Is there Money To Be Made in Sports and Fitness Writing?

There is a GREAT amount of money to be made in sports writing. Not only that, but very often well-spoken sportswriters move into radio, and then onto television as analyst or talking heads.

From personal experience, I'd say some pubs pay in excess, for a single article, what many writers receive as advances and royalties for entire books.

I'll put together a list of sports magazines worth looking into.

Black belt paid $200-250 per article when I was there IIRC.

An interesting article about sports card writing from Dave Jameison

http://www.slate.com/id/2150516/?GT1=8592

Those are awesome links and very timely. I've had some ideas I've been kicking around about fishing!

Great links SK. I think what I'll do is transfer them to a stickied post listing markets. Anyone who digs up others can feel free to add them.

Is there a market for sports articles but based on the regular joe?
What I mean is articles on people who swim every day...or run every day or bike every day...that sort of thing...
not fitness per-say..but the human angle of all of it?

My book is about the benefits of learning a snowsport as an adult, so yes, there is a market. In fact, most of my published articles are for the non-professional skier.

Teddy, those sound like the makings of human-interest pieces; some of which may run in sports publications or the sports section of newspapers. But they might also cross over into lifestyle or general interest type pubs/sections as well.

Yep eraser that is more what they are..human interest with a sports angle...
For instance...
I just this week, took a ride with my eye doctor, who I know well for many years to a family party. He is like late 60's and started biking last year. So he now joins a bike marathon to raise money for a hospital which goes over 5 days and over 300 km.

I was in the car for an hour and a half talking to him about why? and what etc. and I knew there was a story there...a real interesting one...human interest etc. and since I am not into this type of market had no clue what to do with it...

TeddyG said:

Is there a market for sports articles but based on the regular joe?

Click to expand...

With outdoor sports, in particular hunting and fishing, stories are often written for and by regular Joes, who make up the bulk of their readership. The stories I've had the most success with are from my own experiences "in the field," rather than from a technical or professional perspective.

I'm finishing up a list of winter sports that I'll post in the markets sticky later today. Then I'll work on a list that includes running, swimming and biking, which was next on my agenda anyway.

If you check the markets sticky again in the next couple of days, Teddy, I think you'll find some useful info.

SK I already looked it over..incredible work and thanks...
I am just really not familiar with the non-fiction market you guys know...
me...fiction and fiction and fiction (except for two works which is totally non-fiction)
So hell, if I can put the emotive experience with some pathos into a non-fiction piece and make some money from it...why not?

You put me to shame, SK. I've been meaning to put together a list of children's sports mags. I'll get that done next weekend. (Our soccer team has a bye, so I don't have an excuse.)

TeddyG said:

Yep eraser that is more what they are..human interest with a sports angle...
For instance...
I just this week, took a ride with my eye doctor, who I know well for many years to a family party. He is like late 60's and started biking last year. So he now joins a bike marathon to raise money for a hospital which goes over 5 days and over 300 km.

I was in the car for an hour and a half talking to him about why? and what etc. and I knew there was a story there...a real interesting one...human interest etc. and since I am not into this type of market had no clue what to do with it...

Click to expand...

WHOAA!!! A huge market there, because he is in his 60s.The baby-boomer market is really hot right now, especially with "yes I can" stories. If you can add some personality to the article, so that it does not sound like a news report, it can be an exciting piece!

I did a lot of writing about sports and outdoors for years before snapping out of it. Looking back on it, I made more money and got more checks by writing in non-sports magazines.
Sure Young Athlete and such gave me bigger checks, but how often? I did almost as well at the deaprtments of Science (Orienteering, dynamics of a curve ball...that sort of thing.) Few sportswriters target them, so it was wide open. Same goes for inflight mags.

But my main sports bread and butter was columns in regional mags and community newspapers. At one time I had three regular columns on outdoor sports that added up enough to pay the rent.

As with ANY breakin plans, I recommend canvassing what's around you, perhaps even selling them on a column they don't yet have.

PS...for several years I had a weekly column forecasting the next opponents of the local college teams. How? I wrote to athletic departments of the schools, got their press guides, and converted their info into my own style.