Since I started my career, I've been asked countless times, whether by acquaintances, friends, reader emails and just about every male with a pulse and a drivers license; how do I get your job (or, for our readers, how can I start writing for TTAC). I've seen a few lame, generalized articles about "how to be an automotive journalist", but this one will tell you how to actually make a career out of it, rather than simply spending your days as an "independent blogger" while working at the Verizon store to pay the bills.
1) FORGET ABOUT CAR REVIEWS Literally every single hack with a Twitter account, a dubious blog with three-figure monthly traffic or some kind of "diversity" angle they can use to bully OEMs into getting press trip invites can write car reviews. And they do. Badly. Here's a little known fact; all the trips to France and open bars and PR ego-massaging is meant to disguise the fact that car reviewers are the peons of the automotive journalism world, the lowest on the totem pole. Car reviews get the lowest pay from publications (in many cases, they won't pay at all) because they are the most fungible content. Unedited car reviews, even by "name brand" journalists that you know and look up to, are usually written at a level that a 3rd grader would find embarrassing. I know this because I've spent years editing them.The participants of the press trip circus are often times the "useful idiots" who can get the OEMs message out there, not necessarily the best writers, or drivers or nicest or brightest people. It's a little like the real world. With that in mind, don't give up because there's a way to actually make a living out of this… 2) Have a skill that has nothing to do with reviewing cars This year, I've ignored a whole bunch of pitches and sought out two people, because they bring something to the table that the TTAC crew can't necessarily do to the best of their abilities. Andrew is a mechanical engineer, and when he's not repairing dangerously dilapidated infrastructure in rural Canada, he'll be writing about automotive technology in layman's terms. Tim is the sales guy and he makes a living at it. If you're not good at math, well, look at it this way; Steve knows the used car business inside out, Sajeev has a lot of real world experience (something that few have and counts for so much), Jack has a racing license, Murilee is the only person in the world who has tons of knowledge about obscure vehicles and automotive trivia that doesn't condescend to the uninformed, Michael owns and operates his own business in the auto industry and Bertel…well, start here and figure it out for yourself. 3) If you insist on doing car reviews, you better be good. Or a hard worker. Or not… If you're going to review cars, your pieces need to either blow the reader away superlative prose or focus on an angle that nobody else has seen it. We have both here at TTAC. You can figure out where Brendan sits on that continuum. On the other hand, we have Alex. He's no Brendan, but Alex isn't interested in the "dab of oppo" British-style faux-hooning review. Alex will do a video about the BMW 650i's technology features when most hacks will use it to try and impress whatever sex they're attracted to. Alex will pour his heart and soul into a commercial van comparison when most writers couldn't even muster half the effort to write about the Scion FR-S. Forget what you see on the Facebook albums and Instagram profiles of other established writers. Driving an Aventador in the desert is glorious but fleeting. They can be replaced by the next over-enthusiastic individual willing to eat the requisite amount of excrement the moment they run afoul of whatever agenda is set out for the publication. You can not afford to be expendable. 4) Read and network The two most important things you can do. Reading is the gym for your mind. Read everything. Stop reading the buff books. You will develop a myopic, uninformed and stubborn view of the auto industry known as "ManualDieselWagonItis". Buy a subscription to "Just-Auto". Get a copy of Arrogance and Accords and take copious notes. Stare at monthly sales figures until you are literally bored to tears. Then go out and network. Meet everyone. Social awkwardness never stopped me, or the most egregious weirdos from succeeding in this business. Every job (including this one) has come from somebody liking me more than someone else who may or may not have been more qualified than myself. At the lowest point in my career, Ed threw me a lifeline because he not only thought I was capable, but he liked me enough and more importantly trusted me enough to let me come onboard and help steer his ship while he went away. Corollary: you will not get along with everyone. You will dislike some people. They will dislike you for any number of reasons. Your personalities may clash. You may have different values. They may feel threatened by you. Whatever. The right person will recognize your talents, and if they don't maybe you just have no talent. 