Is There A Career In Fishing Journalism/freelance Writing? 2024
basslover12345 reply :
Is there a career in fishing journalism/freelance writing? How do you make it?
flyfisher reply :
There can be a career in anything that you want but depending on what type of lifestyle you want to have it may not be the most lucrative. There are tons of fishing publications out there and many if not all take freelance type articles. I am not sure how much an article will get you paid but i am sure it is at least a little something.
As far as making it goes, you need to write, write, write and write some more. Get feedback on your articles from everyone that you can and don't take it personally but take it to heart. When i would write papers in college i would intentionally give the paper to someone who did not know the topic i was talking about to get their input. This way they could provide input on everything from writing style, to content etc...i would then ask them after reading if they thought the intention of the paper was and if they gained any knowledge by reading. If they said no, i would scrap it and start over.
Just keep in mind it is not easy and i would probably add in photography to it as well because that will make your articles even better and also you can possibly use photography as another source of income.
rmcguirk reply :
I'll add my two cents: I don't think that simply writing fishing articles is going to pay all the bills. You'll probably have to combine it with other, perhaps related, pursuits. Just think, even if they paid you $5,000 per article and you generated one article per quarter, that would only be $20,000. I know that sounds like an enormous amount of money to you now (I checked your bio and it says that you're 16), but believe me, that is not a lot of money, particularly if you have a family and like an expensive hobby, like fishing. And, I'd be pretty shocked if you made $5,000 per article, especially just starting out.
A suggestion: reach out to some of the fishing journalists/writers you've read and shoot them an email about how they got started. I would think that they'd be flattered and would be willing to discuss the industry with you, particularly after a few emails demonstrated that you were sincere.
Instead of thinking narrowly, like being a fishing journalist, perhaps you should consider being a journalist or even a sports journalist who also writes on fishing?
Another idea: think about some related fields and how you could generate some income and still be in the fishing industry. Some random ideas: perhaps you could work for an organization like BASS or FLW; perhaps you could work in marketing for one of the fishing or boating equipment manufacturers; perhaps you could work at a BassPro or similar. There are a ton or possibilities out there, you just have to be creative. In fact, you could work in just about any job and still be a contributor to a fishing publication as a side business.
SudburyBasser reply :
If someone made $5K for an article in any mainstream publication -- outside of an exhaustive feature like you find in monthly magazines -- I would buy them champagne to celebrate. And those $5K pieces go to established and well known writers.
I made a "living" as a freelance writer for several years writing for newspapers and magazines and I can tell you a few things:
- Get ready to hustle. If you're an unknown you will be writing articles on spec, which is essentially writing something on your own and submitting it for consideration blind. Most outlets do not accept on spec articles and you'll have to blanket the industry to get a few nibbles. For those who do not accept on spec, prepare to email or call every editor you can reach to propose article ideas. Prepare for rejection.
- Most publications pay anywhere from $50 to $500 for regular articles. Sounds decent at the upper range but you aren't selling articles every day...or even every week. Freelance writing generally pays worse than staff writing gigs. Writing about fishing may combine your love of fishing and writing, but remember you won't be eating well. Prepare for rejection.
- I made okay money as an occasional contributing editor but most of my writing was on spec. I approached dozens to over one hundred outlets with on spec work or ideas. The fishing news world has a lot fewer options. You will have a difficult time making a living unless you land a full-time gig (and remember, the average journalist pulls in about $35,000 a year, hardly princely wages). Prepare for rejection.
- Have I mentioned you should be prepared for rejection?
My opinion and worth what you paid for it. I'm not trying to dissuade you from going down this route -- money isn't everything but it's a hard row to hoe. Might not be a bad idea to offer your services for free to a few publications writing some minor stuff to help them and seeing if you can build a relationship that will lead to bigger things.
Good luck, I do wish you well.
basslover12345 reply :
I
On 12/21/2012 at 3:08 AM, SudburyBasser said:If someone made $5K for an article in any mainstream publication -- outside of an exhaustive feature like you find in monthly magazines -- I would buy them champagne to celebrate. And those $5K pieces go to established and well known writers.
