time-warp-again asked: Hi! I got to your page by searching Andy Greenwald's name (he's one of my idols and i've read like everything he's written) and I noticed you speak a bit about achieving your dream of becoming a music journalist, and I just wondered, how did you go about doing that? I literally cannot imagine anything I would love more, but I just wouldn't even know where to start! Any advice?
When I first became interested in the field I was really young so I was basically writing articles on my own time. The internet wasn’t as big as it is now so I had nowhere to really post reviews. I’ve basically been searching for years now for any medium to write and taking advantage of any opportunity I could get. I currently write an online publicationand do some music reviews internally and externally for the radio station I DJ at. I did this all by just getting myself out there and networking. So my advice would be to get out there as much as you can. Search like hell for opportunities to write. A lot of low key independent music blogs and websites are looking for writers all the time. Even if you can’t find any music related gigs find anything that gives you the opportunity to write. The more experience you get, the more practice you get, and it really gets your writing noticed. I also have friends who create their own blogs and post their music reviews. Bands really love it when you talk highly about them and it’s another way to get your name out there.
Also if you’re in school, take journalism classes. A lot of my writing significantly improved after the courses I have taken in college.
Good luck! :) I couldn’t imagine doing anything else and I’m glad I got to help another writer out!
