Dude, seriously I have been in Rob's office and we talked about you specifically. Choose not to belive me, that is your choice but he does read your Email and has taken you for being a "typically" caustic Ford only advocate. He gets similar Email from Chevy only guys, Mopar only guys, Studebaker only guys, Hudson only guys and so forth. It would seem every niche group is slighted somehow by showing too much of the "other" guys cars and trucks, so they must be on the right track
You may not belive it but the group magazine office is small, about a fifth of my shop or smaller, and houses several magazines. They maybe have two or three guys working directly for the magazine and they also freelance for the others in a CO-OP sort of way. Unless someone is going to attend a show or visit family in your area they are not going to bust the (tiny) budget to seek out trucks that you like. You are going to have to let them know you exist.
I am trying to get a few different things done at the same time I post so I may not come off as clear as I would like. So let me rephrase this in clearer terms.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Have your truck profesionaly shot, best choice is to pick one of the freelance artists the magazines already use.
Pick a location befitting your style and something that works with the colors of your truck.
Sign the release form and let your freelancer take it to the mag.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Seriously, that is all there is to it. That and have a vehicle of interest, I mean stock is fine but the main focus of these magazines is CUSTOM, so much so it is in thier title.
I had originally picked Chris Shelton from Street Rodder magazine (also freelance for Classic Trucks) because of our relation outside of advertising, contrary to your assumption.
Due to scheduling conflicts and pressure from guys like Jim Rizzo and Rob Fortier who had seen my truck at events in Califiornia and Las Vegas and on the internet, we arranged for Rick Amado (
www.rickamado.com ) to do the shots.
Since then I attend as many shows outside of my hometown as possible. It's all about exposure and how friendly you are. Because, if you never let your truck out of the garage or if your a bitter a$$hole know one will know about your truck or won't want to deal with you.
I have made a lot of friends inside the industry, magazine and manufacturing by being aproachable and jovial. I get the ink because I build cool stuff and I don't pressure these guys, I just stick to what I know.
When I worked at The Rod Factory I met Tom McMullen and Tom Vogle, these guys were the real deal, veteran magazine guys. I watched my boss Carl corner Tom McMullen in his office and badger him relentlessly about the sheer power of his Macintosh computer and berate him on ad placement in the magazine. Tom Vogle spent his time shooting rolls of film of my work and befriending me, a kid, because I was the one building hotrods and living the life. Thats when it clicked for me, these guys are just like me, this is where I belonged. It is about the cars, building them, driving them and having fun above all. Not haggling about who got coverage and who didn't.
Because of the relationship I formed over the last 10+ years I get to see the inside guts, the ups and downs and sometimes privy to the serious side and insider information. I don't envy these guys jobs, there are too many Carls to deal with and not enough young kids picking up where their fathers left off.
and so I read further, that they changed the ENTIRE editioral staff at that mag, and they are trying to publish something that someone would actually BUY!!
