Write On Sports LLC - "Why Write On Sports?" by Ian Schnee

Why Write On Sports?

2006-09-09 17:45:24 | By: Ian Schnee

When you’ve read through the major sports pages online but have another hour left at the office, have you ever wished that you could easily find amusing and inventive sports writing hiding in the corners of the internet? When you’re on your couch watching the third rerun of Sports Center, have you ever wished for different jokes and a new opinion? Or maybe even wanted to share your own? Write On Sports is a new resource for sports fans and sportswriters. It is premised on the idea that independent sportswriters should be able to write for a national audience, and on the idea that sports fans need better access to great sports writing.

There are many qualified people who love sports and the written word, yet there is not an adequate marketplace for them to show off their work. We are creating a community in which sportswriters will be appreciated and read by a knowledgeable audience. Our first objective is to get the word about Write On Sports to the people who write on sports. For the past six months we have been searching for people that enjoy writing on sports. On the web and in newsprint we’ve found more than 7,000 individuals that already write on sports--authors that write about local community teams, specific college or pro teams, or sports generally. These are people who enjoy the written word, and Write On Sports offers them both a place to find other people who share their passion and an opportunity to find a greater audience for their writing.

Throughout this process, we became aware of how incredible the sports blogging community is and how much better it will become. It is frustrating, however, that much of the great material already being written is so hard to find. The Sports Blog Library is part of our answer to this problem. Although it is still in its infancy, the idea of the Sports Blog Library is that of a resource where sports enthusiasts can easily find sports blogs that may be of interest to them. There are already 200 blogs listed in the library, and we are currently accepting requests from bloggers to have their sites added.

Write On Sports is an independent national media source that offers writers a chance for a national voice and also provides a platform for the writers’ other work. Authors whose articles are accepted for publication will be given the opportunity to create a biography page that explains their background and other work; it is a platform for the writer to sell him - or herself. Additionally, Write On Sports will archive all of the articles it has published by that author on his or her bio page as well as a link to the writer’s blog or other digital home, thereby providing a way for writers to begin to receive the credit they are due.

We all know that much of the coffee-break talk being done in the office is about sports, and that many great ideas aren’t always going to be written by those paid to write them. For this reason Write On Sports accepts submissions from everyone, and our only standards are the quality of the writing and opinions therein.

Write On Sports is launching its website on Labor Day 2006.

(Write On Sports is also accepting submissions from photographers/illustrators who are interested in having their work published and viewed by a national audience. Please contact us at images@writeonsports.com if you are interested.)

Post a comment