"Here in my car I feel safest of all. I can lock all my doors. It's the only way to live. In cars." Gary Numan may have phrased your key philosophy. So if you love the automotives, maybe you should write about them. I know as little about writing about cars as I do about the engines inside cars, so I asked some freelancers who cover the automotive industry: how can you get paid to write about cars?

The first thing you need to know is, obviously, cars. But you can't just be interested in cars, or pop by the Auto Show once every couple of years. To even have a shot at getting published covering automotive matters, you need to eat, drink, sleep cars.

"Since there are so many people who want to be in the business, just getting that first gig can be extremely difficult," says Devin Comiskey. "Magazines and newspapers won't even take your phone call and will ignore your inquiries if you don't have a substantial auto-related portfolio. I was lucky in that I worked for a local newspaper and was able to write a few reviews after submitting samples to the publisher and going to new car dealers and test driving cars on my own (I did that for the new Porsche Carrera 911 and the Saab 92-X). After delivering some good reviews, I was able to get a foot in the door and actually test drive press fleet cars once in a while. So, my persistence paid off. I also used my press credentials to get into the NY International Auto Show in 2004 on press day. That experience led to an online freelance gig a year and a half ago for a consumer review site. Those reports are a compilation of reviews in major auto magazines and web site, so the "writing" is minimal.

"Automotive journalists are by and large automotive enthusiasts. (There are business reporters who cover the industry for major dailies who aren't enthusiasts, but that career route is generally just coming up the ranks and happening to land on the auto or transportation beat.) I broke in because I knew cars and I knew how to write," says my cousin Dan Zukowski. (OK, technically, we're not actually related but it's possible.) "I began by submitting stories and pitches to smaller trade publications (the Web didn't
exist back then). Although the pay wasn't great, it built my clip file, got me to industry events and eventually created enough visibility and contacts
to land a full-time gig."

"It is definitely a field you need to be immersed in. It is important to understand automotive technology, as well as history, in order to be able to talk intelligently with executives as well as to write intelligently. Editors will spot a novice right away. So will executives and PR people. (And I did that job for 12 years, too.) And they will close off access very quickly if the reporter doesn't demonstrate knowledge of the industry. "

In addition to the high criteria for just getting in the door, the market is already flooded with writers who want the same thing you want. "You have to start at the "bottom" if you want to break into writing freelance automotive writing," says Comiskey. "It's going to take a lot of time and a lot of dealing with rejection. Remember, EVERYONE wants to write about cars, so the competition is immense."

"Some advice I want to pass on is from someone who worked with the likes of Car & Driver and Road & Track magazines," says Comiskey. The people with jobs at that level will do anything to protect the exciting perks they get from the auto manufacturers (trips, gifts, race tickets, etc.). Unless you are a professional racer or have REALLY good connections, breaking into that level is borderline impossible."

"More than any other business topics, auto writing is hard to get into," agrees Eve Tahmincioglu. "The bigger magazines want you to have some experience but the local newspapers can give freelancers a chance to cover happenings, trends that are unknown to the national media. For example, local papers have been cutting back their coverage of auto plants. So many towns across the U.S. have auto plants that employ thousands of people but an auto writers these days at a smaller newspaper is almost unheard of. That's a great opportunity for a freelancer. Even though newspapers don't pay well, it might be the best way to get those first important clips. I would do research into the local plants, even if they are a few hours away. Get to know the car or truck the plant produces and start looking for stories on facility. Many of the big auto makers are cutting back on production, slashing jobs, so there are always great human interest stories around that. I used to spend a lot of time hanging out at bars near plants and hanging out in the parking lots of plants to find out what was going on. So, once they start covering the plant, maybe coming up with stories that aren't making it to the bigger publications, they can start to pitch stories to bigger magazines, newspapers. Often automakers are looking for people to do test driving of vehicles, but the writer will have to have a publication that wants the story before the automaker will allow that. At least that's how it used to be done."

"Breaking into the established auto enthusiast magazines like Car & Driver, Road & Track, et al, is a very, very difficult business," agrees David Barry (not the columnist). They use almost no material by freelancers, and getting a staff job is very difficult. Newspapers might be a little easier: many newspapers run automotive sections on Saturday, which contain one or two news stories and a lot of ads."

Comiskey also agrees that local newspapers may be the best bet for breaking in. "Find local newspapers, Web sites, etc. that need content but can't afford to pay for it. They'll be happy to take it," advises Comiskey. "Attend car shows and take pictures and interview interesting people at those shows. If you have the talent and the time, start your won automotive Web site (but good luck standing out among the thousands already out there). Build your portfolio with all that material and then look into better gigs. Better yet, become a race car driver of some sort (amateur, semi-pro, pro, etc.) and become an expert in something.

"If a writer wants to focus on autos from a consumer perspective or a business perspective, general auto clips will help them break into either," says Tahmincioglu. "I used to spend a lot of time reading the car publications and could look pretty well-informed when I was pitching stories. It may also be possible to do a feature on a car trend, or a U.S. driving trend, and pitch that to bigger publications, especially if there's a unique angle."

Breaking in online also can be trickier than with other genres. "There are tons of auto web sites but many of those are extensions of the big magazines, or car dealers and makers trying to sell cars," warns Tahmincioglu.

"Many auto Web sites will take articles and reviews from anyone who shows an interest. The downside is they rarely pay anything. That's where I am now. After realizing that a) you need to live in California to write for just about any automotive publication and b) the pay is awful no matter who you work for, I moved on," says Comiskey.

If you are having trouble breaking into the market, think outside the box. "Travel writing is a very free-lance based area of journalism, and it might be possible to sell a travel or driving story idea wrapped around a particular car," suggests Barry.

Also, get in good with the insiders. "There are a number of automotive press associations around the country. Motor Press Guild in L.A., the International Motor Press Association in New York and the Automotive Press Association in Detroit are the largest," says Zukowski. " It would be a good idea to attend their lunches (a beginner won't be able to join until they can show some clips) as a way to meet working journalists and ask questions.

Unfortunately, it's not likely that you'll get rich if and when you do break into the market. "First of all, breaking into automotive writing and being successful are two different things - although they're both difficult. Automotive publishers have the luxury of being able to pay very little for content because so many people want to write about cars. Those that do get a job writing about cars, or anything auto-related, often work long hours for low pay with little chance for real advancement," says Comiskey.