Hello, 2016.
Last month/year, I promised you that I’d post details on how to submit your written work to The Truth About Cars. This is the fruit of that promise.
If you’d like to be featured at TTAC, here’s what you gotta do.
Unlike prior instances of TTAC putting out a call for new blood, this is not a contest. This is not that. Instead, in no uncertain terms, this is what and who we’re looking for at TTAC. This is how you can reach us. This is what you should say to get our attention. This is not an invitation to ask if we publish “guest posts.” This is an invitation for those of you who have something to offer to show what you can do.
Without further ado …
Car reviews/stories
Have you recently driven an interesting/not so interesting/amazingly horrible car? Do you have a story about your own vehicle that you’d like to share? Personal cars, friends’ cars, dealer cars, race cars, truck cars, movie cars — if you’ve driven it, we’d like to know about it!
First, send us me email (mstevenson@thetruthaboutcars.com) and inquire if we’d be interested in your auto. Tell us why your story is interesting. If we agree, we’ll respond. If not, well, better luck next time.
We have a format we’ve been using recently and we’d like to stick with it. You can check out our recent reviews here. If you have a non-review-style story, we’ll chat about format before you put pixel to screen.
Photography and images are key. Bad and non-existent photography are main reasons that keep the majority of reader submissions in my inbox. The lead image is the second thing a reader sees after the headline; sometimes it’s the first. Remember that. Stock photography doesn’t cut it anymore. Take your own photos or source good ones that we have the right to publish. Proper imagery will go a long way to us accepting your submission.
News/industry analysis
Have you done time in the state penn Detroit Big Three? Do you live in Chattanooga? What about Beijing? Or Delhi? If you are exposed to the automotive industry on a daily basis and/or have information to leak pass on to us, I’d definitely like to hear from you at mstevenson@thetruthaboutcars.com.
For industry veterans, we’ll let you share your stories — within reason. Political and/or corporate soapboxing is not allowed (unless your name is Michael Horn and you want to tell us exactly how Volkswagen plans to fix all those diesels). However, if you have an anecdote to share, would like to explain a particular technological innovation or you have insight into a dark corner of the industry, we can be your forum.
For tipsters with sensitive information, we always keep our sources private and confidential. Reach out to us from a burner email account and we will instruct you on how to proceed. In the future, we’ll have a better method for securely submitting tips.
General tips
If you’ve read something interesting, and think TTAC’s Best & Brightest would enjoy it too, send an email to editors@ttac.com.
What not to send/pitch
– Fiction
– Satire
[Image credit: By Kalmar, Works Progress Administration [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]
Hi Mart,-
Do u publish any guest post?
Thx, Civic SI Wishful Owner
R32 Enthusiest
Driving: 1993 Eagle Vision, 3″ stance, Bilstienes
Please clear this up for me — are you looking to hire/contract for TTAC contributions or are you hunting for free content?
We do and will pay for written content/photos. Tips, not so much, unless it’s incredibly juicy and worth the coin.
USD is $1.40 to Canadian Dollar.
I will hold my reviews of fine Cadillac Premium Motor Vehicles in escrow until exchange rate is calculated and price is established & agreed to on that basis.
The Beer Store & Window Ballet isn’t cheap, you know (though the latter may actually see some serious deflation if things continue as they now exist).
Windsor Ballet or Windsor Ballet – ;-)
(Not that I’m allowed to go there anymore :-(
My buddy is the sales manager at a Lexus store. Lets get an LX570 and head over to the Ballet.
Finally, a reason to come to the “D”.
Only if we can stop for a Supino’s pizza first*.
(*Not really a condition, but can we stop for a Supino’s pie first?)
H@ll yeah we can get Supino!
Dang it DW. I want Supino right now.
I want Supino’s now too.
I fear I went too far, and some inferior pizza may have to do for tonight.
Jet’s ain’t bad for a chain pizza place.
Dealer cars…oh God. You don’t want reviews of dealer and auction fodder.
We had them before though, that’s what Steve used to write all the time.
I have quite a tale to share on a dealer and an 86 Camry, if anyones interested.
I’d love to hear more about dealer cars. It’s the side of the story that we never hear about.