5) If you STILL insist on doing car reviews Take whatever money you'd spend on buying a brown Citroen SM with a Stratos V6 swap and LEARN TO DRIVE. There are many ways to do this. Go to racing school (expensive). Get coaching one on one (also expensive). If you're fortunate like me, sign up for a karting series. Although you run the same track every time, nothing teaches you fine control of a vehicle, or how to sense how much traction you have (or don't have) like karting. It's also cheap (at low levels) fairly safe and most importantly, good fun. Chances are, you will never be a race car driver. As a child, I was found to have exceptionally poor spatial sense, which will prevent me from ever becoming a great racer. If you're the kind of person who is more inclined with words than numbers, chances are you may have a similar ailment. The good news is that if you learn to steer smoothly, squeeze on the brakes and look ahead, you can savage most of your fellow junket participants, over-priced sports car buyers and both types who also attend the same track days as you. The downside is you may "…never be able to out of your window net and simply [destroy] another man's confidence on the entry to a critical corner…" but I'm sure most of us can live with that. 6) Here's surefire advice on how to get a gig at TTAC, or any other North American publication. Or a book deal. Go get a job in the industry. Working at a dealership is ok but may not get you too far. Working at an OEM is also good. Working at a car factory is better. Working at a UAW plant is the Mount Everest. Even if it's just sweeping the floors. You will have years of original content, insights that no professional "journalist" will ever have and the kind of life experience that will make you an interesting person to talk to at parties. Most importantly, you will have a story to tell. One that doesn't involve how much better the Eden Roc is than the bullshit Mandarin Oriental that the OEM has dared to put you up in after flying economy. We desperately need new blood in this business. If you're already out there, have an itch to write and are willing to break any NDA's you've signed… editors@ttac.com
from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
Friday, June 8, 2012
How To Succeed At Automotive Journalism: A Primer For Neophytes
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Archive
-
▼
2012
(7297)
-
▼
June
(664)
- Fifty Years of the Trans-Canada Highway
- Hammer Time: Finding A Cheap Ride
- LeMons Arse-Sweat-a-Palooza BS Inspections: Britis...
- This Week's Most-Read Stories
- Junkyard Find: 1980 AMC Eagle Coupe
- Most-Watched Video Reviews of the Week
- Toyota And BMW Plan To Take The Lead In Commercial...
- Phil’s Podium Of The Automotive Pure: Ten Trick Te...
- 2013 Dodge Dart 1.4 Turbo/Dual-Clutch First Drive:...
- 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed: What’s Headed Up ...
- Jaguar Adds V-6, Turbo Four, New Gearbox to U.S.-M...
- 2012 Jeep Wrangler Freedom Edition Proudly Wears t...
- The Continental: Another Detroit Designer for Opel...
- 2013 Audi A6 Allroad First Drive: Off-Road Looks M...
- Audi R8 e-tron Sets “World-Record” Lap Time at the...
- 2013 Ford Focus ST First Drive: The Hot Focus Deli...
- McLaren Officially Confirms MP4-12C Spider, Provid...
- Cars.com's Convertible Buying Guide
- New or Used? : Seeking A California Vintage
- Toyota and BMW Announce Further Ties, Adding a Joi...
- Mercedes-Benz Reveals the Not-a-Station-Wagon 2013...
- We Be Sippin’: Nine Technologies that Significantl...
- GM’s Brazilian Spin: Dog Of An Engine Devours Any ...
- Where is Gas the Cheapest?
- Toyota Expands Floormat Recall
- Overcapacity In Europe: It’s Worse Than We Thought
- General Motors Looking To Cut Engine Lineup By 40 ...
- BMW And Toyota To Jointly Develop Sports Cars And ...
- Daily News Briefs: June 29, 2012
- Canadian Auto Plant Caught Up In Abortion Debate
- Take That, China: Japan Finds 200 Years’ Worth Of ...
- Adventures In Marketing: The Cocainiest Car Ad of ...
- Junkyard Find: 1969 Volvo 145 Wagon
- The Secret Of The Tiffany-Blue LFA, Or How Those A...
