HOW TO GET YOUR CAR IN THE MAGAZINE

It's EASY.  Now that you're here, keep reading...

“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. 

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.

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