The Do's and Don'ts Of Freelance Sports Writing

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

Having a love for sports is not the only thing that makes a good sports writer. You must also have the ability to communicate well with your writing. That being said, the question I get asked the most is, "What am I doing wrong?" The answer to that could be any number of things.

So I decided to make a little guide, if you will, listing some of the major Do's and Don'ts for freelance sports writers.

Let's start with the Do's.

1. Tell a story instead of just "listing" events. No one likes to read instruction manuals, especially sports fans. Try to work a personal experience into the material that readers can relate to. Doing this will help them to see you as a person, rather than a robot spouting information.

2. Have up-to-date material. The Super Bowl is right around the corner. Fans don't want to hear about games from a month ago. They want all the information they can get about the play-offs leading up to the big day. Injury reports and so forth are hot topics right now.

3. Do your homework. I can't stress this enough. Having knowledge about players, coaches and stats will give you more credibility when writing. I feel that historical information is a big plus when it comes to sports writing. Being able to slip some history into your piece makes for an interesting read.

Now for the Don'ts.

1. Don't assume who is reading your work, cater to the audience as a whole. Even though most people associate sports with men, that's not always the case. My 80 year-old grandmother was the biggest fan of baseball that I've ever known. She could quote stats, player line-ups, and final scores going back to the late 40's.

2. Don't focus on play-by-play too much. Instead, integrate highlights into your work. Play-by-plays are great for awesome moments in sports, (ie. Tiger on the 18th, about to win The Masters for the first time), but highlights are just as catchy and help to break the monotony.

3. Don't force your opinion on your readers. Everyone wants to express their opinions, writers a little more-so than others. Let your opinion be known, but not in a "my word is law" type of way. As a writer it helps to be the mediator for your readers' opinions when discussing different topics. This creates a social network of like-minded individuals swapping opinions and ideas back and forth, making the audience a part of the whole story.

I hope that this helps some of you. If you have any other questions, feel free to write me anytime. I can be contacted via this blog or regular e-mail. Write on!

Writing A Good Sports Article Can Help Document History

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

It's hard to believe that not long ago, there was no Internet, or sports channels available to get up-to-date information on some of America's favorite past-times. Picking up a newspaper, or catching a radio broadcast was about all people had to turn to.

Thanks to the writers of the time, average people could get all of the information they needed. Some of those articles still survive, thankfully, or most of sports history would have been forgotten. For instance, did you know that when Walter Hagan arrived at Sandwich for the 29^th Open Championship in 1922, he was not allowed to change or eat in the clubhouse. Thumbing his nose at British protocol, he hired a stretch limousine, and parked it in front of the clubhouse as his own private RV so to speak. He changed in it, ate in it, and even had a party or two. Hagan went on to beat George Duncan and become the first American-born player to win the Open. Upon receiving his check, he glanced at the amount........ and gave it to his caddie. What a guy!

So what makes a good sports article? Here is a guide that I would use myself when writing a sports article. It's laid out step-by-step, and also has links to other sites to help move you forward into a career as a sports writer.

You may also want to check out Nazvee Careem's article on writing sports reports. In it he explains how to do this in 4 easy steps. A good guide on all accounts.

The main thing to remember is to not get frustrated when writing. It shows in your work. There are many helpful sites, and services available for guidance. If you can't figure something out, just Google it!

New E-book for Freelance Sportswriters

For those of you who may want to break into writing about sports, I have written an e-book about the process. The One Minute Golf Writer is a guide for starting a rewarding career as a freelance sportswriter. Although it is directed at people looking to write about golf, it is also perfect for any sports discipline, or any profession, for that matter.

It takes you from the beginning stages, answering such questions as "Who can become a freelance writer?," to "Can I write well enough?," to "How long will it take to begin making money?," plus many others.

The One Minute Golf Writer shows readers (and listeners; there's an audio CD, too) how to find work, the types of writing they can do, case studies, interviews with other writers, how much they might earn for different projects, and so on.

Have a look for yourself at www.oneminutegolfwriter.com.

Sportswriting Goes Further than Article Writing

It's always great to get your work published. Today, there are lots of options for submitting your work for publication; websites, newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc.

There's also corporate writing. Whatever your chosen sport(s), you can be certain there are businesses that need your help. For example, I have completed several projects for a company that produces and sells golf instructional videos. They also maintain a mailing list to which regular newsletters are sent. For that company, I have written extensive reports about various aspects of golf.

As another illustration, I have completed writing projects for a company that manages several golf resorts in the United States and around the world.

With a little imagination, you can find these companies. Finding them is a big step to getting work from them. When you're starting out as a sportswriter, those corporate writing paychecks are generally much larger than those for the traditional article for publication.