Onwards and upwards. (Paging Cletus, Tom, Doug, Stef, etc.)

"G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3" (gbodyman)
09/29/2015 at 20:28 • Filed to: None

Well, I’ve decided what I want to do in life.

I want to become... An auto journalist! My parents suggested this to me a while ago, so I figure that I might as well give it a shot. I’m going to be dedicating my spare time to writing about cars. I’ll send it around to various websites and publications, and who knows? Maybe I’ll get published in a couple of years! Does anyone have any tips for me? ND for your time.

DISCUSSION (24)

Jack Does Cars > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/29/2015 at 20:49

I also want to be an automotive journalist, but being 15 and lacking a driver’s license does cause many issues.

I haven’t spent enough time writing because of school, work, and friends. I’m going to start again real soon, though

Chariotoflove > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/29/2015 at 20:52

I'm none of the people you paged, but I'll chime in with encouragement. As a person who gets paid doing what I love, I say go for it. It's worth the effort chasing what you really want. Even if you crash and burn, it's still better than not trying. Good luck!

Eberle-Hills-Cop > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/29/2015 at 20:54

What are your feelings on shrimp cocktail? This is crucial.

My citroen won't start > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/29/2015 at 20:54

Start with small publications (School Paper, College Paper, etc) and go on from there so you have some sort of “Article Portfolio”. I wish you the best of luck!

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Chariotoflove
09/29/2015 at 20:55

Thanks!

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Eberle-Hills-Cop
09/29/2015 at 20:55

I enjoy shrimp cocktail.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > My citroen won't start
09/29/2015 at 20:57

Sounds good! Thanks!

random001 > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/29/2015 at 20:58

Do it!

Start by writing awesome articles for us here at Oppo. Then we can share comments, critique (take it as constructive and grow with it!) and get you out in front of car guys here. It’ll be a learning experience, and I think everyone here would love to help.

Good luck!!!

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > random001
09/29/2015 at 21:00

Thanks!

Boxer_4 > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/29/2015 at 21:12

I’m none of those people, nor am I a professional writer, but I do have some (potentially) good advice...

I’ve heard before that a person does their best work by writing about a subject that they know really well and are passionate about (why do you think most of my bigger posts are about Subarus?). Choose a niche you are passionate about in automobiles to get your feet wet, develop your own style, and keep yourself motivated and interested in what you are writing about.

Justin Hughes > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/29/2015 at 21:49

Practice, practice, practice. Post stuff on Oppo. It’s how I got my start in this car writing thing. You have good spelling and grammar, so that gives you a leg up. Tell an interesting story. You could be reviewing a completely boring car. Find a way to make it interesting anyway. Get on Twitter. Follow your favorite journalists and editors. When you write something good, tweet out the link to them. Email tips@jalopnik.com. Someday, your work will get noticed and reposted.

But don’t quit your day job, either. I haven’t.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/29/2015 at 22:39

Thanks for the page haha I love my job and I wouldn’t work in any other industry. The pay is middling and the hours are nuts but it’s just a thrill every day of the week for me. I wrote a full guide on how to break into this field here.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/hey-all-i-post…

But the short version is just to get started! Read great writing and start a blog of your own. Write about what interests you and readers will come. Let me know how else I can help!

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
09/29/2015 at 22:41

I’m fine with middling pay and crazy hours, as long as I can do what I love.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/29/2015 at 22:45

*and a gf/wife that’s cool with an erradic schedule and middling pay haha

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
09/29/2015 at 22:51

No plans to get settled down, yet.

Sam > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/30/2015 at 14:00

A good thing to work on when you’re first starting out is photography. Just learn how to take some basic shots with a cheap DSLR camera. (Maybe a Rebel or something of the sort)

Then incorporate the pictures into your posts that you write.

SteveLehto > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/30/2015 at 14:07

And no one ever pages me. Damn. I guess too many people think of me as a lawyer and not a writer. Which is good in a way . . .

I’ve written 15 books, several of them about cars, and dozens of magazine articles (“magazines” are an archaic form of written word storage/display that refuses to die completely) as well. I’ll tell you the secret. (But you may not believe me; few do.)

Write. You “become” a writer by writing. You don’t need to take classes in writing (although they may help) nor do you need any special training. Many of the greatest writers alive never went to school for it and just wrote.

Write what you enjoy and what you know. I’ve been asked to write about topics that I hadn’t chosen and found that the work can be tedious. On the other hand, a fun idea pops into my head and I can’t write it fast enough. Turns out those are the pieces I think are the most entertaining to others.

We’ve talked about this here before. You can just start writing and post your stuff here. If it is good, it may get front-paged or picked up elsewhere (stuff of mine on Oppo has been reposted on several other - non-Gawker - sites). In my case, it eventually led to a paid gig writing for The Garage. But I am still writing books (three coming out next year) and magazine articles (struck a deal Friday for a piece that I’ll turn in next month that will pay me $500. I’d tell you about it but you wouldn’t believe me (I get to go to a car show and write about what I see there)).

One caveat: Take the work very seriously. A lot of people mistake the tone of writers and think that since pieces are light-hearted or humorous, that the writers don’t take the work seriously. The opposite is true of good writing. I am not holding myself out as an example but I’d be embarassed to tell you how long I fret over pieces I write before I post them. Or how many times I re-read them and change things. At the beginning, you will have to self-edit and that is probably the hardest task of all. Which explains how something I took a week to write, and rewrote ten times, still gets posted with typos.

But you are off to a fine start: You sought advice. (Although - as noted - you failed to page ME.)

Ike > Justin Hughes
09/30/2015 at 14:08

Yes, do what you love, but do it at night, after the real work... And if I have learned anything from Doug Demuro do it with out pants and in bed if you can

Aaron M - MasoFiST > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
09/30/2015 at 14:21

As a professional writer, let me just say: Write. Write some more. Keep writing. When you aren’t writing, read, especially things that others have called good writing. If you want to be an automotive journalist, read every site out there, every article. Seek out opinions contrary to your own and think about how they’re presented.

You can and will get to the point where you will get things published. If you want a solid shot on being a writer full-time, however, you’ll realistically need something beyond competent writing which qualifies you for a more exclusive and better paid position. In journalism, a lot of that boils down to personality. The best example of course is Mr. Regular...love him or hate him, that’s how unique you have to be to take a seat up front. Without being a bit of an iconoclast, it’s going to be a slog...and I’d conservatively estimate you’ll make 2-3x doing technical writing.

Brian Silvestro > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
10/01/2015 at 09:05

all you have to do is know the right people

skill doesn’t matter

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Brian Silvestro
10/01/2015 at 11:55

That’s a shame. On numerous occasions I have been told that I have skill. However, the only journalist I know is Cletus.

Brian Silvestro > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
10/01/2015 at 12:03

Sorry bout it !

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Brian Silvestro
10/01/2015 at 12:25

No problem! I’ll try the hard work and dedication route.

Tohru > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
10/02/2015 at 19:02

As the Upper Midwest bureau chief, a very important thing is volume of articles. You don’t want to write so much that you dilute your quality, but enough that you have a sizable body of work.

I’ve been featured on the front page twice - my exclusive about the Elio P4 prototype , and the time I slept in the back of my truck at the Chicago Auto Show .

That’s only twice since February, though. I really haven’t had any other decent content. The more you write, the more decent content you have, the better your odds of getting shared to the FP, the more visibility you get as a writer.