If there’s one thing I know about this industry, it is that there is no shortage of individuals who want in. And why not? We get to play with guns all day? Right? We-get-paid-to-shoot-guns. Who wouldn’t want to shoot and get paid for it?
The truth is a wee-bit less romantic. As the Editor-in-Chief of GunsAmerica, I spend most of my time behind the keyboard, or on the phone, or cramped up in economy class seating on red-eye flights. It is an actual job, at times.
But we’re looking for new talent. I’ll say at the outset that you must possess a genuine love of two (sometimes) distinct things. Guns and America. And you have to have a facility with the written word. If you know guns, and you can write, we’d like to hear from you.
Specific needs
We need writers who produce compelling content that will engage the readers here at GunsAmerica. And we’re open to suggestions. We’ve built a dynamic editorial calendar, and have articles to assign now. Here are some of the areas we’re looking for most urgently:
- Reloading (we are looking for advanced articles on specific concepts: reloading for competition, reloading for accuracy, reloading specific calibers, reloading shotshells…)
- Hunting (have gun and gear specific concepts you’d like to share? We’re not looking for pithy campfire stories; our readers respond to in-depth analysis and product reviews. We are looking for personalities dedicated to varmints, whitetail, upland game, and waterfowl)
- Black Powder (from re-enacting to modern hunting, we need someone who is dedicated to the nuanced world of muzzle-loading.)
- Competition (lots of opportunity here. Do you compete? Do you compete on a regional or national level? If you want a platform to showcase your skills and talents, we may be able to help. But you have to be able to do it and write about it–which isn’t exactly easy.)
So how do you apply?
We’re looking for dedicated, detail-oriented individuals who can meet deadlines and exacting standards. So here’s the first test.
EDC Tactical Editor pocket dump. This is the photo from Epstein’s post following the guidelines below.
We want a complete post–short and sweet. The title should fit thematically within this formula: “EDC: insert-your-profession-or-identity-here.” What is EDC? Every Day Carry. What do you carry everyday? We’re looking for more than just a gun (though that might be important–know your audience). We need a short paragraph that summarizes some of the technical details of each piece–the gun, holster, knife, lighter, light, phone…whatever you actually carry on a daily basis. That’s the what part. Then we need the why. In each short paragraph of description, tell us what you carry and why. Think back to your freshman writing class and be sure to include the who, what, when, where, why.
- Who–that should be you. EDC: Tactical Editor, or EDC: College Professor, or EDC: Fireman, EDC: stay at home Mom, or…
- What–what do you carry every day? Keep it simple. Don’t try to annotate your range bag, or you car-kit. Not yet.
- When–less important. We’re making some solid assumptions when we say Every Day.
- Where–think in terms of where you carry some items (if it isn’t obvious).
- Why–why is this your go-to-gun, knife, light…? Price? Ergonomics? Design? Capacity? Price?
Audience: Know that the audience is a bunch of like-minded gun nuts–people who are already sold on the idea that carrying is good. These people already know what concealed carry is. Our readers tend to know their way around guns and they don’t need hand-holding.
Purpose: The purpose of this is to impress us, the editors, with your enviable skill and acumen. But the best way to do that is for you to demonstrate an ability to woo our readers. Show us what you know. Don’t get overly preachy. Don’t treat your readers as if they’re chuckle-heads. Don’t pander. Don’t offend unnecessarily.
The complete application must include:
Title of your post–EDC: (followed by something about who you are).
Text–shoot for 500 words. Don’t stress over intros or conclusions; these will fit within a series of thematic articles on GunsAmerica and will need little explanation. As you may surmise from that last sentence, we do plan on publishing them. Do not submit anything you don’t want published. Please submit this document as a .docx file.
Photos–we’re looking for 3-5 photos. Not 35. 3 to 5. One photo should include everything you carry, laid out and arranged so that each piece is visible. Other photos should be more detail oriented. You may choose how to interpret that. A full image of key elements, like the gun, knife, holster may be a good way to start. But it is up to you.
Images should be saved as .jpgs. Resolution 72dpi. Ratio of 6×5. Photos for this feature will be run at 900 pixels wide by 750 pixels tall. Sizing them accordingly will earn you extra points. Do what you want with creativity, etc.
Captions–In the text of the word file, provide short captions for each photo.
A cover image–In addition to the images for the article, we need a cover image. The cover image goes into the slider on the News and Reviews page and should also be a photo of everything neatly laid out. This could be a copy of the aforementioned photo, or an additional photo. Your choice. But the cover image should be 565 x 400 pixels, 72dpi.
Title photos–Each photo file should be named in this format: EDC Tactical Editor VP9, EDC Tactical Editor Kershaw Leek, EDC Tactical Editor…. EDC Tactical Editor Cover
Links–we need links to the manufacturer’s product page. The URL alone is fine; you don’t have to incorporate an active link. Know that this gets tedious. If your EDC gear roundup pocket dump yeilds 30 distinct objects, we need 30 URLs. Maybe not for the obvious items, like band-aids or nail clippers. But don’t include a titanium widget made from prying loose jaguar teeth without telling me where I can find one.
Link to GunsAmerica search page: If you are including a gun in your EDC lineup (hint–good idea for a submission to GunsAmerica), we’d like to see a link to the URL on GunsAmerica.com where interested readers can see the gun for sale. Shameless self promotion? Hardly. It is our mission. GunsAmerica is where America buys and sells guns.
- Let’s say you carry a SIG P226. Link to this page: /Search.aspx?T=sig%20p226.
- If the new Leatherman Tread is in your kit, you would include this page:https://www.leatherman.com/tread-425.html.
Brief resume–tell us who you are. Write it out or attach it. What makes you qualified to write for GunsAmerica? What is your experience with writing? What makes you a firearms expert? Tell us about your educational and professional background. And remember this: experience and ability trumps pedigree. While some of us have Ph.Ds, others never graduated college.
And let me acknowledge this now; I know this is tedious. I want to provide you with a taste of what you’d experience writing with us. It isn’t easy. That said, we do pay competitively. And if you meet our criteria, we’ll publish your EDC roundup. And we’ll pay, too. There will be some back and forth about tax information and then we’ll cut you a check for $50.
On the flip-side, if you don’t adhere to the laundry list of exacting specifications, you may not hear form us.
Ready to apply? Submit a complete package to [email protected].
Want to see an example of how this EDC concept would look on the page? Check out this post–EDC: Tactical Editor.