I made a "living" as a freelance writer for several years writing for newspapers and magazines and I can tell you a few things:
- Get ready to hustle. If you're an unknown you will be writing articles on spec, which is essentially writing something on your own and submitting it for consideration blind. Most outlets do not accept on spec articles and you'll have to blanket the industry to get a few nibbles. For those who do not accept on spec, prepare to email or call every editor you can reach to propose article ideas. Prepare for rejection.
- Most publications pay anywhere from $50 to $500 for regular articles. Sounds decent at the upper range but you aren't selling articles every day...or even every week. Freelance writing generally pays worse than staff writing gigs. Writing about fishing may combine your love of fishing and writing, but remember you won't be eating well. Prepare for rejection.
- I made okay money as an occasional contributing editor but most of my writing was on spec. I approached dozens to over one hundred outlets with on spec work or ideas. The fishing news world has a lot fewer options. You will have a difficult time making a living unless you land a full-time gig (and remember, the average journalist pulls in about $35,000 a year, hardly princely wages). Prepare for rejection.
- Have I mentioned you should be prepared for rejection?
My opinion and worth what you paid for it. I'm not trying to dissuade you from going down this route -- money isn't everything but it's a hard row to hoe. Might not be a bad idea to offer your services for free to a few publications writing some minor stuff to help them and seeing if you can build a relationship that will lead to bigger things.
Good luck, I do wish you well.
I'm writing for Bassin', Crappie World, Bass Quest, and Bass Angler. Only 2 pay me- I get between $75-120, I write for free for the rest
SudburyBasser reply :
Then you're already doing better than most aspiring writers. The key is to keep plugging away. Even if it never turns into a full-time deal it is a nice sideline. Plus, you're writing about fishing...life could be much worse.
basslover12345 reply :
And I have business cards and am going to ICast next summer with a media pass
flyfisher reply :
Just curious if you already are getting paid and in the industry writing then why pose the question?
roadwarrior reply :
I know some of the guys responded to questions you posed for an article you were writing.
Was that one published?
basslover12345 reply :
It will be in one of the 2013 Bassin' articles
J Francho reply :
Look up Rich Zaleski on FB. He's getting over some recent surgery, but I bet he'd have some words of advice for you. Tell him I sent you.
zip pow reply :
I believe that speaking well and journalism go hand in hand. If you can speak well you can sell your product. In your case that would be your articles. My mother is a dietitian and she made a fare amount of money speaking about it then they wanted her to submit articles to be published in various journals. So one lead to the other in her case. I bet it'll be the same in yours.
BassWhole! reply :
Egon Spengler: "print is dead!"
Sam reply :
Let's be realistic.
First, you need a college degree in English.
Second, you need to take a course in writing for magazines.
Third, you need some experience in bass fishing or the subject of your articles.
Fourth, it never hurts to be known in the industries you write about.
So this means:
1. Do good in high school. Do excellent in your English classes. Ask your high school English teacher for their assistance in proof reading and correcting your grammer with all submitted articles.
2. Have the GPA in your core subjects and the necessary SAT/ACT scores to be accepted into the college of your choice.
3. Go to local college fairs or visit the university's web sites to view their catalog for the English writing courses you belieive will help you in your writing career.
4. You may have to go to a university away from your home. This will make you mature and learn how to balance your finances, study time, fun time, fishing time and laundry time. Easier said then done for many guys.
5. Get your BA in English with a minor in whatever you want. Maybe fisheries biology.
6. Consider earning your Masters Degree in English.
7. Always write articles on various subjects and submit them to various industry publications, both intra and inter publications.
Have patience. After getting the BA or Masters in English with a major in writing you will have the base to start your writing career after you do the following:
1. Start to fish bass tournaments.
2. Meet the bass industry movers and shakers from the guys who fish to the retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. Learn all you can about what they do so you will have a strong base to draw upon when you pen your articles.
3. Make it a point to contact bass pros and research departments to get to know them so you can ask them questions about bass fishing. This means attending the Bassmasters Classic; fishing the open tournaments; meeting the local BASS fishermen in your state and the Federation officers; make strong contacts on the west coast and Japan where the newest trends and baits start and swing back east. Attend as many Bassmaster Universities as you can to mee the pros and listen to what they have to say. Attend as many fishing shows in various states to hear those pros and meet the fishing industry people who attend.
