My letter to the editor [1] appears in the New York Times today,  and I've recently had letters published in the Chicago Tribune [2], and U.S News and World Report [3].

So I thought I'd offer my suggestions on how to write a letter to the editor and get it published.

Letters to the editor are, for most people (including people who have published five books), the only way to get into the mainstream media. Although I personally rarely read them, letters to the editor are reportedly among the most widely read parts of the paper. A published letter to the editor probably has 1,000 times the readership and impact of a comment on a blog, so that's why it's important to make the effort to send it.

The best time to write an election-oriented letter is now. During the month before the fall election, most newspapers get inundated with letters about candidates. Many newspapers impose limits on wordcounts and frequency of writing letters. Newspaper editors are busy people, especially with folks like Sam Zell cutting payroll left and right. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to run your letter: don't make them edit it, don't make them factcheck it, don't make them question it.

You can find some advice [4] on the web for how to write a letter to the editor [5], but here are my thoughts about writing letters:

1. Just Write It: Don’t worry about it and think about it endlessly and wonder if you should write a letter. If you feel like it, write a letter. Even if it violates the rest of my advice here, write it anyway.
2. Write It Now: A letter to a newspaper should be written and emailed the same day the article was published. Don’t wait any longer. Magazines have a longer advance time, but you should act as quickly as possible. Always email your letters (look in the print edition or on their website for the correct email address), and no attachments.
3. Keep It Short, Stupid: The shorter your letter is, the more likely it will be published. A few newspapers may have a place for a longer letter (such as my Chicago Tribune letter [6]), but usually a good letter is 150 words or less (that's the maximum for the New York Times). The longer your letter, the less likely it is to be used, and the more likely it will be edited. Learn how to do soundbites. Learn how to cut unnecessary words.
4. Don’t Call Anyone Stupid: Politeness wins the day. Insults will turn off the editor immediately, as will conspiracy theories about anything. You must know your publication, and use the style they prefer. For example, the Chicago Tribune loves a good one-line joke, but the New York Times will never print that.
5. Find the Right Audience: Everybody would love to get printed in the New York Times. It doesn’t happen much (I get about 20% of my letters to the Times printed, which is very high). Your chances of publication are much better if you pick a smaller target. Local newspapers prefer local writers, so choose a local paper (if you're in a major urban area, consider a suburban paper), or one where you have a connection. For example, write a letter to your hometown paper, or your college newspaper, identifying yourself as having grown up there. And don't be afraid to write a letter to conservative papers, like the New York Post, the Washington Times, or the Wall Street Journal. They may love to get a good letter from a progressive.
6. Be Clever and Original: This sounds hard, but the best letters are not screaming rants. They're understated, cleverly worded, and make a point that others have not made. Never quote some authority or talk show you heard unless it's the subject of the letter. Never pull out a quote from Bartlett's. Make your own point.
7. Don’t Plagiarize, But Re-Use: Never, ever send a form letter to a publication. Don't send the same letter to multiple publications. However, make full use of what you've personally written. If you wrote a diary or a blog comment on some topic, always try to turn it into a letter. However, be sure that you revise what you said. See how I turned my diary [7] about the New York Times coverage into a much shorter and friendlier letter.
8. Respond to a story/column: A random letter expressing your support for a particular candidate probably won’t be published. Respond to a particular article in that publication (if necessary, prepare a letter on a subject and look for an op-ed or editorial written on the same subject, and then send the letter to that newspaper. Either mention the article in the first line of your letter (along with the section [news or editorial or op-ed], and the date), or use re: and the title of the article at the top (the New York Times likes that style, most newspapers don't). Don't quote extensively from the article. That will never be printed. Instead, summarize the article in your own words and selective use a few key phrases from the article (as I do in my Times letter [8]).
9. Make One Point: A letter is not the place to ramble on. Choose your strongest point and make that point in clear language. You can support your point with a few different bits of evidence, but don’t make multiple arguments. If you make an assertion of facts not reported in the paper (try to avoid doing that), then include an endnote with a link proving what you say.
10. Be an Expert. If you are a professor or a blogger or an expert on something, mention that in a tag line after your letter. Even if they don't print your title, it will help persuade them to print it. If you have some sort of personal experience or account, say so (as I did in my Times letter), even if it only takes the form of, “I watched that McCain commercial, and I disagree with the editorial claiming that McCain has run an honorable campaign....” If you aren't an expert, then at least try to sound authoritative in the way you write. Don't write “I think” or “maybe” or other wasted words. Be strong, make your point, and don't be afraid to write a letter.