Tips on opinion editorial articles

(Monday 23 February 2004 ) Ideas on how to go about getting an op-ed published.

Read Look at the kinds of pieces your target newspaper or site publishes and decides if they would be interest in something on the landmine issue or Mine Ban Treaty.

Ask Find out who is in charge of the opinion-editorial section (often the Editor-in-Chief though sometimes there is another person in charge of the comment section). Ask about their policy on publishing op-eds, including their maximum word length (usually around 750 words) and deadline.

Pitch Gather ideas and prepare your argument to convince the editor to publish your article showing how and why it will be of interest to their readers.

Celeb approach If you think it will help, then ask a well-known supporter to submit an article on your behalf. (You can help to write it and by publishing it under their name it may be more likely to be published and read.)