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When reading an article in a periodical, you may form strong opinions about its content. But few people advance to the next step: writing a letter to the editor.
Writing letters in response to what you read can serve as a stimulating mental exercise. Formulating your opinion and striking the right tone (from admiration to criticism to reflective musings) makes news consumption a more engaging, interactive process.
But even if you write a compelling letter, there’s no guarantee it will make the cut. Larger publications only run a handful of letters that they receive.
Most publications suggest tips to readers who want to compose letters. Check the letters page for guidelines or policies that govern a media outlet’s approach to selecting letters.
A letters editor usually operates under certain constraints. At the Boston Globe, for example, letters are usually less than 200 words and submissions should include the author’s name and contact information.
“And the letter should be exclusive to the Globe,” added Matthew Bernstein, its letters editor. “We don’t want you sending your letter to us and to other publications.”
Over his 17 years as the Globe’s letters editor, Bernstein has received many passionate missives from readers. He welcomes lively debates on the letters page, but he warns that emotional expressiveness has a downside.
“Your passion can get ahead of the facts,” he said. “All our letters are fact-checked. Passion can lead to exaggerated details, personal attacks or offensive language.”
Still, Bernstein won’t reject letters solely for runaway passion. He may contact authors and work with them to edit their letter so that it’s ready to run.
“I can imagine some people write impulsively,” he said.
Before you compose a letter, analyze the tone and format of the letters that appear in the publication. Pay special attention to their organizational structure.
For Bernstein, letters that flag a particular story (by citing its author and headline) and quote a phrase or line from that story tend to catch his eye. That’s the glue that holds the letter together, he says.
From there, state your point succinctly. Brief self-disclosure helps, especially if your experience or expertise enhances your understanding of the topic at hand. (“In my 36 years as a life insurance actuary, I was struck by the correlation between one’s ZIP code and longevity.”)
When Neil Wertheimer, deputy editor of AARP The Magazine, reviews incoming letters, he’s guided by two questions: What did we miss? or What does this reader add?
“The letters that get published point out gaps or what we got wrong,” he said. “Or they add to the discussion and point out how we [covered the topic] in a fresh, unique way.”
He prizes brevity. While some periodicals, especially local or regional newspapers, run longer letters as opinion pieces, print magazines tend to reject any letter that’s more than four or five sentences.
“No magazine is going to publish your lengthy discourse,” Wertheimer said.
He urges letter-writers to skip the preamble and jump right to the point. Cut the fluff (filler words such as adjectives and adverbs) before you submit your letter. Make every word count.
“What we want are insights, not adjectives,” he said. “Adjectives are easy. It takes deeper thinking to craft a letter as an insight.”
Fact-checking varies widely by publication. To maximize your letter’s appeal, cite your source.
“If you make a statement of fact, either provide a link or attribute it in your letter,” said Howard Altschiller, executive editor of Seacoast Media Group in Portsmouth, N.H.
Altschiller, who urges readers to keep their letters under 250 words, oversees two regional newspapers. So he welcomes letters that reflect the local coverage.
Letters that address topics of local interest, even if they’re not in direct response to a particular story, are more apt to run than letters that debate “the latest back and forth on the hot-button national issue of the day,” he says.
Procrastinators risk losing out. The sooner you write your letter, the better your chance of seeing it in print (or online).“Don’t wait until the last minute,” Altschiller said. “We receive dozens of letters, particularly ahead of elections or important local votes. Be sure to submit your letter several days ahead of any deadline that would render it moot.”
