Road & Travel Magazine Writer's Guidelines

Articles and manuscripts cannot be considered by RTM unless the following criteria are met:

Please review our Editorial Calendar and submit accordingly.

Writer Guidelines are read, acknowledged, and accepted by the writer via electronic signature.

See below on how to submit acceptance of guidelines .
Once we receive your acceptance via electronic signature and authenticate your email, we'll contact you to submit your article via email. Please do not include manuscripts in our contact us form.
You must acknowledge that you have read, understand and accept RTM's byline and/or payment policy before submitting queries, otherwise queries and/or manuscripts will not be considered.

Important - Please Read:
Article and Image Submission Requirements for roadandtravel.com articles

First, the Facts: What Is Road & Travel Magazine?

ROAD & TRAVEL Magazine is an online, in-market, consumer magazine and resource specializing in automotive, travel, and personal safety topics aimed at upscale consumers, with a slant towards women, 29-59.

Automotive Facts: Women purchase more than 65% of all new vehicles, 48% of all used vehicles and influence 85% of all automotive purchases.

Travel Facts: Women business travelers are up 5000% since 1970 and comprise nearly 40% of all business travelers today. Women are the fastest growing segment of adventure travelers creating a $20 billion cottage industry of women's adventure tours and all-girl getaways.

Safety Facts: Safety is the number one concern women have when purchasing a new vehicle or traveling alone. Articles on safety related issues are welcomed.

Mission Statement: RTM's mission is to provide content from which consumers can make informed and intelligent decisions regarding automotive purchases, travel and vacation plans, and personal safety on the road.

WHAT RTM IS NOT. RTM is not an enthusiast, industry, trade, or motor sports magazine. RTM is an in-market consumer lifestyle publication which provides content to help consumers make informed decisions on vehicle purchases, travel plans, and personal safety on the road. RTM is not a feminist publication, a buff book, a magazine for gear-heads, or about pink marketing. Demographics and content are defined below.

DEMOGRAPHICS: The RTM reader ranges from 25-59, mid-management to business owner, and is typically active, family oriented, independent, and adventurous. Our readers demand literate, entertaining and useful information enabling them to make educated buying decisions relative to their automotive and travel needs. While we do include technical information in road test reviews for buying decisions, the bulk of the articles are more informative, educational, entertaining, and inspiring.

RTM DOES NOT ACCEPT articles on relationships, sex, (unless related to sexy cars), horoscopes, politics, parenting (unless related to child safety in cars and travel), or stories on a husband or boyfriend's new car or adventures.

RTM does not review books at this time.

RTM does not accept articles on motor sports, racing, tuning, motorcycling, car collecting, engines, or profiles on industry related people in either auto or travel.

RTM does not accept stories that include derogatory and/or prejudicial comments towards gender, race, religion, or age.

RTM is a gender-neutral publication; meaning although some content is aimed at women, it is written in a style that appeals to both men and women who are interested in automotive or travel-related content for making informed decisions about buying, leasing, and travel planning.

SUBMITTING A MANUSCRIPT

AUTOMOTIVE reviews should relate to cars, trucks, minivans, crossovers, sedans, sports cars, luxury cars, hybrids and SUVs, but are not limited to this subject matter. The "Automotive Channel" in RTM's navigation defines a list of subject matter. RTM's goal is to educate consumers on purchasing, leasing, renting, car care and maintenance tips, latest in green vehicles and alternative fuels, and DIY.

Automotive Buyer's Guides & New Car Reviews
Buyer's guides and new car reviews are prearranged with editor and assigned to auto writers only. Unsolicited auto articles will be considered if they contain knowledgeable and diverse information relative to RTM automotive content. Unsolicited auto reviews are not considered unless author agrees to RTM's editorial guidelines and payment policy below.

Payment for assigned articles will be arranged between author and editor. Payment will depend on research, length or article and content required. Byline only is one form of RTM payment.

TRAVEL articles should relate to hotels and reports, spas, airlines and airline rules, bed & breakfasts, destination reviews, places to go and things to do, cruises, green travel, personal safety on the road, city, state or country tourism, business tools for the road i.e.: laptops, cell phones, etc., and travel related health and fitness i.e.: how to eat right while traveling, best gyms, restaurants, etc.

We also seek stories on adventure travel and tours. The "Travel Channel" on RTM's navigation defines a list of topics.

Destination reviews must be accompanied by good, web-quality jpegs of the destination. All destination pieces must include a list of resources and links so readers can make contact through the "IF YOU GO" section at the bottom of each review. Writer's are responsible for providing the content and links for this section. Reviews that include female-friendly restaurants, hotels, campgrounds, and spas are welcomed.

SAFETY: Safety and security are important issues for women who travel alone by car or air. Articles on personal safety as it relates to traveling alone, driving alone, driving in unknown areas, driving at night, traveling to foreign countries or states are welcomed. Supporting statistics are appreciated.

