Does anyone have experience having an article printed in a car mag?

[motoyen]

I'm just wondering what the procedure is for getting your articles printed in car magazines. When contacting the editor do you attach your article with your email? Maybe send a small sample? How long does it usually take for them to get back to you?

I'd like to see if I can get some of my stuff printed. Any info is appreciated.

[toma_alimosh]

Trying to get ahead of No Boss, are we?

[Cobol74]

http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun03/bell.htm

Some help here maybe?

[ferret]

I'm a magazine editor (though at a computer magazine, not at a car magazine -- sorry), so I can say that the advice provided in that linky that Cobol provides is indeed pretty good.

The only point I might want to modify is that you should definitely contact the editor(s) and find out if they want proposals in the form of an abstract, or if they just want completed articles sent in. Some editors will essentially ignore any abstracts, because they have other submissions that are already complete articles. When you're facing a deadline, and you've got an abstract and a completed article on your desk, you're going to reach for the completed article. You don't want to lose out to the folks who send in complete articles.

Of course, you can only send in a full article if you're sure it's going the direction the editors want. But they may prefer to have a quick phone or e-mail conversation about the direction you are taking, rather than reading an abstract. An interactive conversation will always be more productive.

And one big, big, thing: check the magazine's web site for author guidelines, if you haven't already. Nothing worse than explaining to an author procedures that were already posted, if they had just bothered to look for them.

Good luck! Let us know if you get it published.

[jayhawk]

Originally Posted by ferret

I'm a magazine editor (though at a computer magazine, not at a car magazine -- sorry)

AHA!! I knew it!

[Shawn]

You might wanna contact klutch from the forums, he's from Vancouver and I believe he's doing some type of car journalism.

[Silverstar]

I sent in a review of the STI for AutoWeek, But more of a request from them that they posted on NASIOC for personal opinions. Got a reply back saying they would use it...just not sure when or where abouts.

I'd say go to one of the car mag's website, find the contact page and just ask. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a decently written/typed review.

[motoyen]

Wow thanks guys awesome info. The info on the link is especially useful. Here's what I have so far, it was hard to think of a story about visiting a museum. Let me know what you think. Pictures here

--
You’ve probably never heard of Nagoya, Japan: even though it’s Japan’s fourth-largest city, it isn’t a typical tourist destination. Nagoya also has the distinction of being home to many Japanese automotive companies and is considered the Detroit of Japan.

What drew me to this small quiet Japanese town wasn't the castles or it's famous noodles but a rumor that hidden somewhere in Nagoya were one of the world’s most impressive car museums. My plan was to visit the ZAZ Museum, a super car collection rumored to be owned by a pachinko casino magnet.

Hopping on the bullet train I cruised comfortably at 300 km/h from Tokyo to Nagoya. It was a strange feeling looking out my window and seeing the Japanese countryside whizzing by, knowing that in a few minutes I would see cars that could blow the doors off this train.

Arriving in Nagoya I hailed a taxi and handed him the map of the ZAZ museum I pulled from their website. He didn't know where the museum was but not to worry this is Japan and they have an electronic solution for everything. He asked if I had a phone number, which I gave him thinking, he was going to call the museum for directions but I was wrong. He punched the phone number into his on board GPS system and within minutes the exact route to the museum popped up on his display.

The ZAZ Museum is housed in a small nondescript building tucked behind a pachinko parlor, perhaps a clue to the owners wealth. As I walked into the showroom my eyes lit up as I found myself surrounded by cars straight out of Top Gear, or Evo Magazine.

Being a huge fan of the McLaren F1 I was immediately drawn to the stunning papaya orange McLaren F1 LM built to honor the 5 McLaren F1 GTR’s which won the 1995 24 Heures du Mans. I was surprised to note that than F1 was smaller than I would have thought: it had none of the showy excess prevalent in most super cars. Sleek and functional, it is a testament to designer Gordon Murray’s vision. Did I mention that the museum owner owns two McLaren F1's! Besides the LM he own a McLaren F1 GTR, one of only three in the world!

As I turned away from the McLaren, my eyes were drawn to a fantastic selection of benchmark Ferrari’s, each representing a different decade of Ferrari engineering. The 288 GTO, built to race in the legendary Group B race series could be considered the grandfather of the Ferrari super car! Based on this car Ferrari then built the F40, still considered by many to be the best Ferrari ever built.

The Ferrari F50, while not as hard-core as the F40 perhaps, but still a stunning sight to behold, with its slick finish of Giallo Modena Yellow paint: this car is one of only 31 worldwide with this particular shade.

According to the FXX Registry there is only one white Ferrari FXX and I am standing in front of it. Designed by Ken Okuyama a former GM designer who wished to unleash his inner samurai after years of designing bland econo-boxes. The FXX has taut, sharp lines, and it may not be the most beautiful Ferrari I’ve seen, but it really does look incredibly quick, with an F1 styled front-end, and blacked-out wheels!

The ZAZ Museum also houses a collection of unique classic Ferraris. The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa was a racecar built by Ferrari and dominated Le Mans in the 1950’s and 1960’s. After the 250 GTO, the 250 Testa Rossa is the second most valuable Ferrari model, often valued at more than US$8,000,000!

The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 , better known as the Daytona, gained notoriety during the 1980's when it was featured on the TV show Miami Vice. It is reported that Enzo Ferrari was so furious at the use of a Corvette based replica Daytona on the show that he offered two brand new Ferrari Testarossas if the replicas were destroyed.

Besides Ferraris the ZAZ Museum also has in its collection a Porsche 959. Designed to compete against the Ferrari 288 GTO the 959 one of the first production super car to use an all wheel drive system and composite materials for the body. The lessons learned from the development of the 959 are still in use today in the 911 line. Next to the Porsche was the Peter Stevens designed Jaguar XJR15, one of only 50 ever built and were based on the Le Mans winning Jaguar XJR-9 racecar. Peter Stevens is known to many as one of the designers of the McLaren F1 and many of the design cues from the Jaguar can be seen in the McLaren.

From the classic Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa to the ultra modern McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 car the ZAZ museum is well worth the visit for any car enthusiast.

In the second part of this article I visit the Toyota Automobile Museum. The thought of visiting a Toyota museum after seeing such an amazing display of super cars didn't leave me with high hopes because let's face it Toyota isn't exactly known for their cutting edge design. However I was happily proven wrong as the Toyota Museum held a few surprised of its own.

[Shawn]

^ Damn, good story. Do you have PICS?

[ferret]

Originally Posted by jayhawk

AHA!! I knew it!

/slaps forehead

Damn, I revealed my secret identity.

Shhhh. I'm Batman.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally Posted by ferret

Shhhh. I'm Batman.

No, I'm Spartacus.