If you guys want me to take you through one or two ‘interesting’ pieces I buy, I’ll write up something about them. From the lane to the lot to being sold. Like a Crabspirits prequel if you will.
I would like that very much.
Si.
Just make sure you cast someone better than Hayden Christensen for your prequels.
I thought about making a Star Wars joke too. I’m glad someone did.
@Flybrian
Yes, yes, yes!
I would love that!
A fiction story on what you think will happen after it’s sold could be cool too!
Flybrian,
do it! i’d love to read that.
In for posts by Flybrian.
I have too many tales to tell, Ill make a list here and write up something more elaborate, I want the Bnb to decide which:
Fun with a Honda Z600.
Citroen 2CV storage.
Age and Absence: Why odometer miles arent everything.
The one thing I hate about old Volvos.
Why does nobody take care of their Hondas?
Why an air cooled VW is a great first car.
I vote Z600. Love those cars, a bright yellow one is the background pic on my pc. But, I have very little experience with them.
Seconded.
Ill see if we still have pics sitting around to go with the article.
I’d like to see all of them! If I had to pass on one, it would be the odometer story. Here in Wyoming, there are a fair number of 300k mile cars rolling around.
Yea the odometer story be kinda redundant at this point, the Z600 once comes first, I should have it finished by the end of the week.
I encourage anyone who’s thinking about it to do it. I had a positive experience a few years back submitting an article, and even if it’s only a one-off like mine was, it’s still gratifying to see your work published.
As has been often stated, some of the best writing happens in the comments section. A recent example of a successful call-for-submissions was on Curbside Classic. A lot of people stepped up and a lot of diverse voices are now heard on the site to cater to the many niches of modern-day automotive enthusiasm.
Dang it…I should have taken pictures of the tachometer of the Nissan Versa Note I just had the misfortune of renting as I drove up from Phoenix to Flagstaff a few weeks ago…now THAT was a truly horrid driving experience that may have made for good reading.
So, only recently driven cars? If a potential contributor once owned a car with an interesting story (and can provide a variety of good photos) but sold the car more than 20 years ago, would such a tale be excluded?
Not necessarily.
No love for the fiction. What gives?
We, the people of TTAC, demand more junkyard finds, so that we can read more “Last Rides” stories!
Seriously, those stories are great! They’re one of my favorite parts of the site
And, TTAC doesn’t have to pay for em.
The great stuff CS and I write is not only what I refer to, don’t forget the Sunday Stories.
It’s not that I don’t like fiction. It’s that I don’t want to pay for it.
Ah, the almighty Loonie. My thought is ask for it on the condition of no pay and print what you like as an editor (if you like any of it, of course).
There’s still a cost associated with posting “free” content. There’s the time it takes to edit it. By posting something, it sends another piece of content to “Page 2”. It’s not as simple as just posting a free piece of content. You are always giving up something to post something else.
Interesting. This is why you’re the managing editor and I’m stuck doing a boring forms development project.
Could they be thrown into the Forum? I know it won’t generate revenue, but I do enjoy the reading….
@matador
I’d love to somehow merge the forum with the comments system. That would be perfect.
Set up a paywall for premium content, please.
I’ll happily pay to read Grango!
And that guy who occasionally comments from Japan, ccode81? He’d be awesome to have some lengthy articles from.
Oh, thanks frind.
-GR
There’s Something About Grango.
I have a dual review of my last two cars (LS460 vs. G8 GXP, with some story content) almost totally written. The challenge is, just as you point out, imagery. The more I look at my photos of both cars, the more I realize they stink. I can’t get more of the GXP, and taking good pictures of the LS in Seattle winter light is next to impossible. Once I can figure out how to make the images as good as the text, I’ll be submitting.
Send me an email. Show me the photos. Sometimes we are our own worst critics.
Back in ’09 I received an invite from Robert Farago:
RF: “Are you a potential TTAC blogger? I sense so.”
me: Care to elaborate?
RF: “I’d like someone to blog for us on the autoblogoshere. I get the feeling you know something about tech and . . . stuff.”
