Want to write about K-State Sports for Bring on the Cats?

Bring on the Cats is seeking contributors to help continue our efforts to make BotC the go-to site for K-State sports analysis on the web. Some things will be happening soon which we expect to drastically increase our traffic, and we'll have plenty of opportunities for eager writers to express themselves before a wide audience.

This is an open call; there is not just one slot available here. We have several specific areas where we could use writers:

Recruiting: Do you follow K-State recruiting obsessively? We're looking to improve our ability to quickly report on changes in the recruiting landscape and inform our community right away when someone commits (or decommits).

Non-revenue sports: Do you regularly attend any of K-State's non-revenue contests, or follow them closely? If you're a huge K-State women's basketball fan, or volleyball fan, or heck, even an equestrian junkie, and you'd like to write about it, we're interested.

Breaking news/general assignment: We always need people on hand to take care of breaking news and handle commonplace article postings. There are regularly-scheduled articles whose usual author might need to have someone cover for vacation or illness.

Lunacy: Have a knack with creative and hilarious video and GIFs? Oh, we'd really like to talk to you. Even if your facility with humor is confined to the written word, we've always got time to laugh.

Who we're looking for

Anyone with passion for K-State who can write well (or is at least very, very open to learning). Although this is nowhere near being a requirement, we're especially interested in writers who are actually in Manhattan; if you're a journalism student at K-State and love Wildcat sports, this is a great opportunity to work on your craft while writing about something you love writing about.

What do you get out of this?

Monetarily? Nothing. This is not a paid position; on the other hand, you also don't have to do anything you don't want to do! That said, there is the potential opportunity for (small) compensation in the future, and if you're really good at doing this you can make a name for yourself. Managing Editor Jon Morse got started just commenting on posts. Derek Smith began writing unsolicited game recaps as fan posts, and that ultimately led to him being able to interview Bill Snyder. And we have actual working journalists on staff who can tell you that while the compensation for doing this is non-existent, the experience is valuable. Especially if you're interested in sports journalism as a career, your work here becomes part of your portfolio. You could do that writing your own blog, sure... but would you rather have a dozen people read your articles, or thousands? And being a contributor for Bring on the Cats can open up another opportunity: we're occasionally asked to do radio and TV spots. You might get a shot.

This is a team environment, and in addition to getting experience with actual writing you'll also make some valuable career-related connections -- even if your career isn't going to be in writing. Although this is an unpaid gig, it's still something you can add to a resume and, assuming you do well, you can land some work references. You'll have all the support and advice you need to produce your best work. All you have to do is honestly want to do it, and be open to criticism of your work -- both constructive from your colleagues, and perhaps not so constructive from the readers. Hey, that's part of the environment, so we may as well get it out there.

Okay, so what do I have to do?

Scroll all the way to the bottom of this page where it says "masthead" and click. You can then contact Jon Morse via either Twitter or e-mail (Facebook is not recommended). If you're already an established writer of some sort, please let Jon know what you've done, and provide links to some examples. (Please don't send file attachments unless requested.) If you're not an established writer, that's fine too; just tell Jon a little bit about yourself and what you're interested in doing.

Pretty simple, huh?