4. Make contact with all of the leading bass boat manufacturers. Visit their plants. Learn all you can about their products so you will have a basic idea of what to discuss with the professional bass fishermen and maybe collect data for an article. Same is true for the motor manufactuers.
And don't forget to investigate how different rods and reels are made. Not many independent articles on those topics other than the sales puffery from Tackle Warehouse the the manufacturers themselves.
5. Conduct your own comparisons of the various tools of our trade and write about your independing and objective findings. Why is G. Loomis consider the Mercedes Benz of bass fishing rods? Why the strong Shimano following? What is behind guys buying only specific brands and shunning everything else?
6. Read articles in old Bassmasters Magazines and the FLW magazines. Check out Internet articles on various baits, techniques and tackle. Read the Sports Illustrated articles and see the format their writers use. One trick is to couple the first and last paragraphs of their articles together. They also do a good job of including the individual perspective into their articles.
Anyone can sit down and write an article and submit it. But the reader wants to know:
Who are you?
What gives you the right to write an article?
What is your background and experience in bass fishing?
Why should we believe what you write?
One bad article and your reputation is blown. So you have to be very careful in writing articles.
What we don't like is for you to ask questions of the Forum members in search of answers so you can incorporate them into an article and submit it without any independent experience with the subject matter. You are taking what we tell you, true or fasle, and writing an article that many guys will belive.
We want articles that feature input from the pros. You have to get to know the pros to obtain their input. Otherwise why should we read and/or believe what you write. Who are you to tell us about baits, tackle, techniques, etc? What have you accomplished in bass fishing that makes what you say so valuable and interesting to us?
One more suggestion that I thought of just now: How about purchasing books by various fishing professionals and reading them and then penning an article on the publication? You can start with Uncle Homer's Bigmouth, then Bigmouth Forever and follow up with The Feeding Habits of Bass.
If you do not know who Uncle Homer is then you have a serious problem.
You may also want to research the various questions asked of Uncle Homer through the years in Bassmasters Magaznie and pen an article on the queries and replies. Now that would be a very interesting article.
Remember,
Sam reply :
Remember, you need to 1) get that college degree and 2) jump into the bass fishing industry feet first now, during your school years and after graduation.
You may have to do the writing on a freelance basis depending on the career you choose.
BUT GET THAT DEGREE AND START TO RESEARCH, READ AND DO SOME WRITING!!!
Good luck.
MrPeanut reply :
I think Sam has mentioned some great points as far as getting a solid career started.
The one main thing I would agree with is getting the college degree in English/Journalism. I know from my college days a few years ago some of the things your forced to learn as far as communication, financial and time management skills are harder to learn in a classroom than being forced to learn it first hand. College is a great place to perfect those areas while at the same time having a blast with great friends.
I also would agree that freelance writing is a career path where you have to have a great resume built up on paper before a potential employer would take a candidate seriously. A strong educational foundation would go a long way, just as a tournament fishing background would (especially if your having success at it). You can't put a price on prevoius related work experience either, so already having articles published is really an awesome start.
In the end, your a young guy, keep your head down and work hard and go for it. A back up plan wouldn't hurt either, or even getting a career in general writing / english teaching etc.. and writing fishing articles on the side would be an added bonus
piscicidal reply :
On 12/20/2012 at 10:43 PM, basslover12345 said:Is there a career in fishing journalism/freelance writing? How do you make it?
Look up Danny Barker....he writes free lance articles for several bass publications (i.e. Mike Long Outdoors, etc..) and is a really great guy. I'm sure he will give you some straight advice which will help you with your decision.
If this is what you really wanna do...go for it! But go in with your eyes wide open.
Sam reply :
On 12/22/2012 at 6:41 AM, piscicidal said:Look up Danny Barker....he writes free lance articles for several bass publications (i.e. Mike Long Outdoors, etc..) and is a really great guy. I'm sure he will give you some straight advice which will help you with your decision.
If this is what you really wanna do...go for it! But go in with your eyes wide open.
Outstanding advice. X2!
Sam reply :
Basslover, do us two favors:
1. Check out this site and contact Bruce for his input on freelance writing. See his credentials and why he a success: http://www.bruceingramoutdoors.com/
Note his education.
