Contributor’s Guide
Your monthly source of Harley-Davidson and American Motorcycle news and views THUNDER PRESS welcomes original written and photographic material from our readers. No guarantees of publication are made, but all material will be read and reviewed. We prefer to receive material electronically, however, we will review CDs and physical prints submitted by mail.∗
Subject Matter
- Local American motorcycle-related events
- Interesting regional rides/roads/biker attractions
- Dealership and shop events and special promotions
- Vintage bikes/bikers
- Well-written personal tour accounts
Basic Requirements
Our format favors articles 750–1,000 words in length, accompanied by one to three photos. Noteworthy events and really gripping subject matter will be given length and space latitude, but should generally be held to below 2,000 words.
Please send text in .doc or .txt or .rtf files and provide 10–20 high-resolution JPEG or TIFF images or high quality prints with your article.
Event Reporting
While we like to keep the tenor of the publication entertaining and conversational, we are also trying to commit journalism in THUNDER PRESS. The classic “Five W’s”—Who, What, Where, When and Why—are the building blocks of reporting and should be included in any story. It’s also helpful to structure reports in the “inverted pyramid” fashion, with the biggest, most important facts in the beginning (“500,000 riders arrived in the rain for Daytona’s annual spring Bike Week”) and the least important details at the end (“Daytona police issued over 300 verbal warnings for public drunkenness during the week”).
Find the unique element, the offbeat angle, the fresh perspective—if you can. It’s not easy to differentiate events at times, but that doesn’t mean your coverage can’t be entertaining and informative.
If possible, try to submit event stories within seven to 10 days of their occurrence, so the event is still fresh in your mind as you write, and the information is timely for our readers. Please include dateline information (city, state and date) at the beginning of your text. Keep in mind that the severity of your Sunday morning hangover is not a matter of general interest (unless it’s a real doozy), and that the menu of the barbecue lunch/dinner at an event is of marginal interest at best, unless the food, caterer or chef is a pertinent element of your report, or the fare’s really offbeat like mountain oysters. The phrase “A good time was had by all” will invariably be deleted, as will similar tired clichés.
Novice writers are encouraged to read “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White to bone up on the mechanics of the craft. The book is readily available in bookstores and online—or check it out of the library and save yourself a few bucks.
Photo specifics
Photos, if appropriate, should be included with article submissions. For physical photographs, we prefer color or black & white prints (slides and negatives with contact sheets are accepted, but not preferred.) For digital photos, we can accept unmodified .jpg and .tif files with a resolution of at least 200 pixels per inch and an image size of at least 4x6 inches. JPEG files of less than approximately 200 KB in size will probably not be high enough resolution for our purposes.
Note: Low-end digital cameras such as those found in cell phones produce images with a resolution of 72 pixels per inch, which is fine for e-mailing snaps of the kids to grandma. Unfortunately, they don’t reproduce well on newsprint.
If you are shooting with a higher-end digital camera, please set it to High Quality/Low Compression. Technical information on JPEGs, digital imaging and file formats can be found online at www.shortcourses.com/choosing/files/08.htm.
For a standard length story, please send 10–20 photos that we can choose from, if possible. We’ll likely use one or two of them in the layout.
Please include caption information (the names of the individuals pictured, the action occurring in the shot, the location pictured, etc.) in a separate document, referencing the photo numbers.
We see many pictures of parking lots full of motorcycles; generally, they’re boring, though a well-composed shot giving a general overall view of the event is welcomed. Look for interesting subjects—people, bikes, products and activities (there’s no shortage of entertaining targets in this culture)—and images that portray the main ideas of your article.
In most cases we would like to see the whole subject in the photo—no bike or body parts cut off by the photographer.
There are many online resources to consult if you want to improve your skills as a photographer, along with many books. Our best tip? Shoot first, ask questions later.
Submitting material
Your submission can be sent to us in a number of ways, listed here in our order of expediency. Our labor hours increase exponentially the further down this list you go, so please be kind to our staff. Please be sure to include your name, address and phone number with your material.
Photos:
High-resolution digital photos can be e-mailed as attachments to tpress@affinitygroup.com. Prints can be mailed to: THUNDER PRESS, 4604 Scotts Valley Drive Ste. 20, Scotts Valley, CA 95066
Text:
Articles formatted as text files (.txt), Word documents (.doc), or Rich Text Format (.rtf) may be sent as e-mail attachments to tpress@affinitygroup.com. Alternately, the text may be pasted into the body of the e-mail. We also accept digital files on a CD sent by snail mail to the address above.
Typewritten copy may be sent by mail or fax: Please double space on white paper, one side only. Include your name, phone number and the page number on all pages. On the first page, please include your complete address and a word count. Our fax number is 831.438.0993.
We can accept handwritten articles as a last resort, and the piece must be outstanding. Please do your best to write legibly. Unfortunately, we cannot pay for handwritten articles, due to the increased labor involved.
∗If you submit materials by mail and would like them returned, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope and a note stating so.
THUNDER PRESS Contacts
THUNDER PRESS
4604 Scotts Valley Drive, Suite 20
Scotts Valley, CA 95066
E-mail: tpress@affinitygroup.com
Phone: 877.HDNEWS1 (877.436.3971)
Fax: 831.438.0993
WEST EDITION
EDITOR:
Terry Roorda • E-mail: tpress@affinitygroup.com
NORTHWEST BUREAU CHIEF:
Susan Swan •
E-mail: susan@tohonor.org
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BUREAU CHIEF:
“LoDown” Dan Parker •
E-mail: dlaughton_parker@yahoo.com
Phone: 916.215.3107
NORTH EDITION
EDITOR: Shadow •
E-mail: njbikergrrrl@aol.com
Phone: 973.586.1088
CENTRAL BUREAU CHIEF:
Ernie Copper •
E-mail: ejcopper@msn.com •
Phone: 724.656.0214
SOUTH EDITION
EDITOR:
Robert Filla •
E-mail: swbiker@swbell.net•
Phone: 281.861.6063
