How to Write a Letter to the Editor

How to Write a Letter to the Editor

Writing a letter to the editor is a great way to advocate for your position in the arena of public ideas — but where do you even start?! Here’s how to write a letter to the editor that’s effective, along with some tips that will increase your chances of getting published.

Letter to the Editor Basics

Dozens of people submit letters to the editor every day. Follow these guidelines if you want yours to stand out and be effective. 

  1. Keep it concise. If the publication asks that you keep your letter within a predetermined word limit, follow that guideline. Going over the word count is an easy way to get your letter thrown out.
  2. Support your statements with attributable facts, and make sure to actually cite the attributions. Do not write “One out of five people does X.” Write “[X organization] says one out of five people does X.”
  3. Include a clear call to action. Tell people how to get involved and where to learn more. Encourage residents to call their representatives, encourage elected officials to consider new information, etc. Give people an idea of something specific to do.
  4. If possible, send your letter in a typed format. That can be in an email or using a form submission. If you need to send it via mail, please type it up and print it out. Handwriting can be difficult to decipher.

How to Self-Edit Your Letters

  1. Read the letter out loud to yourself. This will help you uncover any sentences that are awkwardly constructed and in need of being rewritten.
  2. Eliminate any redundancies and unnecessary phrases, and be ruthless about it. Every word and sentence should serve a purpose. Your goal is to have your letter published, not to protect your work of art.
  3. Change the font size on your document. This will highlight any typos or grammatical errors.

Find Opportunities to Write a Letter to the Editor

  1. Set up Google Alerts.  Go to google.com/alerts and type in the keyword you would like to monitor. (You can set up more than one alert.)  Each day you will receive an email with every English-language news story that includes that keyword. Scan the email for stories that are local and relevant to your topic of interest, and use that as your hook when sending your letter to the editor of that publication.
  2. Subscribe to the daily newsletter of your local publications (if they have one). Keep your eye out for stories relevant to your topic of interest, and when you see one, send your letter to the editor using that news story as your hook.
  3. You can also follow your local news publications on social media. You won’t get the full breadth of their content, but you will see the stories they believe are likely to offer the most engagement for their readers.

Your Letter Was Published! Now What?

  1. Share it! Post it on social media, include it in any newsletters or email communications, copy it to distribute it at meetings. Encourage people to read, share, get involved, or write a letter to the editor themselves. 

Recent Letters to the Editor by LWVSPA Members

Follow in the footsteps of what works. These letters to the editor were recently published and follow our guidelines perfectly. 

Learn More

This article is part of our Advocacy and Lobbying training series. The goal of the LWVSPA is to make the residents of St. Petersburg informed and active citizens.

To learn more, check out our Advocacy Action Guide, learn how to Check the Facts in the fake news era, and learn the basics of How to Lobby. 

With the right tools, you can make democracy work!

Gun Safety Action Guide

Gun violence is a persistent and disturbing public health issue. Its impact is most keenly felt by minority communities but has touched a broad cross-section of our country. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reveal that about 40,000 people are killed by a firearm each year; about 60% of these deaths are suicides and 37% are homicides.  

LWVSPA’s Gun Safety Action Team is currently inactive but between 2017-2020 conducted evidence-based research and developed an education campaign and more than 20 fact sheets to provide you with the facts you need to independently take action on this issue. We continue to support efforts by LWV-FL and the FL Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.  

 

Take Action

  • Become informed… learn more from the fact sheets linked above.
  • VOTE!
  • Contact your state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives.
  1. Review tips on how to advocate and work effectively with your legislators.
  2. Contact your federal and state representatives: visit MyFloridaHouse.gov OR text 507-609-3322 and send your zip code as the message to get contact information.
  3. During the session, click here to follow Florida legislative proposals; change the year to get current information.  Gun violence received little legislative attention in 2020; to see what was proposed and final action (or inaction) see our final summary at 2020 FL proposed gun legislation

Fast Facts

Watch “The State of Gun Violence in the U.S.,” a seven-minute video by Joss Fong, Vox, 21 Feb 2016.

Tips for Successful Advocacy Work

General Guidance 

  • It’s all about relationships and building trust: take the time to develop and nurture them.
  • Timing is critical: schedule an introductory meeting well before the session opens and subsequent meetings just before critical committee hearings and votes.
  • Be well informed, tactful, and respectful and use a combo of personal meetings & public testimony.

Preparing for Meetings & Public Testimony

  • Know yourself:  be aware of personal biases; this will help you maintain objectivity by anticipating your own response in a given situation.
  • Know your organization: if you’re representing an organization, be fully aware of their positions and justification, as well as the relationships it maintains with other organizations (coalitions are a good thing). For meetings, bring along a colleague: two sets of ears (and voices) are better than one.
  • Know your legislator: try to understand the basis for his/her positions (e.g. voting record on related legislation, professional interests, committee assignments, tenure in the legislature, and constituent pressures); for FL legislators, start by looking at their website & info posted at https://www.myfloridahouse.govand https://www.flsenate.gov
  • Know how the legislative process works: there are a number of state/city-specific websites that can help with this.
  • Know your issue: educate yourself; learn the status of legislation and bill #s; identify brief and explicit points; prepare a one-page sheet with key points and your contact info.
  • Know your opposition: anticipate opposing viewpoints; respond to arguments with a positive tone.

During the Meeting (many points are also applicable to public testimony)

  • Thank the legislator/staff for taking the time to meet with you.
  • Introduce yourself as a voter in their district and/or a member of an organization.
  • Identify your issue: make brief and explicit points, why they’re important to you and the people they represent; be prepared to respond to questions and concerns; don’t hesitate to admit lack of knowledge & be willing to pursue answers and report back.
  • Ask about your legislator’s interests and concerns on your issue in order to understand their priorities and underlying interests; look for common ground.
  • LISTEN more than you talk; work to build a long-term relationship.
  • Make a single, concrete “ask” that entails a verifiable action (e.g. voting against HB # xx) and highlight a few facts that will influence his or her thinking; don’t be abstract: focus on specific legislation currently before the legislature or which needs to be introduced; focus on top priority and the most effective legislation – don’t present a laundry list.
  • Get the legislator to be specific in their response.