How to create a writing sample that will get you the gig

Omar, you will be notified either way. Response time for Writer Program applications is typically 3-5 business days. Today is the second business day since Wednesday. Since we had a four-day weekend rather than a two-day weekend, and a lot of applications come in over weekends, it might be running four to six days this week while we catch back up. But you should hear back by, at the very latest, early next week.

The application is here: http://bleacherreport.com/who_should_write_for_br

I apologize for the delay. First of all, it’s 3-5 *business* days, and keep in mind that last Monday, as well as the Monday before that, were not business days.

We tend to get a lot of applications over weekends. In the last six weeks we’ve had a four-day weekend and two three-day weekends, not to mention that college students, who make up a big part of the applicant pool, have been on break. So we’ve been getting a lot more applications than usual, and we’ve “lost” four days of evaluation time to holidays.

What I’m saying is: We’re running behind, and we probably will be for a little while. Right now, it’s more like 5-7 business days, so today, the team should be finishing up with applications that came in on Wednesday, Dec. 28. We’re hoping to catch up in the next few weeks and get it back down to 3-5 days.

Thanks for your patience.

As I’ve said in other comments, we’re currently operating on about a seven-day backup. So you should expect to hear back by next Tuesday, the 17th.

Again, we’re hoping to get this waiting period back down to five business days soon, and we appreciate everyone’s patience.

King’s having connectivity issues, so I’m pasting his response:

“No. We allow our British writers to misspell words like color and favor in the British fashion. Ha ha.

“Serious answer: It’s fine to use British spelling, though it’s preferable to use U.S. spelling when you’re writing about U.S. sports. So a British writer writing about, say, the New York Yankees should use U.S. spelling, unless writing from a distinctly British perspective.”

Cheers,
Dan Bonato, Copy Chief

Roughly 20 percent of applications are approved, so it’s tough, but if you can write reasonably well, you should get approved.

Sorry to hear it. Work on your writing and re-apply when you’re ready, after 30 days.

You cannot write for Bleacher Report until your application has been approved. If it’s not approved, you may re-apply after 30 days.

Ben,

The application process was introduced about two years ago as part of an effort to raise the quality of the writing on Bleacher Report. B/R began as a platform for anyone who wanted to write about sports, but ultimately decided that we wanted to know that a person could write well before we opened the platform to him or her. I don’t believe that’s an unreasonable requirement.

All writers who were on the site at the time were asked then to go through the applications process, as all prospective writers have been since then. Once you apply, assuming you are approved, you won’t have to wait when you want to say something. Once approved, you can write whenever you want.

Good luck.

By email.

It’s just like being a non-B/R writer, with the exception that you write for B/R, and those of your friends who think things like that are really cool will think that’s really cool. What is it that you’re scared of?

Use this link http://bleacherreport.com/who_should_write_for_br to apply to the Writer Program, which will ask you to turn in a writing sample.

Bleacher Report has some paid writing positions including some full-time writers, but most of our writers are unpaid. See http://bleacherreport.com/who_should_write_for_br for more information on the Writer Program and its benefits.

If you write well, you should be fine. That’s the No. 1 thing we look for. Also Nos. 2 and 3.

First of all, eat vegetables, not sports.

Our minimum age is 13. For those under 18, please get the permission of your parents/guardians before signing up.

Good luck!

We’d like you to write a new piece for the sample. Part of what we’re judging is your ability to write something timely, and we have no idea if the story on another site was edited by someone else. You’ll stand a much better chance if you turn in original work.

From the application:

The best writing samples are those which demonstrate the talent and professionalism of their authors. In order to put your best foot forward, you should take a few minutes to digest the criteria outlined in our Content Standards, Attribution Guidelines, and Style Guide—and then you should choose a topic that allows you to showcase your passion as a fan and your expertise as an analyst in 250-500 words.

Yes. You may re-apply after 30 days.

I sent an email to the address listed with this comment.

No, that’s fine.

500 words is better, but if you can’t cut it to that, 600 is OK. Web addresses are fine to list previous work.

There are no geographical restrictions. We love our Australian writers, even though they spell kind of humourously. You have to be 13 to sign up as a user or to apply to write. We ask those under 18 to get their parents permission first. Good luck.

Steve,

Sorry, but no. We receive more than 200 applications a week and often approve as few as 3 percent. We just don’t have the time or resources to explain to each applicant why they have not been approved. If you read the Writer Tutorial and the B/R Blog post How to create a writing sample that will get you the gig, and you’re honest about assessing your own writing, you should get a pretty good idea of what you’d need to do.

Yes, you should write a headline.

No, you won’t. We’d prefer you to keep the writing sample under 500 words, but going 52 words over is not going to be the difference between being approved and not.

Yes. From the application:

Choose a topic that allows you to showcase your passion as a fan and your expertise as an analyst in 250-500 words.

Yes, you can. 1-2 articles a month is fine.

Please read the updated version of this post http://blog.bleacherreport.com/2013/06/20/how-to-create-a-writing-sample-that-will-get-you-in-to-br/

Callum,

Sorry for the slow response. Will send you some feedback via email.

king

In all honesty, it’s all but impossible to be approved as a Bleacher Report writer if you don’t have any journalism experience. It’s theoretically possible for someone with no experience to create a writing sample that would meet our current standards, but I’ll put it this way: You would be the first.

There’s no harm in trying if you’d like, though I think your time would be better spent gaining that experience, through school publications, journalism classes, local or regional publications, your own blog, group blogs or other online publications that are looking for beginning writers, self-education using the many free or paid resources available on the web, etc. If you’re going to apply, please read the update of this blog post, which is linked at the top. Good luck.

Kyle,

Three things:

1. Please see the updated link near the top of this story. That’s the post you should read.

2. Drop me a line at king at bleacherreport dot com. Let’s take a look at your situation.

3. The fact that people at SBNation, Yahoo, etc. tell you that your work is great doesn’t mean it’s good enough for Bleacher Report, or that it’s the right fit for Bleacher Report. No offense to those other places. They have their own standards that aren’t the same as ours.

king

Will,

First of all. See the link at the top of this blog post. That’s the blog post you should be reading.

Second, I aske the Writer Admissions team to give me a quick review of why your application was turned down. Here’s what they said:

“The main issues were with analytical structure (didn’t include a
thesis), support and repetition. Without the thesis, the argument loses
focus. He’s pretty close but still needs some work.”

Hope that helps.

king