After recent reading experiences, I have come to the conclusion that journalists make excellent authors. Before the journo-hating mob comes after me with flaming pitchforks shouting “BLASPHEMY!”, hear me out. I can’t speak too much about the books that inspired this (Sideways by Melbourne journalist Patrick O’Neil and You or Someone Like You by NY Times perfume critic Chandler Burr), because I’m reviewing them for other sites. But more on that later.

I may have been a circle trying to wedge myself into the octagon that is the journalism industry, but the bitterness of this has passed, and turned into a twisted sort of reverence for the keepers of the fourth estate that the world hates so much.

Anyway.

1. Journalists tend to start out on the path to authordom: Many Journalists didn’t study Journalism at university, rather, they are Arts graduates, and if they didn’t major in Political Science, they majored (or minored) in some sort of literature studies. Good grasp of literature = a basis for good story writing. You could even go as far as to say Journalism is story-telling.
2. They know stuff about things: In the course of their work, Journalists tend to have a wide, albeit somewhat flimsy grasp of general knowledge. (See point 3)
3. Masters of Google: Not just Google, in fact, that’s barely scratching the surface. Journalists are great researchers. Usually. The good ones at least.
4. Journos are itchin’ for it: These men and women in the noble trade of Journalism have simplicity drummed into them. Imagine being given 20, 000 words to say what you want, rather than a measly 2000! Mmmm adjectives *drools*
5. BUT, they’re trained in the succinct: i.e., years of having words culled from their work will help cushion the ego blows involved in the editing process.
6. They know how to write for an audience: Pretty self-explanatory, that one is.
7. All in the line of duty: Journos have done lots of crazy things for the sake of their jobs. Remember the opening scene of the movie 24-hour Party People where Tony Wilson goes parachuting on assignment? Hrm. And he’s not even a foreign correspondent. Okay so he’s not an author. I just wanted to bring up Tony Wilson. The point here is their lives are filled with the strange, weird, and wonderful: perfect inspiration for a novel. Moving on…
8. Contacts make the world go round: Half the job of the publicist/marketing guru is already done, thanks to an extensive little black book of who’s who, courtesy of the Journalist. And it’s a sad but true fact that when most books cross a publisher’s desk, the first question is ultimately about the marketing potential.
9. The thick skin wins: Yep. Alongside lawyers, parking inspectors, and insurance company employees, Journos are used to copping it from the world. Now, this isn’t a license to trash their work unashamedly, but I daresay they’ve had worse things thrown -and said – to them.
10.  They can write, duh: The most obvious reason. Journalists ARE writers, even though writers aren’t necessarily Journalists. Now I recall the occasional story from lecturers telling us about world-famous Journos whose work had to be scrubbed clean from spelling and grammatical errors by slaving sub-editors. This, reader, is a rare occurrence. For the most part, they can write.

Other Journalists who have written great novels, aside from ones mentioned above:

John Birmingham (author of He Died With A Felafel in His Hand and The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco) has been a journalist many years, and currently hosts a couple of blogs on the Brisbane Times website.

Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada was famously based on a certain unnamed Vogue editor.

And there’s also a little Rolling Stone Journalist, not sure if you’ve heard of him, he’s only Hunter S. Thompson. I rest my case.

Can you think of any other authors you’ve loved that were once, or still are, Journalists? (Yes, I deliberately capitalised the word, to express my awe with them.)

Or do you find that you don’t like the way Journalists write novels?