RTM's AGREEMENT POLICY

Before submitting a query to RTM, you must agree to RTM's guidelines and payment and/or byline policy below.

"I acknowledge that I have read, understand and accept ROAD & TRAVEL Magazine's writer guidelines. Please send your email address to which I may send my query."

I understand that if RTM uses my manuscript and/or article, it will receive byline only if accepted and that no payment is offered. If my article is accepted, I agree to this legally binding document that states my submission is my original work and is not a reprint or copy from any other writer or source, and that I accept byline only for my article. At this time, RTM is not paying for travel articles. Automotive reviews are assigned only.

I grant ROAD & TRAVEL Magazine full permission to run my article on their website or blog or any other publication it is associated with at their discretion and understand there is no guarantee that my article will be run at all even if accepted.
I also grant Road & Travel Magazine full permission to use my article on their website, in their blogs, in reprints on other websites, in licensing agreements, or in any manner deemed necessary, for as long as necessary, by RTM to promote and increase traffic. Reprinted articles will receive your byline and there will be no compensation for additional uses of your work.
I submit the following article for review and verify that I am the original author of this work. I guarantee that any photos submitted with my article is my original art and/or that I am fully authorized to use these images with my article wherever it is published.
RTM reserves the right to use writer articles in other online publications with which it has content partnerships with no additional approval from its author and at no additional pay. RTM will do its best to notify writers when and where their article has been published by other publications but cannot guarantee notice if writer is unreachable for any reason. Author's will receive byline on all their articles used on RTM and in other publications. Any sources and links writer provides with articles will also be used in RTM and offered to content partners, however RTM cannot guarantee that content partners will use sources and links provided by author.
I understand and accept that there will be no payment for my work or images unless otherwise prearranged and signed in writing by both author and RTM. I understand and accept all the terms contained in RTM's Writer Guidelines and authorize RTM to use my email reply as my electronic signature as legally binding for my acceptance.
Once we receive the above acknowledgment an RTM editor will send our email address containing the full agreement outlined in this box. By replying to our email with this agreement it will be your electronic approval and acceptance of RTM's writer guidelines. Your replying email must be from your personal email address that contains your name, otherwise it cannot be accepted if sent from another email address.

Please include your query in that same email.

Note: RTM does not review queries, submissions or manuscripts without first receiving acceptance of its writer guidelines in full. Thank you.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & REQUIREMENTS

Feature articles should be approximately 1000-1200 words. Columns approximately 500 words. Writers are contacted upon acceptance only which could take up to 3 months. RTM works on a 3-month lead time.

Blog articles must be 200-300 words only and include one clear web quality jpeg to accompany the article.

SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED VIA EMAIL ONLY: Once we have received your acceptance of RTM Writer Guidelines, your query and/or manuscript should be saved as an attachment in a word document and be sent to the email provided. Please do not include articles in the body of your email. RTM editors no longer type in author articles however we reserve the right to edit writer content for spelling, grammar, style and format.

ORIGINAL WORK: All articles submitted to RTM must be the original work of the submitting author. Permission to run your article on RTM and in its content partner publications must include your guarantee that the article you are submitting is your original work and images. If writer submits articles for use in RTM with written permission and said article(s) are not original work, writer is subject to legal consequences and damages.

PHOTO REQUIREMENTS

Website photos: Good clear web quality photos must accompany your article. RTM accepts photos via email saved in gif or jpeg formats. They must be attached with your article. Please submit jpegs no larger than 2X3 inches. Large photo files that require long download times will not be accepted. Only web quality photos are accepted. As an online magazine RTM no longer accepts photos by mail.

Photos that accompany articles must be owned by and authorized for use by author. Authors must provide written guarantee that the art they provide belongs to them or that they have full authority to use art in association with their articles. If art is from a third party photographer or website, writer must provide permission in writing from the source that authorizes the writer and RTM to use said art. Writer's who submit art for use in RTM that do not have proper authority to use said art will be subject to legal damages.

PAYMENT & BYLINE POLICY

Assigned articles range from byline only up to $100 for automotive reviews only, an amount to be negotiated and agreed upon in writing by author and publisher before publication of article. Acceptance and payment of article depends on quality and content.

Unsolicited articles that are professionally written and submitted as full manuscripts receive priority consideration, but only when accompanied by acceptance of RTM's Writer Guideline policy.

Story ideas are not considered at this time.

Syndicated Writers: RTM will consider automotive and travel syndicated writer's work for monthly placement for a negotiated amount per article. Syndicated writers must agree in writing to the final negotiated fee before submitting their work to RTM. Accepted writers will be notified by email from editor within 3 months of submission.

RTM Blog: RTM has a blog on auto and travel topics and welcomes guest authors. We are looking for unique personal experiences as they relate to travel and auto. Visit Road & Travel blog to see examples. If interested please contact us with your perspective. There is no compensation.

Articles submitted to RTM that do not include the agreement policy above will not be read or considered.