Not long after he disappeared along with my invite so I guess the question now is:
Was it wise to bring him up as a reference or did I just sabotage my chances? ;)
I have no feelings toward Robert one way or the other. Feel free to email me.
You can expect to see my submissions for a column in about a month. I have a bunch of articles that seems to only stay coherent when they’re written together first.
I’ve wondered what to do about pictures. They say a thousand words, and I’d like to stay on the right side of copyright, but it seems getting them from stock photo services would be financially ruinous. Just send the pics with the attributable source/links and let the editors deal with it?
Wikimedia/the Creative Commons search engine is your friend. Press photos from automakers work as well. If you are really stuck, we can try to source images.
Would you be interested in Formula 1 Race reviews? Just something I am really passionate about and wish I could read more of on here.
It’s something we could talk about.
Great… I’ll send an email and we can talk about the details!
We’ve received five emails already. Keep them coming.
I’m sure you’ve received a lot more than 5 emails by now.
I kind of liked the old format. I got a lot of votes without telling anyone about it.
The only thing I’ve written is my quest to buy TVR in 2004, but kind of don’t want to put my name on that. I should write more….
You can write under a pseudonym.
Pseudonyms are stupid.
Says “Bark M”. :)
It deserves a real name, otherwise it’s seen as fiction.
Not necessarily.
A tale of two submissions
By Bunkie
A couple of years back, I wrote a review of a loaner SRX with an emphasis on the contrast between a CUV and a wagon from the same manufacturer. Derek (the editor at the time) liked it (complimenting me on my writing) and ran it. The resulting discussion was considerable and I remember getting several compliments from the B&B.
This summer, I had another loaner, a 2015 CTS base sedan when my CTS wagon was in for warranty service. I contacted Mark asking if he would be interested in seeing a review. He said yes, so I wrote one, focusing on the car as a value proposition, trying to evaluate the car honestly. I submitted it and never heard another word. Re-reading the article, I can see how it could have been a bit better, but as a published author (I was a columnist for a technical journal for a number of years), I know that even the best articles need the help of a good editor.
I remember liking the detail and writing style of that article! Hope to hear more from you in the future.
It’s interesting that the likeness of Paul Comly French would be attached to an article about how to submit writings to TTAC.
He was definitely controversial in his day, helping found an organization of conscientious objectors that was very active during World War II.
My father was very about NSBRO. He considered them traitors and cowards for helping men dodge the war while a million or so of his comrades in arms were killed defending their way of life.
I don’t come here for the car reviews. There are already tons of other (and usually better) sources for car reviews. The primary reason I come here is for the interesting stories that are in some way related to automobiles. You guys should solicit more of that type of content.
I’ve been mulling over the prospect of writing about millenial car culture (or relative lack thereof) from the perspective of a millenial. I’ve liked cars since 2001’s The Fast and The Furious. I am 27 years old, mediocre college educated, middle class, Mexican-American-but-everyone-thinks-I’m-white-anyway, and single.
My qualifications are that I have driven and owned a variety of sporty-ish cars due to my impulsive nature and the fact that I have foolishly ignored concepts such as “practicality” and “budget”. I’ve never bought anything more than 5k and my cars are typically in OK condition and mostly stock.
Things I can write about:
I take a gal to an unsponsored Millenial FUBU car show under a freeway over pass.
Buying an rx7 for a drifter wannabe.
From MyFirstOilChange to attempting an engine swap in 3 weeks.
I currently own
1989 CRX Si
1988 Starion turbo
1988 Prelude Si 4ws
1982 RX7
Have owned:
1987 MR2
1986 Civic Si
1989 Acura Legend Coupe
1992 BMW 750iL
During the recession (2008-2010) the church was my guiding light:
93 Buick Century
2000 Chevy Lumina
Had the privilege of being caretaker for my father’s collection from about 2005 to 2010:
1964 Mustang 289
(2)X 1979 Ford F150 (390 and 400M)
1975 Dodge Powerwagon 440
I have never owned a car for more than a year or two, bar the CRX, which has been with me since 2011. I have a disdain for the practice of driving sedans, automatic transmissions, and crossovers just for “reasons” and not needs.
B&B, is there any interest?