2. Can you add your location?
Knowing where you are is very helpful when giving our input to you.
jdw174 reply :
I don't claim to have a degree in anything, but for a period of about 8 years I did rather well writing for shooting publications...and yes, even a few fishing articles thrown in, so FWIW, here are my views.
1. You will NOT get rich writing about the outdoors. The biggest check I ever received was for $450 and that was for a 3-article package. The biggest payouts will come from major publications and they are very hard to break into.
2. Begin your career by reading every publication you can find that relates to your selected field. Learn what type of articles they print and fashion your's accordingly.
3. Decide on a story idea, and then query the editor of the magazine you want to sell it to. Include a brief outline of what you intend to say, etc., then wait for a response...which you may or may not ever get. If no response from the first one, then send to another. Soon or later, you'll get a go-ahead from one of them. NOW you can go ahead and write it.
4. Get good with a camera. Take lots of photos. It's easier today than it was when I was writing. Cameras weren't digital, had to buy film, pay for processing, etc. Some magazines prefer to furnish their own shots. Others do not.
5. Most major fishing magazines prefer these days to have you quoting at least one pro fisherman. Be ready for that.
6. Magazines almost always pay on publication, whenever that may be. If you're writing a story on winter fishing, you'll probably have to submit it in mid-summer. They may hold it up to a year before printing it, so that's how long you'll wait before you see any money at all. Occasionally, you may run across one that pays on acceptance of the article, but they're few and far between.
I hope this doesn't discourage you. I had a good time during the years that I wrote, but it was a lot of work and took a lot of time. Good luck to you.
basslover12345 reply :
Thanks guys
I'm really not that discouraged honestly
I used to want to go pro tournament fishing, but soon realized I could have the best of both worlds by writing aboit the pros I wanted to be like and interview them and ask them questions that were on my mind.
I've talked to writers like John Neporadny, Don Barone, Ken Duke, Robert Montgomery, and Terry Battisti and have been doing so since this past summer, and they've all given me feedback and advice along with do's and don'ts- I've come along way since this past June
I'm currently writing articles for Bassin', Crappie World, Bass Angler, Bass Quest, and will soon be writing for Bass East. I'm going to Icast in 2013 as well for Bassin'
I've learned so much from editors such as Mark Lassagne on what a quality picture is for print and what those pictures should contain in them.
I've always wanted to "be my own boss" I'm the type of person where I like to lead instead of being lead.
I just recently got in touch with Tom Leogrande and will be writing articles for his new magazine, Bass Quest, and I have the ability to interview pros like Skeet Reese, Randy Howell, Brent Chapman, and any other elite or FLW pro I want to do an article on.
basslover12345 reply :
On 12/22/2012 at 6:33 PM, Sam said:Basslover, do us two favors:
1. Check out this site and contact Bruce for his input on freelance writing. See his credentials and why he a success: http://www.bruceingramoutdoors.com/
Note his education.
2. Can you add your location?
Knowing where you are is very helpful when giving our input to you.
I already read and subscribe almost every bass fishing magazine out their
I know I’m not going to get rich, I’m making $75-120 per article I’m writing now, and am not getting paid from Bassin’ and Crappie World
I have already sent queries to magazines like the Louisiana Sportsman and FLW, and even had one accepted by the editor of the Louisiana Sportsman
I am currently getting a 17-megapixel camera for Christmas and will be taking a digital photography class in my second semester of junior year.
I do plan on going to College and at least having a minor in journalism-, I am not sure where yet, but I live in MD.
I’ve sent my articles to various editors, and did that a lot in my first 2 or 3 months of writing for Bassin’ and Crappie World and got a lot of great advice.
I know one thing for sure; I want to be in the fishing industry no matter what I do. If you would have asked me what I wanted to go to college for a year ago, I would of said Advertising.
I have had rejection, and honestly, it really has not phased me at all, I just keep on going.
I have also talked to Matt Pehanic Rich Zaleski, and both of them have read over my articles, and have given me great advice that I have incorporated into my articles.
I am currently taking a full year course of British Literature in my junior year, and next year I will be taking courses in Creative Writing, Journalism, and the yearbook course in addition to my other classes.
