Model Cars Magazine is the only model car magazine out there that is written and published by model car hobbyists. Model Cars was started in 1999, and in October 2009, we celebrated our tenth year anniversary. Our online forum is second to none.
Writers
The basics of submitting articles to Model Cars
Our Writer’s Guidelines are meant to serve as the basis for submitting articles to Model Cars. We are always looking for new and exciting articles and features on models, ranging from in-depth how-to’s, tips and tricks, builder profiles, features, and even tongue-in-cheek pieces that makes our readers laugh. Our philosophy is to let the writer tell the story in his or own words—we don’t like to tell you what to write, or make you redo an article over and over again because we don’t think it fits our readers. Our readers are you—otherwise they (you) wouldn’t be reading Model Cars, right?
Below are some simple guidelines to follow when submitting material to Model Cars. Remember, just because you submitted something to MCM doesn’t mean it will be published in print, or it will be in the next issue. I hope to post a lot more of the material I get online. We have also found a lot of great writers from our forum, ModelCarsMag.com/forums
Submission
Electronicaly typed articles are preferred, saved in Word format. We can read any format submitted, but if you can, please save your article as a Word (.doc), or a basic text (.txt) file. We do accept printed articles, such as those done on a typewriter. Hand-written articles are the worse case scenarios, and hopefully we won’t have many more of those in the future. Send your electronic files to gregg@modelcarsmag.com. We also have an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) set up for sending in large files over the Internet. You can also use zip or compress files and email them.
Subject Matter
The subject matter is up to you. We don’t have any limitations on what you can or cannot cover. How-to’s are preferred, and are what our readers ask for the most. If you have some ideas, don’t be afraid to throw them at us first. It never hurts to ask, right? We will be working on theme issues coming up, so that may give you some something to think about as well. If you are doing a how-to or feature, please include all the source names, addresses, web sites, and phone numbers for the products that were used in the article. Don’t worry, we won’t edit out anyone or not name a manufacturer just because they don’t advertise in Model Cars.
Style
Articles can be written in the first person (I did this, I did that), or in a third-person voice, such as someone telling the reader about someone else’s work (Jim built this model using…).
Pay
We pay for articles after publication, and it takes a few weeks for the checks to be processed and sent out. If you have a specific question on what our pay-per-page rates are, please feel free to e-mail or call Gregg (gregg@modelcarsmag.com).
Formatting
Here are a few simple formatting and style tips to help us out when we are working on your articles:
Spaces – Use only a single space after a period at the end of a sentence. Don’t use spaces to begin a paragraph, use the tab key.
Quotes – Don’t use quotes unless you are actually quoting someone.
Where to send files
Send your electronic files to Gregg (gregg@modelcarsmag.com). Hard copies or printed articles should be sent to Gregg Hutchings, Model Cars Magazine, P.O. Box 3290, Honolulu, HI 96801. If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 303.923.5346. Please note that this is Hawaii Standard Time, which is two hours behind PST, and six hours behind EST.
Deadlines
| Cover Date | Deadline for Stories/Articles/Photos |
| January | November 1 |
| February/March* | December 1 |
| April | February 1 |
| May /June |
March 1 |
| July | May 1 |
| August/September |
June 1 |
| October |
August 1 |
| November | September 1 |
| December | October 1 |
* The February/March issue is our annual Contest Issue.
Please try to follow the deadlines.
Let me know if you can’t make the deadline at least two weeks before the due date.
Please email me at Gregg@modelcarsmag.com, or call 303.923.5346 if you have any questions.