How to Use the Internet to Break into Sports Writing

Sports writers are said to have the best of both worlds. Not only do they get to write for a living, but they get to write something about which they are passionate. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to break into sports writing without the Internet. If you eventually want your own sports talk show or if you want to write for a magazine like Sports Illustrated, you're going to have to get into the game at a slower pace.

First of all, you won't be able to land a job as a sports writer until you can demonstrate your ability to write on a variety of topics. This means that not only should you be able to cover multiple sports, but you should also be proficient at writing multiple types of articles. For example, you could write an editorial about who you think will win the Super Bowl, but you should also be able to write a how-to article for sports coaches and a feature article about a specific team. Diversity is the key to breaking into sports writing.

In order to do this, you will need published clips to show the big-time editors of national magazines. The Internet is the best way to do this because smaller sports magazines are almost as difficult to break into. Since so many writers want to pursue sports writing, you have to be able to break away from the competition.

The great thing about the Internet is that you don't have to write for a sports website in order to be considered a sports writer. Many of the websites on the Internet that accept articles from freelance writers cater to all different kinds of subjects, including sports writing. You can get your start by research the teams, players and sports that interest you most and writing brief (between 500- and 700-word) articles about them.

Some of these websites, such as Suite101.com, AssociatedContent.com, Constant-Content.com and eSportsMediaGroup.com offer authors the opportunity to make money off of their articles. Associated Content offers payment both up front and from page views, while Constant Content offers payment when your article is purchased and the others offer royalties from page views only. While you might not get rich with this route, you will begin to build your portfolio.

Once you have established yourself in the sports writing industry with Internet websites like the ones mentioned above, you can pursue more specialized websites for publication opportunities. Some the best websites for this purpose are freelancing websites that offer databases of job opportunities to which you can apply. You can also pursue sports-related websites that hire freelancers, such as TheSportsCritics.com, LegalBall.com and AthlonSports.com.

The reality is that you can query just about any sports magazine or e-zine online and ask about freelancing opportunities. What many sports writers don't realize is that organizations don't always publish the fact that they pay for stories from freelancers and therefore miss out on many lucrative opportunities.

Using the Internet to break into sports writing might never bring you that job with Sports Illustrated, but you can gain a sense of accomplishment by publishing articles about what you love.