- 2013 Subaru Impreza: What's Changed
- 2013 Audi Allroad: First Drive
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: The Millionair...
- 2014 Chevy Tahoe / GMC Yukon Spied: Next Generatio...
- 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Postponed...
- 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Spy Photos: The Next-G...
- Mazda Considers Hotter Miata with 205-hp MX-5 GT C...
- The (Nearly) 1.0-g Nissan Leaf: Getting an EV to G...
- Next-Gen Alfa Romeo Spider Won’t Be An Upscale Miata
- Aston Martin Produces Another 77 One-77s: Okay, Th...
- LeMons Good/Bad Idea of the Week: Twin-Turbo Taxi!
- What’s Right With This Picture: A Father’s Advice
- 2012 Chevrolet Equinox: Car Seat Check
- C/D Video: We Thrash the Ariel Atom 300
- Trackday Diaries: How’d that Cadillac crash, anyway?
- Consumers Want Backup Cameras, Blind Spot Systems
- Hyundai Generation Why Intramural League, First Pl...
- Edmunds Issues June Sales Forecast: No Major Changes
- Ford’s Traffic Jam Assist Combines New and Existin...
- Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Chrysler 200 Convertible
- Mazda Can’t Make Its CX-5 Fast Enough
- GM Preps for Wireless Charging Tech by Filing to T...
- Daily News Briefs: June 28, 2012
- How to Drink Less (Fuel): Five Tips for Efficiency...
- Ford Predicts 47 mpg for C-Max Hybrid
- Generation Why: Throw Some D’s On That Spark!
- Carbuzz Builds Chinese Firewall To Lock Out Lone D...
- Chasing Perfection: 1000 Miles in the McLaren MP4-12C
- BMW/NedCar Now In Talks
- Junkyard Find: 1987 Chevrolet Nova Sedan
- Fun at 40 mpg: Real-World Mileage Test with Chevy ...
- Fiat’s Viaggio To Bolster Chinese Exports
- 2013 Nissan Altima: Explaining the Trim Levels
- The Zen of Cupholders
- World’s Largest Automaker 2012: Toyota Leads After...
- 2013 Porsche Cayenne GTS First Drive: A Little Mor...
- Here’s Why Your Mileage May Vary (A Lot) from the ...
- Toyota and Gazoo Racing Twincharge a GT 86 for Goo...
- How Dampers Work: We Slice Open Four Types of Shoc...
- Ladies and Gentlemen, Mazda’s Rotary Has Left the ...
- Trackday Diaries: I can tell you how to win a Lemo...
- Cadillac ELR: More Details On How the Volt Will Be...
- Ford System Could Block Incoming Calls While You M...
- 2013 Subaru Forester: What's Changed
- Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Volvo XC70
- Hyundai Generation Why Intramural League, Second P...
- 2013 Dodge Dart Video
- Daily News Briefs: June 27, 2012
- Carnewschina: Carbuzz Is A Bunch Of Thieves
- Ask An Engineer: Natural Gas For Dummies
- Ford Developing Traffic Jam Fighter
- Question: What Car Most Needs a Spec Racing Series?
- Cars.com Family Reviews the 2012 Infiniti QX56
- Junkyard Find: 1996 Volkswagen Jetta Trek Edition
- BMW And Toyota To Make Announcement This Week
- Opel Restructuring: Baby Steps Instead Of Big Bang
- Piston Slap: Of Winter Tires and The Nürburgring D...
- Vellum Venom: 2012 BMW 750Li
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: 1992, The Year...
- 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo First Drive: A Sportie...
- 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4 Long-Term Wrap
- Four Hundred And Thirty The Hard Way: Porsche Intr...
- BMW M School: Learning How to Go Fast in German
- Name That Exhaust Note, Episode 141
- 2013 BMW 640i Gran Coupe Tested: Six Plus Four Equ...
- Ford Aims for 47-mpg City Rating for C-Max Hybrid,...
-
▼
June
(664)
No comments:
Post a Comment