So You Want To Be A Jalopnik Writer?

"Tom McParland" (tommcparland)
04/26/2016 at 20:46 • Filed to: Words of encouragement

Of course Patrick is going to fire me now because he is going to get a million emails from you jokers. But I’m here to tell you that if it is what you really want to do...go for it. Here is my story in a nutshell.

If you told me two years ago that I would be a freelance writer for an major automotive website with a massive audience, I would have thought you were nuts.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I don’t really know that much about cars. Sure I know cars, but compared to the wealth of knowledge that my colleagues have, trust me, my knowledge base is pretty pathetic. I also can’t wrench for shit. And I have zero journalism experience.

But what I tried to do is bring my own perspective and voice to this community. So I wrote some posts, for free here on Oppo. Sometimes they made it to the FP, sometimes they didn’t. Some of them were good, some not so much. That is how it goes.

Once I established myself a little bit, I bugged Hardibro for a while to give me a shot. It didn’t happen right away and I had to prove myself.

Maybe you won’t be a full time writer. Perhaps a freelancer or columnist is more your thing. Being a full-time autojourno was never my goal. I just wanted to be part of the experience, learn some things, and hopefully help some people out by sharing my knowledge.

Maybe you aren’t ready right now. Maybe you are and you don’t think you are. You have absolutely nothing to lose by filling out that application and putting your hat in the ring.

Oppo has been the starting point for many of us on the front-page and beyond. You could be next.

If it doesn’t work out now...keep plugging away. Try out some different posts here on Oppo. See what works, see what doesn’t. Be open to feedback, be patient. Be yourself.

DISCUSSION (21)

citizennick > Tom McParland
04/26/2016 at 20:49

Do they not let you use their editors for Oppo posts?

TheHondaBro > Tom McParland
04/26/2016 at 20:52

Jalopnik has been lacking in the shitpost department. I can has job?

pls

Tom McParland > TheHondaBro
04/26/2016 at 20:54

Have you not read Freddy’s posts? :)

citizennick > TheHondaBro
04/26/2016 at 20:55

Would you be interested in writing for “Special Enthusiasts”? It's the next stepping stone since it's better than Oppo.

Berang > Tom McParland
04/26/2016 at 20:55

Does he get paid for those, or does he just sneak those on behind everybody’s backs.

LongbowMkII > citizennick
04/26/2016 at 20:57

Is that still a thing? Haha

citizennick > LongbowMkII
04/26/2016 at 20:58

There’s a couple new “stories” on there from our favorite non-oppo.

Nibby > Tom McParland
04/26/2016 at 21:00

I vow to make the frontpage great again.

And terrifyingly strange.

MLGCarGuy > Tom McParland
04/26/2016 at 21:04

I have absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever.

Seems that I’m ready for Autoblog.

scoob > TheHondaBro
04/26/2016 at 21:05

same

scoob > Nibby
04/26/2016 at 21:05

Make FP Great Again - Nibby 2016

Tom McParland > MLGCarGuy
04/26/2016 at 21:05

Zing...Autoblog actually has an Oppo style section called Open Road that will pay you if they run your stuff.

TheHondaBro > Tom McParland
04/26/2016 at 21:07

Well to be fair, rotaries are horrible.

TheHondaBro > LongbowMkII
04/26/2016 at 21:07

Unfortunately, yes.

iaintafraidofnoghost > citizennick
04/26/2016 at 21:09

Writing about one type of bus would get boring.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > citizennick
04/26/2016 at 21:16

Savage.

Andrew Fails > Tom McParland
04/26/2016 at 21:25

How many sodomy jokes am I allowed per article? That’s key to my artistic expression

nermal > Tom McParland
04/26/2016 at 21:44

Soooo.... Where do we stand on shitposting Hulk Hogan gifs? Good idea or great idea?

Kinja'd!!!

Wheelerguy > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
04/26/2016 at 22:41

No McParland’s was better.

Justin Hughes > Tom McParland
04/28/2016 at 15:05

Kinja'd!!!

Playing with stuff in the Oppo sandbox has led to some hits and some misses for me. I’m not on the payroll (though a number of people have assumed I was), but it’s still led to some great opportunities for me - working with the RFD crew, getting to drive rally stages in a new Mustang, going to the NYIAS press days... As much as I’d like to, I simply can’t afford to quit my day job and write about cars full time. Technical writing pays much better than auto journalism. But I enjoy dabbling. A freelancer or columnist is definitely more my thing.

DrZ > Tom McParland
04/29/2016 at 09:01

ORLY??? EEEnteresting...