CONTRIBUTE AND GET PAID TO RIDE!

It's really simple.

We're looking for motorcyclists who love to explore routes and share the best of them with other ORJ users.

If you're interested in writing up and taking pictures for an ORJ Certified route, or an ORJ Open Road Motorcycle Tour - we'll pay you for it!

If you want to pursue this fantastic opportunity, we've included information below on how to get started.

General Information for Contributors

OpenRoadJourney’s mission is to inspire people to get out and explore the world by motorcycle. In particular, with our ORJ Certified Routes and ORJ Tours, we want people to experience the ride through fantastic stories and write-ups, gorgeous pictures, and lots of information. At the end of reading one of our ORJ Certified Routes or ORJ Tours, the reader should be itching to get out and explore the route or do the tour themselves!

We do not require our authors to be experienced writers or photographers. Our editors are bikers themselves and have experience working with first-time authors. We'll do everything we can to make this a smooth and pleasurable experience for you.

Getting Started

First, understand what we are looking for – the best way to understand is to look around the site. In particular, we are looking for authors to provide content for ORJ Certified routes, or ORJ Open Road Motorcycle Tours.*

To help, down below, we’ve provided links to an example of an ORJ Tour and an ORJ Certified Route.

ORJ Certified Routes: Focused on a particularly great road or route, these are targeted to motorcyclists who like to plan out a trip and want to be guaranteed of what they are getting along a certain route. In addition, Certified Routes have lots of pictures, and include some text describing the road. Finally, certified routes may also contain limited information about things to see along the way or in the area.

ORJ Tours: ORJ Tours are a complete route through a particular area or a route with a particular theme. ORJ Tours are designed for the rider who does not want to plan – they just want to print the tour out and do it themselves – a “trip in a box”. ORJ Tours are much more detailed in the write-up with story-like content describing the ride in addition to lots of high quality pictures. They are meant to inspire people to do the tour themselves! In addition to the much more detailed story-like write up, tours also include detailed facts and information – what we call “The Rider’s Guide”. This includes lodging information, recommended restaurants, and things to do along the way.

ORJ Articles: ORJ articles are just that – articles that cover motorcycle related topics. These could include stories of a recent motorcycle trip, motorcycle event coverage, informational articles, and other topics.

* We are most interested in ORJ Certified Routes and ORJ Tours, but will consider articles as well. Keep this in mind when submitting ideas.

ORJ Tours Details

Length: 1000-4000 words plus Riders Guide Info.

Photos: 10-30 High Quality Images required. Please submit all images and we’ll go through them as part of the editing process. We do require all images to be digital (.jpg format) and at least 4Megapixels.

General Info: There are three different types of ORJ Tours: Day Trip Tours, Weekend Tours (2-3 days), and Vacation Tours (4+ Days). In general, ORJ Tours follow the points below:

• Usually a loop. Out and Backs are considered on a case by case basis.
• No Interstate. ORJ is about backroads and interesting out of the way places – Interstates and McDonalds won’t be accepted!
• Tours should not include a description of getting there from your house; the primary focus should be the actual route that makes up the tour.
• Try to link things together through a theme or with a story, but mostly focus on the ride and route itself!

Photo Guidelines: The key is to help people experience the tour and get inspired to do it themselves. Photos can often be most important part of a tour. Here are a few pointers:

• We like to see the bike in a shot as much as possible – especially scenery shots.
• It’s good to get yourself “posing” in a few shots – not smiling into the camera but standing next to the bike looking off into the distance, etc.
• Pictures of locations along the way (restaurants, historic sites, signs,etc) are also good (if you can get your bike in a shot great!)
• Action shots where you are riding the bike through a particular section are great.
• All photos must be taken by you (no copyrighted ones from other sources).

Sections for ORJ Tours:

Description: This is the meat of the tour. The story that inspires others to ride it. This is the part that is 1000-4000 words plus the photos.

“Rider’s Guide” Guidelines: This is the “just the facts” section of the tour. Here’s the different sections – feel free to add sections for a particular tour:

• Mileage – Total Distance of the route and estimated time required (day trip, weekend tour, or vacation tour)
• Overview paragraph – describes the general area the route goes through – such as landscape features, big parks, etc.
• Lodging – Brief description of recommended lodging along the way, websites and phone numbers included for weekend and vacation tours.
• Things to Do – Brief description of things to do along the way, website and phone numbers included.
• Restaurants – Brief description of places to eat along the way, phone numbers and location included.
• Addresses & Phone Numbers: Addresses, phone, numbers, and websites of things described along the way of the tour.

Tour Map: Finally, you will need to route the tour on ORJ. Once you have created a map, simply save it as a draft and notify us. We will take care of the rest. It is critical that you take your time and ensure you get the map correct – this is what people will use to follow your tour!

View an Example of a ORJ Tour Here

ORJ Certified Routes Details:

Length: 750-2000 words. Written in MS Word.

Photos: 10-20 High Quality Images required. Please submit all images and we’ll go through them as part of the editing process. We do require all images to be digital (.jpg format) and at least 4Megapixels.

General Info: An ORJ Certified route is simply a really great road, or shorter route, that is worth riding out to experience. These are not as extensive as an ORJ tour – generally they simply focus on a single road that is particularly interesting. These can be completed in a few hours at the most.

