Writing and Submitting an Op-Ed
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Getting Started
When you are writing an op-ed, your first move is to find the newspaper, magazine, website, or other media outlet to which you want to submit your work online and read their submission guidelines.
If you start from a search engine, you can often quickly find these online by doing a web search for the name of the media outlet followed by "op-ed submission guidelines". If a web search doesn't turn them up directly, try going to the home page on their website and looking at some sections where they are often found. Check for an Opinions section first. It might be called something different like "Valley Voices", "Social Commentary", or something else. If you don't quickly find a section titled Opinions, read through all the section names to see if it is listed under an alternate heading.
If you can't locate submission guidelines online, you can go to the Contact page on the website to find out how to ask. Again, this might be called something different like "Get in Touch", "About", etc. Select the email email address or phone number listed that seems most likely to fit, and ask the media outlet where you can find their op-ed submission guidelines.
Click here for an example of op-ed submission guidelines.
To maximize your chances of getting it published, pay attention to the preferred word count, how to submit it, and any other style guidelines or instructions. Depending on whether or not their readership is primarily online or readers of their print publications, they may have a policy on including links that you should be aware of.
If you can refer to a specific news story, column, or refer to some other recent item published by that media outlet in your piece, it is a good idea to do so. Remember, they are in a business that depends on readership or viewership. If your piece gets your reader to click on another page on their website, that benefits them.
Be prepared to back up any factual assertions with a credible reference if requested, but do not include a formal list of formatted references. You can mention the source of your factual assertion in the body of your column. For example, "A report published in 2018 by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers entitled "The Trial Penalty" points out that fewer than 3% of criminal cases in state and federal courts are decided by juries."
Do not wait until the last minute! Opinion pieces selected to run in the Sunday edition may be accepted well in advance. Even if yours isn't slated for a Sunday edition, it may take a few days for the editor to review your piece and get back to you before putting it in a weekday edition. Additionally, many outlets want exclusive access to publish your piece, so you want to leave time to submit it to another outlet if it is not accepted by the first.
More Resources
- Op-ed Writing: Tips and Tricks from The OpEd Project
- Write an Op-Ed, Get Published, and Land on the News from The Leadership Institute
- How to Place an Op-Ed in Your Local Newspaper from MoveOn
- Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor (.pdf) from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Examples
- Jurors hold power through nullification, Richmond County Daily Journal, 12 July 2018
- Jury nullification is not a crime, Denver, The Denver Post, 18 August 2015
- Nullifying juries more interested in justice than some prosecutors, Glenn Harlan Reynolds, USA Today, 6 August 2015
