Submitting stories and pics to the Owners News

[TZOLK]

How do I..............see above.
I am interested in submitting something that hasnt happened yet, later this year. Curious as to what some of you had to do to get your story in, the protocol or whatever.

[chasman]

It's quite simple...contact Managing Editor Sandy Cohen at editor@bmwmoa.org. She will be happy to answer all your questions.


Riding Like the Wind (come spring)...

Chuck Manley
Director, BMW MOA
Black '02 K12RS

[basketcase]

My own education and experience includes a degree in Journalism and some limited writing. Like most people with (what I call) "creative personality complex," I have at times taken myself way too seriously, and failed to understand the business side of writing and publishing. It is an angle on the art the working editor cannot avoid.

Editors have all kinds of stylistic factors, content considerations, space allotment, and production deadlines to juggle. And with the advent of the word processor, everybody who has any kind of an idea can fantasize about seeing their name in print. As a result, editors are besieged with inquiries from potential writers. This is not a judgement on your ability, or a slap at the idea. Rather, I am simply stating the reality of the situation. So do yourself and the editor a favor and put yourself in her shoes before dumping a heavy emotional investment in getting an article in print.

And do the rest of us a favor, too. If you submit an idea or even a completed article -- and it is not published, please don't come back here and use the forums as a platform for vendettas and assassination of the editor's character. We've already had a bout of that. It quickly became obvious what was happening, and (on my part) the end result is I'll never buy a copy of the guy's book -- nor do I care to read anything else of his in print.

Finally, if you are seriously interested in moto-journalism, don't limit your aspirations to just one magazine. Complete the article, (copyright it), and then submit to some others with a letter of inquiry. The subject and production schedule here might not call for what you are doing, but it could be the very item needed someplace else at the time!

Just MHO

[BradfordBenn]

Excellent points Rick. However the cool thing about BMW ON is that it is a member to member magazine so there is a lot of leeway into whay can get published. You might have to wait for the right issue for the content to make sense.

[basketcase]

Take note -- I was the one expressing a viewpoint, not the one asking the question.

Cheers!

[BradfordBenn]

Hey Rick-

Didn't mean it to seem like I was second guessing you, more wanting to encourage anyone and everyone who has an idea for OUR magazine to send it it. :thumb

:brad

[Hodag]

a lot of leeway into what can get published.

After reading Bradford's article that was my same thought..... :thumb
mark

[WooDmEn]

To submit an article to the BMW MOA Owners News, contact Editor Sandy Cohen for guidelines; she is usually very willing to discuss your proposed submission and offer helpful guidance.

Prepare your manuscript using double-spaced type; using Word is preferrable. Save the manuscript in *.rtf (Rich Text Format). Send Sandy the hard copy and the *rtf file (you can usually send it as an attachment). Pictures should be in high-resolution *.jpg, or even better, in *tiff, using the MAC compression protocol. Copy the pix files onto a CD and send it through the mail. Actual prints are acceptable, too.

Not every submission is used, or is used immediately. Sandy can help you understand what the readership is looking for, and this can give you a leg-up.

Good luck!