There is a definite art to getting an Op-Ed piece published unless you are a Bill Clinton or locally recognized expert or politician. But there are some real world things that you can do to increase your chances.
- Write frequently and offer a unique prospective. Offer more than commentary, get involved in finding and implementing solutions
- Find a niche that no one else is covering and carve out a field of expertise
- Be first, but be accurate.
- If you don’t have an institutional title, get one. Organizations without political affiliations in their titles are better. Offer to affiliate with a nonprofit and ask for a title like “senior Fellow or senior consultant, then write about your shared concerns. (My idea: start your own organization with which to be associated, with a non-partisan sounding name. Get your friends to “join” and give yourself a fancy title. )
- If you are an academic or part of a think tank, distill your longer research articles or policy recommendations into an op-ed. Be sure to mention your credentials in your pitch memo (more about that later) to the op-ed editor.
Now you have qualified yourself, so on to the actual writing. If you are writing about a hot topic that is in the news right now, the lead is not nearly as important as if you are about issues that are not in people’s minds already. If you want to call attending to an issue you can use several strategies:
- Use NEW research studies or statistics (provided the statistics show a startling result).
- Tie into a holiday or anniversary of historic event.
- Reference to popular culture (when the film Precious was released, op-eds related to illiteracy, poverty and sexual abuse of minors were plentiful using the film tie-in. Even Barbara Bush wrote one citing having seen the film.
- Relate a unique personal experience. In the internet age, especially, op-eds written in the first person and disclosing personal information have become a common and effective technique for grabbing attention.
If you are blogging, highlight a different, fresh approach to an issue. In a world where we have so much choice in what we can read, a headline that is straight forward and descriptive, rather than something outrageous (hoping to grab attention) is a better choice. Be sure to ad tags and include key words that will be picked up when Googled.
- So you have become someone to be paid attention to, have written your lead; now you need to know about the basic structure of an op-ed piece. There is no formula for writing an op ed. You could write stream of consciousness and it could be terrific. But if you like structure, here is bit of a guide.Introduction ending with your main point. In the op ed world, it is called the lead or “lede.”
- Create supporting paragraphs backed up by evidence.
- A rebuttal paragraph that refutes the opposing side’s main arguments (just one or two if enough). This paragraph is essential for reinforcing your credibility and addressing the concerns in your readers’ minds. It is often located after the last paragraph of the body and before the conclusion, but can appear earlier in the op ed.
- The conclusion of an op ed should include a proposed solution or a call to action. You have educated your readers about the issue, so tell them what should happen next and how they can help make it happen. Your conclusion might be a single paragraph, or it might be multiple paragrashs that lead to a provocative question or a challenge to your readers. Your conclusion might circle back to the story or statistics in your introduction.
Now, how do you get published? Remember my reference to a “pitch memo” earlier? Well here is where you find out about that. You need to give the Op-Ed editor a reason to read you piece. You need to pitch it using some very specific techniques. Here is an example of one that demonstrates all the elements needed.
Subject: Op ed submission: Experts Agree: The Death Penalty Does Not Deter Murder
Thank you kindly for taking the time to read this. Please let me know this email reached you.
Below the 677-word opinion editorial is offered to the Contra Costa Times (and/or one of your sister papers) as an exclusive. In it, Professors …… and ….. make the case for abolishing the death penalty on the ground that it is a wasteful and expensive program that California cannot afford during its budget crisis.
Professor ….. is the coauthor of a new study that shows that the death penalty does not deter murder any more than life without parole. Professor…..resides in Walnut Creek and, before his academic career, worked in California corrections. The new research on deterrence makes this piece particularly timely and may spark an interesting debate among your readers. Please contact me at ……to discuss edits or other questions. We appreciate your time and attention.
- First you sight the number of words to let them know you have taken the time to check out their rules on submissions.
- You offer the piece as an exclusive letting them know that you have not sent this to every editorial board in the country.
- You give a one sentence summary of the theme of the piece.
- You qualify the expert you will be citing.
- You indicate that this issue is based on NEW research and is timely!
Almost done! Now you wait a day or two so the editor will have had time to get your email. By the way, try to get the editor’s personal email and address it to them personally with a cc to the generalized address. Then, you call. Not once, but several times during the day to make sure they have received your email and have read it. You want to start a conversation. If they reject it, ask for suggestions on how to improve it.
If you can’t get them on the phone, try looking for a Facebook page. Some people hate the phone, but are almost constantly looking on line. So be creative in finding a way to start a dialog.
Follow this advice and Margo pretty much guarantees that you will eventually get published.
Happy writing. Lenna out!
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