I currently just got my second set of PSAT scores and scored 76% higher than the rest of the juniors in the country in the Writing section, and scored 67% higher in the Critical reading section.
I do fish bass tournaments and have been since I was 14 in 2009, and have been fishing since I was three years of age.
I’ve interviewed pros such as Guy Eaker, Tommy Martin, Shaw Grigsby, Andrew Upshaw, and Matt Herren.
I don’t like to write necessarily about what I personally know about, I’ll pick out a topic to write about and find 3-4 pros to interview for it, a lot of the things I write about I don’t have independent experience with.
I have read Homer Circles book, and almost every bass fishing book out their
Sam reply :
Now that is the answer we have been searching for.
We needed to know that you are serious about bass fishing and writing.
Great answer.
You are headed in the right direction. Keep it up.
Remember the upcoming fishing expos. One in Richmond and another in Timonium.
If you give us your pen name we can look up your articles.
Remember, it is not necessarily what you know but who you know.
Keep up the good work.
Sam reply :
One more suggestion.
How about a professional photo of you that you would want associated with your articles?
You can use it as your avatar, too.
A good photo carries power and the readers can associate and join you easier than not knowing how you look.
basslover12345 reply :
I have a biography and photo on this page
http://www.bassquestmagazine.com/?p=33
Sam reply :
PJ, that is a great biography.
We need to talk about the Potomac!!!!
Thanks for sharing the information.
You still need a better photo with a MONSTER bass!!!!!
Merry Christmas.
basslover12345 reply :
On 12/22/2012 at 6:33 PM, Sam said:Basslover, do us two favors:
1. Check out this site and contact Bruce for his input on freelance writing. See his credentials and why he a success: http://www.bruceingramoutdoors.com/
Note his education.
2. Can you add your location?
Knowing where you are is very helpful when giving our input to you.
Bruce and I have been emailing each other, he's given me a lot of great advice
basslover12345 reply :
On 12/22/2012 at 6:41 AM, piscicidal said:Look up Danny Barker....he writes free lance articles for several bass publications (i.e. Mike Long Outdoors, etc..) and is a really great guy. I'm sure he will give you some straight advice which will help you with your decision.
If this is what you really wanna do...go for it! But go in with your eyes wide open.
Can you message me his email?
JayKumar reply :
If it's your passion stick with it, but it's a TOUGH road.
coryn h. fishowl reply :
THat depends, has any body heard of ohhh i don't know: Bill heavey, David e. Petzal, Bill Heavey, Phil Bourjaly, Bill Heavey, Bill Heavey, Bill Heavey, Bill Heavey, or Bill Heavey !!!!!!!!!!!! 
Paul Roberts reply :
Fishing writing caters to a relatively small audience. Parse out subsets of the fishing world and it gets smaller still. So, the big bucks just aren't there. You'll make some money that can help offset your fishing passion but you'll do it by sheer volume of published material. $5k articles don't exist in the field.
You'll need to be an efficient writer and producer of saleable article packages, which includes being a decent photographer, since magazines are 75% eye candy. Doing your own illustrations can help free up a busy magazine's house illustrator, but study their work as many mags like to keep a consistent look across their publication.
If your stuff is good you'll get published and, within fishing writing, there are a lot of markets in bass fishing writing as you are already tapping into. And you can get creative and make markets in regional pubs and other venues such as vacation rags. Get a current Writer's Market and check for any crossover. Most writers that make a "living" at it tend to have a regular gig, like a local newspaper column, and a supportive and gainfully employed spouse that can take up a chunk of slack.
They way I tackled magazine writing was to produce really good packages that I was confident could sell -and my sell rate was very high. But each were a bit of a project, esp with the old film cameras I used. Digital makes things much easier now. And I found the efforts not very lucrative in terms of $/hr. This may be fine but sheer volume added may serve better.
Some advice:
-Get to know your editors. Eventually I had some calling me. That helps a lot. Eventually you may be a writer they can rely on for quality work. For every 100 writers there is an editor looking for articles. But really good writer/photographers save editors tons of work. Everthing you can do to save an editor time is in your stead.
-There should be a point where you should not write for free. You are a professional and need to be paid. The only viable alternative to begging is to consistently produce good stuff. As you get better, good editors will pay you better.
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