Getting published in the MR is NOT easy as some like to say

[MONSTERRAILROAD]

I know this is going to spark up a debate and likely some controversy but here I go...


I always giggle when people respond like this, "If you think you can write a good article and provide good pictures send it in the MR magazine and get published". You guys act like it is so simple and easy to break into their little Cli'que circle and get in the magazine. They do not have a shortage of people submitting articles, that is not even an issue. If it was an issue then it would not take 3-5 years for them to run an article of someone who has submitted and finally got approved to penetrate their circle. If it was an issue MR would highly & visibly ask for Model railroaders to send in articles on multiple pages every month. Model Railroader typically only runs articles from within their small circle. Plus everyone that is featured always has the same backgrounds stories too; "Parents gave him a train set when he was a child and today he is still into trains", The Contributor knows a known name or current MR staff member from running trains together somewhere, The contributor is a Retired or current Railroad worker, Some type of engineer designer (IE. Software, Cad etc etc), Scientist, or a Teacher/professor. The person usually has a very large basement and large layout too.
Anyways, my point is getting in the magazine is contingent on popularity or who you know. You guys make it sound so simple to get printed. Like you send in an article and two months later you are a featured contributor. The magazine has plenty of people submitting articles, myself included, I have sent in 2 well written articles but I was finally told directly from the editor one day that I was not a popular person in the hobby so they would never run my articles. True. However, this observation is not about me, it is about the MR practice of printing certain peoples articles. For the record, I am not bitter nor am I even mad about their blacklisting me. I enjoy my avenue of Youtube, Forums and other Social media platforms for sharing my work and experience, I am just simply stated the facts about my experience with them and some of my opinions about how they are. That magazine has shrunk so much thru the years to less than 100 pages and there are more pages of advertisements. They could really post way more pictures of the layouts from the articles but they don't. You get a few lousy pictures and a simple diagram of the layout.

Which brings me to whole other topic with MR:
I can't stand MR's sugar coated "Product reviews" either. For example, Bachmann Pays thousands of dollars every month for advertising so do you really think they would ever give you an honest review of their products and risk losing that revenue? NO.
When the magazine reviewer or even a regular person is sponsored by a business and given models for free to "review" their reviews are more like ADVERTISEMENTS for the manufacture or Hobby Shop that sponsors them. If I always "advertise" in my videos for a certain manufacture or business then you can bet your butt that I am getting paid, HUGE discounts and getting items for free from that business for doing that. It is fair business too so I am not knocking it, I am just pointing it out. So when I review a model or their business I would feel obligated to keep it light and to point out the positives of the models way more than any negatives. They should just be honest and let the viewers know that they get kickbacks and some sort of payment. They essentially give "Review advertisements" and not a "Honest reviews". That is how MR magazine is so to take their reviews as anything more is just ludicrous. In my videos I do often give shot outs to a couple of Hobby shops I often visit (AA Hobbies & Tom's Trains) but I make it clear that I get absolutely NOTHING in return and it is true. If AA Hobbies or Tom's Trains gave me Free models to make videos reviews of and at the same time promote their hobby shop fact is, I would essentially be working for AA Hobbies or Tom's Trains and that is not the case. I visit AA Hobbies more often and Bob doesn't even give me a discount! LOL. He doesn't yo. I just bought an Athearn SD70M phase II with Flared radiator simply to do a review and I paid regular price as everyone else.

Well I have went on enough,
I have to go work on this latest model review.

Here comes the fire in 3........2........1.........

[kentuckysouthernrwy]

I guess then, Al, with that point of view and experience why the heck would you WANT to be in MR? Keep on being you.

[peoriaman]

Apr 8, 2017 17:00:35 GMT -8 MONSTERRAILROAD said:

For the record, I am not bitter nor am I even mad about their blacklisting me.

Really? Your posts makes it sound like you kinda ARE.

[MONSTERRAILROAD]

Apr 8, 2017 17:28:51 GMT -8 peoriaman said:

Apr 8, 2017 17:00:35 GMT -8 MONSTERRAILROAD said:

For the record, I am not bitter nor am I even mad about their blacklisting me.

Really? Your posts makes it sound like you kinda ARE.

Nope. I am not. I have just read many comments about "submit an article" that it lead me to this topic. I am not bitter about MR position, just because I speak of it that does not make me mad. I am simply bringing it to light. But I do not like the magazine and articles because of how it is NOT because I am not in it. That would be corny. I was always vocal about these things even before I submitted any article to them.

[bdhicks]

Out of curiosity, what were the topics of the articles you submitted?

[Deleted]

Al, were you blacklisted or just told no for now because you're not currently a "well known" name?

Either way, I wouldn't sweat it. I paged through the 1000th issue and was very disappointed in the quality. Just today I was comparing their MTH and BLI reviews of the H10s, and, well, let's just say that the MTH review didn't jive very well with reality. MRR can "suck it".

[MONSTERRAILROAD]

Apr 8, 2017 18:03:01 GMT -8 bdhicks said:

Out of curiosity, what were the topics of the articles you submitted?

