do

Step 1: Decide on a sport.

Although you'd like to be a Jack-of-all trades with an unlimited income, it always pays if you start with just one specialty. Choose if it's going to be baseball, basketball, football, etc. This would help you on one important aspect, and that's focus!

Step 2: Brush up on some sports news.

For starters, grab your favorite sports magazine and have a look inside. Read not only the latest issue but also at least three issues back. It's not only about trends; it's also about history, and that's what many sports fans love to relive!

Step 3: Collect those clips.

Within every sports fan lurks an avid collector. When we talk about clips, we're not only referring to sample articles which you've written before. Of course, they'll be instrumental to building your portfolio as a sports writer, so do start gathering them.

If you're a real sports fan, hidden away somewhere would be a collection of article clips which made a huge impact on you. With these samples as a guide and inspiration, you'll be on your way to becoming a freelance sports writer who's going pro!

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