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“I can’t write,”
he said after I asked him to submit an article on his car. He laughed that nervous laugh I’d heard
many times over the years from guys who didn’t put pen to paper for fear of critical
judgment. I assured him he
could.
“If you can sit in
your garage talking to buddies about cars, you can write about your car. Writing is simply talking on paper. If you’re worried about the editing,
leave that to me.”
He looked away as
he admitted, “I can’t type worth a damn and I can’t read my own
handwriting.”
“You can print,
can’t you?”
A few weeks later
a hand printed letter arrived at my home with photos of a ’41 Willys and a heartfelt
story of one’s guy’s life with cars and his love of Gassers. As I’d promised I corrected a misspelled
word or two but that’s all.
Still want to get
your car in the magazine? What
works for me is you telling your story in your own words. Yeah, your photos are worth a thousand words, but they don’t
tell your story. We didn’t get
to where we are with cars without having our own ‘car history’. For some it involves a high school
hot rod. For others there maybe the
sweet smell of burning rubber at the local drag strip. Your story is your story. So tell YOUR story.
Note: We cover all the cars that ran in the GASSER classes. That includes Willys, Anglias, Henry J's, Austins, '55s and more. Whether your ride is race, street or pro-street, it fits in this magazine. So get writing.
Note: We cover all the cars that ran in the GASSER classes. That includes Willys, Anglias, Henry J's, Austins, '55s and more. Whether your ride is race, street or pro-street, it fits in this magazine. So get writing.
Tech Stuff: You can fill out a tech sheet on your
car if you want, or just write down what’s important to you. While some readers might want to
know how many titanium bolts you have holding up your oil pan, most of us car
guys glaze over at those kind of details.
But, that’s up to you.
Maybe your bolts are more interesting than mine. LOL
Tech Sheet: CLICK HERE You can fill in form online, print and then mail or email.
Tech Sheet: CLICK HERE You can fill in form online, print and then mail or email.
Photos: Pay attention to the background. Your eyes maybe focused on your car,
but the camera sees it all, including that ugly whatever behind your car. OK, other hints include:
Leave plenty of
space around your car. Don’t crop
in camera. I’ll take care of that
in Photoshop.
Camera
Angles: Front, Side, ¾ from Front,
Engine, Interior, etc. Close-ups
on cool custom details can add to the article. If you can take an aerial shot, go for it. Same if you want to get down low down
and even use a wide angle lens if you have one. If you have flash on your camera, use it to fill in shadows
in daytime shots.
Digital: Shoot at as high a resolution as
possible. What works for the web
doesn’t work for a printed magazine. If you’re email the photos, send them one at a time if
necessary, but as large a file as you can. It makes a big difference. If you can put
your photos and a Word doc-story on a disk, go for it.
- If you’re mailing prints of your car and maybe some from your early days and you want them returned, let me know.
- Xerox copies of photos will NOT work. Same with those of articles printed in newspapers or magazines.
That’s pretty much
it. Take the photos, write a page
or so on your car and you. When we
have space, we’ll run all appropriate articles. I’m looking
forward to reading your story!
ERNEST
