Getting Started in Online Auto Journalism: A Beginner’s Guide
Cammed & Tubbed podcast host and frequent FTE contributor Cameron Vanderhorst shares the steps to beginning a career in auto journalism.
Now that there seems to be a lot more free time to reflect on the things that I find most rewarding about being an auto enthusiast, the number one satisfaction is that I get the opportunity to write about the things in life that I find most fascinating. And as someone who writes about cars, trucks, and motorcycles for fun and profit, the question I’m most frequently asked is how I broke into the industry. Until now, I never really had a good response — I always thought it just sort of happened. I finally sat down, gave it some thought, and realized that while there is no clearly-defined career path for automotive journalism, I did have some tips to offer to aspiring writers who have read my articles and thought, “Who is this clown, anyway? I could do this!”
Be Passionate
This is the most important part of the equation, and the catalyst for any successful auto writing career. I’ve long said that passion and sincerity will take you further in life than anything else. As a guy with a mortgage, six cars, a motorcycle, and a pair of mopeds who dropped out of college twice, I’m living proof. Make it work. Eat, sleep, and breathe cars. Make it your goal every day to step out of your comfort zone and find something new to appreciate. Are you into Japanese performance cars? Spend an hour or two reading about Jeeps. A fan of American muscle cars? Read up on the history of your favorite European sport sedan. Better yet, read about all of them — then decide which one is your favorite! Anything that excites you in the least is worth learning about. You won’t always get to choose your writing assignments, especially not in the beginning, so it’s important to have a diverse taste, or at least be open to diving into a new automotive subculture. Having genuine enthusiasm about the hobby will keep you going, even when it’s midnight, you absolutely need to make this deadline, and you have your real job in the morning.
Become an Expert
Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a walking encyclopedia to write about cars. Want proof? Check the comment section of any car article you read today. If there’s a mistake, there are several people who will gleefully call out the writer in the comments, implying that they are uneducated, unqualified for the task at hand, or worse. Remember what we talked about before, about not picking your assignments? Depending on what day of the week it is, I could be writing about Mustangs, BMWs, Jeeps, Harley-Davidsons, or Ford pickups. While I appreciate all of them, it’s impossible for me, or you, or anyone else, to know everything about all of them. The research skills that you pick up along the way will make your job much easier, though. (Plus, those commenting below posts generally never have all the answers either — and they’re not getting paid to write, but you are.)
You won’t always get to choose your writing assignments, so it’s important to have a diverse taste, or at least be open to diving into a new automotive subculture.
To me, being an expert doesn’t mean knowing everything off the top of your head. It means knowing where to find everything quickly. It saves time, and keeps you from writing a vague, dull article that reads like advertising copy. And for heaven’s sake, never, ever, ever just guess, or worse, make something up. Setting aside the moral and ethical reasons why you shouldn’t, it’s the Internet — people will know immediately if you’re feeding them b.s., and they will call you out on it. Besides, it’s so easy to fact-check before clicking the “submit” button. Everything from production numbers, to horsepower figures, to general trivia is a Google search away. Your editor will be looking for glaring spelling, grammar, formatting, and syntax errors. It’s not their job to write good content — that’s entirely on you.
Practice Makes Perfect
Read everything you can get your hands on, and not just car stuff, either. Finding out what you like — and what you don’t like — about the various articles and books you read is instrumental in finding your voice as a writer. Like a good whiskey, this absolutely cannot be rushed and must come in its own good time. It’s a never-ending process, but it’s more than likely that you’ve been doing it for years without really thinking about it. Remember the books you had to read in school? Which ones did you like, and which ones didn’t you like? Every time you read something, try to think consciously and critically about what you did or didn’t enjoy about the piece you just read.
Start a blog and write. It might not make you any money, but it’s a good way to build a portfolio for the sort of people who will want to pay you for your content.
In the same way that every great band’s sound is an amalgamation of their influences, every great writer’s voice is informed by theirs. Finding your voice isn’t just about reading, of course — you need to write, too. Start a blog — WordPress is great for this — and write. It might not make you any money, but it’s a good way to build a portfolio for the sort of people who will want to pay you for your content, and it gets you your sea legs so that you can hit the ground running when that day eventually comes.
Plan Ahead
There are two sides to this one. Living your life as a freelancer means that almost nothing is guaranteed, and making sure that your head is in the right place financially will give you a great foundation for success. I’d be a liar if I said that you’ll never have to worry about money. It’s definitely going to happen. But constantly being worried about money is no way to live life, and it’s a huge distraction, not only to your work but to all of the other things you value in life, too. Additionally, be punctual. Get your assignments turned in on time. It sounds like a flashback to your school days, but it’s far more important. At least in school, you still get homework every night no matter how many times you forget to turn it in. In the world of automotive journalism, if you get a reputation for blowing deadlines, you will not get any more work, plain and simple. To summarize, don’t buy that turbo kit if you don’t have anything lined up for the next few weeks. Conversely, don’t buy that turbo kit if you have a metric tonne of assignments due within the next few weeks.
Make Friends
In corporate-goon management-speak, this is called “networking,” which is a very boring, clinical term for what is easily the most fun part of writing about cars for a living. Spend any amount of time around cars and you realize very quickly that it’s far more than a hobby or even a lifestyle — it’s the biggest, most diverse, least dysfunctional family you could ever hope to be a part of. Within that family, the smaller karass of writers love giving each other a leg up, and due to the nature of freelancing, it’s likely that you’ll get to repay that favor for them someday, too. While I know it’s very cliche to end this list of tips with “have fun,” it really is important. Go out there, meet new people, and enjoy the life you’re about to make for yourself. Just don’t party too hard, I need that article I assigned you on the new Ranger Raptor on my desk first thing in the morning.
Cameron Vanderhorst is a frequent contributor to Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Harley-Davidson Forums, and Corvette Forum, and co-host of the Cammed & Tubbed podcast.
Join the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forums now!