• Usually a single road.
• No Interstate. ORJ is about backroads and interesting out of the way places – Interestates and Mcdonalds will not be accepted!
• Try to tell a story about the road or your journey on the road – the number 1 priority is to inspire people to try this particular road, the second priority is to tell an interesting story that keeps them wanting to read more.

Sections for Certified Routes:

Description: The main story of the road – this is also where most of the pictures of the road will go. This is the story that you have weaved together about this particular road that will inspire folks to go and check it out themselves.

Final Thoughts: Your simple one paragraph that sums up the road and why folks would want to get out and try it.

Things to Consider: Notice anything particular that other bikers would want to know – e.g. there is no gas along this route, there was lots of gravel in the turn, moose crossings, what kind of road is it – tight and twisty: not for the faint of heart. Etc. This is where you let people know what to expect for planning purposes.

Nearby things to See: A great road is reason enough, but to make that road fantastic you’ve got to have stuff that is interesting to see along the way. Custer’s childhood home nearby? Call it out as something interesting to take a few mins to see along the way. These things do not have to be directly on the road, just nearby enough that it is a quick detour to see.

View an Example of a Certified Route Here

Preparing the Information

As far as the writing goes, it's best to adopt an easy, conversational style, as if you were describing something to a friend in a letter. Be sure to define any terms you think might be obscure or specialized; not everyone will have a specialized knowledge of your favorite road or route.

The document should be sent to us in a Microsoft Word document. It should be formatted in a way that matches what the Certified Route or Tour looks like (basically) on the site. (See examples) Lower res pictures should be submitted in the document text in the appropriate places that they would appear as a reader is looking through the route. It doesn’t have to be exact, but we do need it to be close so we can understand and work with you on the article.

Finally, you will need to create a route and map out your road or route in the ORJ system and save it as a draft (Do not Submit it). When you send us your material, send us your username as well so we can look at the route on the map.

In summary, when you send us your material, it should include:

1. Your write-up in MS word format with pics pasted in (low-res preferably but necessary)
2. Your username so we can view the map of the route you saved as a draft in the ORJ system.

All articles should be submitted to ..

Submitting a Draft

While we prefer to receive more finished material, we will take a look at shortened material in draft forms. The draft should have the basic layout and text put together with photos included. Because of the number of authors that submit on a weekly basis, we cannot ensure a response. When sending a draft, please make sure you designate it as such in the email.

What Happens When You Submit

In general, we will get back to you in 2-3 weeks (usually sooner) on any article you submit. If your material is accepted, you will receive an acceptance email with a copyright contract that you will need to agree to in email before continuing.

If you do not receive an acceptance email within 2-3 weeks, don’t be frustrated – it is not a reflection on you personally – it could have been for many reasons. For example, your route is too similar to another route, it doesn’t fit with ORJ’s current publishing plans, etc.

Getting Accepted and Copyrights

So your route got accepted? Great!

From here, you will just need to reply back to an agreement for copyright via email. You will receive an email with instructions. The agreement constitutes our acceptance of the article for publication. It's not a difficult agreement to understand, and simply states that we are buying three things:

1. The exclusive right of publication of the material (text, photos, and route itself) in any medium such as print, web, or electronic.
2. The exclusive right to republish the material or any portion of it in any format and in any medium.
3. The right to edit the material as we deem appropriate.

Please note that by signing a copyright agreement with you, we do not guarantee publication of your material. Even if we schedule the material for a specific release time, our editorial needs and direction sometimes change. Therefore, we reserve the right to decide later not to publish your material, but that rarely happens.

Editing

After your manuscript has been received, the editor may ask you to supply additional information or to rewrite or revise sections of your manuscript. The editor will try to be sensitive to your writing style and retain as much of the character of the original writing as possible. If any major changes are warranted, or if we have doubts about changes we're considering during the editing process, your editor will email you to discuss the matter. Remember that changes to your writing made by the sponsoring editor are done in the interest of making your writing more effective and accurate, to make for the best possible presentation of your ideas. 98% of this communication will occur through email.

After your manuscript has been edited, we'll email you a printout of the edited version of the text so that you'll have a chance to review it before it goes to press. Read it carefully and check the text for technical accuracy, typos, and errors in facts. Make sure your editor hasn't inadvertently misinterpreted your original material. Also, answer any questions the editor has included. Please try to limit your changes to repair of facts; this isn't the time for rewriting the entire article.

Payment

Our base rate is as follows:

1. $120-$165/Certified Tour. All first time authors receive $125/Certified Tour. As you gain experience and it requires less work on our side to get your material ready – we raise the rate up to a maximum of $165 at our discretion.
2. $60/Certified Route.
3. Articles are determined on a per article basis; payment is typically between $50-$75/article.

All payments are made via Paypal on completion of any article. Completion is determined when we have the final material in hand (after any requested edits) and the final high res photos.

Paypal is free to sign up for and a secure and quick way for us to transfer money to you. To receive payment you will be required to have a paypal account.

In addition to the above, we also give all authors a 1 year Pro-membership upon receipt of the copyright agreement outlined above.

Ready to Get Started or have additional Questions?

Shoot us your material for ORJ Tours, Certified Routes, or Articles at .!