1. 'Introduction of my HO SoCal modern UP layout' - A well written article about my layout construction, details and era, providing a bunch of high quality photos with it. - I've done multiple videos of the layout now.
2. 'Building a Layout, It's all in the details!' - I later did a video about adding great details to your layout to separate a good layout to an Off The Hook layout.

[edwardsutorik]

Hell.

If the articles are already done, why not submit them to RMC or MRH? The work is already done.

What do you have to lose???


Ed

[grahamline]

Sounds you're having a bad day, or a bad week. By all means, try the others (but don't send both of them the same material at the same time). Well-written hobby articles are hard to find. Well-photographed ones are even more scarce. For that matter, put them up in a blog post. No barriers to publication at all.

[BATMAN]

  
 I'm a lone wolf modeler that use to contribute to the MRR forums. I am a long way from being a knowledgeable expert in the hobby. 

A few years ago I got a (MRR) forum PM (private message) from the editor of a British MRR magazine asking if he could publish a "how to" contribution that I had made to a thread on the MRR forum. He said I would be paid for the article and we exchanged info and I E-Mailed a release letter. I told him to donate the money I was to be paid to a local homeless shelter and not to use my name as I like to keep hidden from the "search engines" of the world. The article is simply credited to "Brent from Canada".

 I initially told him to just publish it as is with no credit being given and it could be considered a contribution to the hobby on my behalf. Due to legal requirements, copyright etc. He asked me to make a few changes to the copy so it didn't look like a ripoff from the MRR forum and said I would be paid just because that is how they do it, however, he would gladly donate the cheque to charity. I did see the article in the magazine in the local bookstore when it came out some time later, however, I didn't buy it. My daughter was the reason I was in the bookstore and she saw the article and told the family about it. My sister did go buy a copy because she is a hoarder (not really) LOL.
 
I have been banned from the MRR forum and I have no idea why.  I still exchange E-Mails with several members of that forum and find that quite enjoyable. MRR never gave me an explanation as to why I was banned back in August, so at the urging of a few of the members, I exchange the E-Mails with, I wrote and asked last week. When I have had threads moved from one category to another as I had posted them in the wrong forum topic, I have received an E-mail telling me they had done so, but not a word about the ban.

 I have been getting way more done on the layout as a result and find that to be such a big plus, that I haven't put a lot of thought into being turfed out. This is hardly a civil rights issue, it is their magazine and forum, what they want to publish or by whom they want to publish is of no concern to me and I could care less, the same applies to whom they allow on their forum. If I obviously don't fit their criteria to be considered a suitable contributor to their forum, so be it. Nine months later I finally got around to asking them why I was turfed out, I am not waiting with bated breath for an answer, I have a layout to build and this forum is a nice place to visit. If they throw me off this one, I hope they at least do me the courtesy of telling me why.  

PS; I still read MRR magazine and their forum(s) Wonderful thing, freedom.

Have a great Sunday.

Brent  (from Canada)

[PeeCee]

Reading this post reminds me of an Atlas forum member from the past (John Bruce) that had an article called The Sociology of Model Railroading.  It's still available to read here:

trainweb.org/lfnwfan/html/Sociology.htm

It's worth taking a look, even if you might not agree with everything presented there.  The gist of the article is that the model railroading hobby can be very political, and some people of high stature in the hobby often don't have the most honorable intentions.  The author mentions Model Railroader specifically, and kind of echoes some of the sentiment of the original poster.

[grahamline]

Mr. Bruce's commentaries do not, shall we say, always reflect my own experiences in the world of model railroading. There are certainly scamps, scalliwags, poseurs and provocateurs. There is an uncommon number of people with outsized egos. There are good institutions and not so good institutions. But it's like anything else. Use your head, keep your eyes open, be yourself, and you will have a good time.

p.s. -- If someone wants to be published in the model railroad press, I will be happy to help on a one-to-one basis, sharing my own experience in writing and publishing.

[umtrrauthor]

I can't speak to the entire process, but I am aware of one local author who was in the process of submitting an article with photos to The Major Model Railroading Magazine.

He had submitted said photos for the article, and got back a response to the effect of: "Photo #2, move locomotive back 1/2 inch, reshoot." I don't remember whether the article ever ran.

I have not yet gotten around to looking at the MR 1000th issue, even though I subscribe which I suppose is saying something.

[scalecraft]

I wrote for one of the Clambake pubs for years. It isn't easy until you "pay your dues", go through the process, figure what they want in photos and verbiage.
Once you work into it, you're set..for a while.
Too many folks want to play "King Of The Hill" and knock you off.
I finally quit. Wasn't worth the headache any longer.

[grahamline]

Acquaintance of mine submitted articles for several years to RMC and MR, and was published regularly. Then RMC kind of took a left turn, and MR changed its "philosophy." Several articles still sit in their files. I think the guy gave up and went flyfishing instead.

Scalecraft is right. Editors like someone who understands their requirements and can deliver consistently. There is not much time and budget room for tutoring. Hence MR's long relationships with several individuals.