Want To Be a TTAC Contributor? Here's How

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 [s]state penn[/s] 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 [s]leak[/s] 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

[Image credit: By Kalmar, Works Progress Administration [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]