Not all writing is just for fun and fiction. Sometimes you want to get another story out there, perhaps your view on some news of the day, community issue, or social concern (as you know, we’re not hurting for those types of topics right now).
When trying to get your story out there, you’ve a host of channels to pursue — pitches to reporters for a profile or to be included as an expert source within a larger print or TV piece, pushing your story through social media, issuing a release for broad distribution, etc. In some cases, your message may be a response to another story or event, one in which you have some stake or a unique point of view. In that instance, a letter to the editor (LTE) is often a powerful tool. The challenge is to make the case that your response is worth printing in those valuable column inches.
So how do you increase your chances of being picked up in the local press or a national publication? While there is no secret formula, there are some best practices to consider:
- Keep it brief — Take a look at the typical length of the letters published in the local, regional, or national publication you are targeting. Take those word counts into account. While you might have just penned a tremendously compelling 2,000-word response to an article, odds are that something that long won’t get picked up. If the editors find something interesting in your letter, they will likely choose to use an excerpt that makes the case most effectively. Recognizing that, be proactive, find that excerpt yourself, and submit that.
- Be timely and relevant — For daily papers, your LTE in response to an article or editorial should be received within a day or so as LTEs will typically run 5-6 days after the article. Online submissions make this much easier vs. having to snail mail it in but, by the same token, it’s much easier for more people to submit.
- Set yourself apart — With so many more people potentially submitting LTEs online, especially on contentious topics, it’s even more important to set yourself apart with either a unique perspective or a different hook. Don’t be afraid if your perspective might fly in the face of the trend (but be aware of the potentially negative response) — sometimes it seems like newspapers thrive on conflict LOL — and they’ll be interested in printing varying opinions.
- Focus focus focus — Unless you’ve been asked to write a detailed op-ed column that is expected to address a range of ideas, your LTE should focus on one argument or concept. If you try to cover too much ground and too many points, you run the risk of failing to make any one point well enough to connect and simply offering a hodge-podge of talking points that aren’t effective.
- Offer expertise, yours or someone else’s — While that section of the paper is called “Opinion / Editorial”, a strong opinion isn’t always enough. If you can highlight your expertise in the topic, it adds a level of credibility. The same applies if you can cite other research or materials and provide context or a compelling interpretation of it. ALWAYS cite that other source, by the way. See the next point for the reason why.
- Stay in control and honest — Honest differences of opinion are one thing. Attacking someone or using derogatory language is guaranteed to result in rejection. Likewise, make sure you have your facts straight. One false “fact” or claiming someone else’s research or information as your own calls your entire letter into question.
- Be prepared — If there’s a topic that is near and dear to your heart or gets your pulse pounding, you likely have loads of ideas stacked up and read to fly in conversation, in social media, etc. Draw on these as you write your response. If you’re actively involved in the issue at hand and know that an article is coming (perhaps because you, your firm, or an associate has been approached as a source for the article), begin prepping your possible LTE in advance.
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of seeing one of my recent submissions printed in the New York Times in response to a Joe Nocera column about the Amazon / Hachette conflict and e-books (I can’t let it go to my head though…my mother-in-law is at least two New York Times LTEs ahead of me).
Looking at the five letters that were published, here’s how they generally fit the best practices above:
- With the exception of one letter that’s 72 words, all are between 144 and 220 words, which appears to be the typical length LTEs run by the Times
- The print responses ran five days after the article so there wasn’t time to linger during the initial response process
- Two offer direct expertise — a corporate law professor and an independent bookseller
- Two offer direct responses to statements made by the columnist, offering alternate interpretations
- One offers access to industry data that speaks directly to the issue and was not available in the column
- All offer clear points of view written in accessible language while avoiding jargon and hyperbole
In my case, I submitted my response to the column via the NYT’s online comment tool (under the handle “WriterGuy”) so that it was published alongside the article in a matter of minutes. The editors and other readers read and recommended my comment that day, flagging it both as a Readers Pick and an NYT Pick.
The following day, I received an email from the NYT asking if I’d be amenable to having my letter published in print. There was a brief back and forth to with the op-ed team regarding some adjustments in the language, including my citation of publisher data on costs for costs and profits on hardcover and e-books. In my online comment, I linked directly to the relevant web page and presentation; the NYT altered the language slightly to cite the specific source as no link would be available in the print edition.
The process was quick, done in a matter of a day or so. Five days after the original column ran, the LTEs in response to Nocera’s column, a related Times editorial, and another article on the Amazon / Hachette conflict were published in print.
Yes, there are plenty of trend articles out there making the case that newspapers are dying and their influence is waning. While circulations may be down and staffs are being cut back, the daily news still offers a tremendously valuable tool for individuals and organizations to get their story told, respond to events, and make their opinions known.
The move to digital, with the ability to comment directly and share through your social networks, offers an opportunity to associate your feedback in a more direct manner than was ever previously possible in the print-only world. Getting additional coverage with a well-written and compelling letter to the editor is icing on the cake.