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How To Pitch A Story To Grand Tour Nation

Have you been sat in a job that you despise with stories and experiences running through your head but no where to share them? Or maybe for years you’ve known that you’re not just a desk jockey, you’re destined to go out and expose what’s actually happening in the world and share it with a massive fanbase. You’re a GTN writer, but you need a few tips on how to let us know.

What we’re looking for

We want something specific. We want to know your exact idea and where you want to take it. What we don’t want is you to ask us if we’d like a story on ‘drag racing’. This is a huge subject, so maybe something more specific like… ‘how four-cylinder engines have changed the face of drag racing in the last two years’. We’d want some additional information, but we’ll get to that.

Or maybe a real story! Know of someone who is driving a rally for charity in a bonkers car and you want to tell their story? Hook us up! The thing is, it has to be interesting. A story has to have a twist and it has to be something our readers are going to want to read. For example… a race between two cars is questionable, but when these two cars are in fact Bubble cars, and the slowest cars in the world, it adds an extra layer to the story and some humour.

A rally in a car across Europe isn’t anything new. But if you prove that you don’t need an expensive car to have a good time by, let’s say, buying a car for $200 and driving it from coast to coast, then this is a story that not only answers a question, but has a funny and interesting backbone. Try telling your story to your neighbours. If they find it interesting, then it’s more than likely a winner.

Maybe telling a story isn’t what gets you putting pen to paper. You want to dig into an idea and through investigative journalism, put together an article that uncovers a truth somewhere. Of course, we can’t just take your word for it. We’d have to see solid evidence before we publish anything, including sources, picture evidence if you have it, and the total work you’ve already done. Having an inkling isn’t enough unfortunately. But if you can put together a bare structure of a piece that’s been fully researched, we’ll bite your fingers off for it.

Do you read Grand Tour Nation and wonder why the hell we’re not writing about how cats make the perfect driving companion, or why no one seems to want to buy an Infiniti anymore. Give us ideas of something we’re not doing already. Maybe you’re doing something that no one else is doing? Write about it and let us know!

We will pay for good pieces. We know time is money, and we don’t expect you to just give your stories away for free! As Heath Ledger’s Joker used to say, “if you’re good at something, never do it for free!”

We will pay for photography and videos, too. Have you seen something really cool on your travels and taken a high quality photo or video of it that you think the rest of the world would like to see? Or maybe you’ve documented the building of a weird and wonderful engine build. We will buy these stories and any writing you’ve got to accompany them!

What we’re not looking for

We don’t want to waste your time or ours, so unfortunately, I’m going to have to include a number of things we don’t want. It’s me, not you.

We don’t want vague “I have this idea but haven’t done anything about it yet” emails. If you have an idea, put together a draft and get some figures together. It doesn’t have to be really detailed, but it has to have the main ideas and information included. Remember, you want to persuade us with this story, so if we don’t find it interesting, we’re not going to want to pay you for it.

We’re not looking for news articles. We have a team of writers who do this for a living and can hoover up press releases like a turbocharged Dyson. You can however apply to a news writing position by clicking here!

Our time is short, so we’re not looking for pieces we have to put work into to get straight. Make sure you’ve proofread your piece and checked for spelling and grammatical mistakes. We can’t be doing this for you, it’s enough of a headache doing it for myself!

So…

Hopefully this hasn’t put you off, we’re a nice bunch, really! We can’t wait to read the ideas you’ve got and will of course help where help is needed. If you have a solid idea and have put work into researching it and have the research to hand, then we’re far more likely to give you advice on how to push forward to the next stage than not.

Good luck, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Send all applications to pitcrew [(at)] grandtournation.com with the subject ‘ARTICLE PITCH’

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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