How to Write a Letter to the Editor
Follow Opinion Guidelines to Get Published Every Time
Oct 6, 2009
First off, look at the newspaper’s editorial page and follow the word-length rules. Most newspapers have word lengths ranging from 200 to 300 words. Don’t exceed these limits. In fact, make the letter shorter. Shorter letters can be worked into letters columns much easier than longer ones.
No Anonymous Letters to the Editor
Don’t send anonymous letters. Editors figure that if the writer lacks the courage to sign his name, the opinion is not worth printing. Sign the letter and provide a phone number in event an editor has a question. Writers should include an address to show they live in the paper’s circulation area.
Send the letter by e-mail rather than snail mail. Newsrooms these days have fewer and fewer people, so editors would rather not use staff time to type in letters to the editors when they don’t have to. With e-mail, they can quickly copy it into their computer systems.
Local Elections and Political Issues
Write on a topic of local interest – such subjects are the bread and butter of community newspapers. Even if a writer wants to pontificate on a national issue or election, try to relate it to something local. For example, if one wants to write about national defence, consider how one’s point of view might affect employment at a local defence contractor.
Editors like reactions to recent stories published in the paper. So it makes sense to craft a letter that responds to a recent story, even if the reference is just a stepping stone to discuss a more general issue.
A Letter Template
Take some time to write the opinion. Think it though. Get to the point in the first paragraph, and use the body of the letter to layer points that support the thesis. Don’t misspell words or allow common grammar mistakes. They detract from the writer’s credibility. Close the letter a summation or challenge for the newspaper or the readers.
Do not use crude or insulting language. Readers have no constitutional right to have a letter published in a newspaper. What’s printed is at the discretion of the editor. Editors are more than willing to print opposing points of view, but not those that are libellous or fly in the face of community standards of civility. Letters should be professional in tone.
Stay away from issues that are too mundane. Long lists of “thank-yous” for participation in a community event might not be deemed sufficient to hold reader interest. “Thank-yous” for routine medical help or assistance from a police officer or good Samaritan probably won’t see print unless there is a dramatic or unusual story behind it.
No Open Letters to Newspapers
Do not send third-party letters. These are letters that a reader may have sent to a Congress member or other luminary. Most newspapers are not interested in such letters; they want letters that talk directly to the editor and readers.
Do not threaten to “cancel my subscription” unless the editor agrees to do something. Readers are free not to read the paper, but editors are usually not going to give them a platform to announce it.
Do not send letters to editor on a daily or weekly basis. If an editor sees the same person’s name popping up again and again, he will not take the letter writer seriously. Most newspapers have restrictions of one letter per reader per month in order encourage a variety of readers to write in.
Don’t use obscure acronyms. Refer to newsmakers with their full names and titles. Writers should not assume readers know the issue they are discussing as well as writers do.
And finally, don’t begin the letter by saying, “I know you’re not going to print this, but …” Writers who are serious about getting their views published should avoid defeatist attitudes and follow a few common-sense rules. Editors are always looking for straight-forward, clearly written letters. Supply them, and they will be printed.
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