By Laura Echevarria, Director of Communications and Press Secretary
Editor’s note. This appeared in the September issue of National Right to Life News. Please share with your pro-life family and friends.
Getting an op-ed submission published can feel like an uphill climb on slick pavement in a rainstorm. For the last few weeks, I’ve been submitting one from National Right to Life on the abortion positions of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz. And it is a challenge. What may be of interest to one publication may not be of any interest to another.
Despite the challenges, however writing an op-ed can be a very effective way of presenting the pro-life view.
As you write, it is very helpful to begin with rough outline. Outlines act like roadmaps and can help you reach your destination.
Ok, now what?
You must remember as we enter into the final days of the election cycle, op-eds become harder to place and once we enter October, many publications will stop accepting op-eds about the elections because they run out of time and space for presenting opposing viewpoints.
Now is the time to write about the pro-abortion policies of certain candidates and the harm they could do if elected.
Newspapers and magazines that publish op-eds are always looking for pieces focused on current events that readers would be interested in reading. And they are always looking for well-written pieces that clearly present the writer’s arguments and opinions.
Publications have limited space so there are rules. For example, USA Today will take opinion pieces ranging from 550 to 750 words while the Wall Street Journal will take opinion pieces up to 1000 words. Op-ed editors also require daytime and evening contact numbers for the person whose name is on the byline. State or local publications may also need to know your address and if you are local.
Once you know the publication you are writing for, you need to ask yourself who the audience is and whether you need to focus more on the story or the facts. Also, are the readers members of the general community or are they a special class of readers such as educators, pastors, or policymakers? Your writing will need to meet the needs of your reader.
Stay laser-focused on your goal.
A common mistake is to try to address three or four different pro-life issues. Focus on one and keep your arguments and facts centered on that one topic and stay with it to the end.
For example, you can write about abortions late in pregnancy and start your op-ed with a startling statistic that supports your key idea. And you should have at least three supporting arguments with provable facts.
When trying to persuade the reader, it is unlikely that a reader will completely change his or her mind. Sometimes, effective persuasion is just a nudge in the right direction such as persuading the reader to rethink his or her opinion on an issue.
Your op-ed should conclude with a “call-to-action” that requires some kind of response from the reader. It could be encouraging people to vote for a certain candidate or asking people to call their representative about a vital piece of legislation.
When you are ready to submit your op-ed, keep in mind that you can’t submit the same op-ed to two different publications at the same time. You have to wait until you’re told a publication will use it or wait long enough to know they will not.
Some publications will tell you that you will know within three days, others will tell you a week to 10 days and others will let you make your best guess. The usual rule of thumb, unless a publication tells you otherwise, is to wait a week before submitting the op-ed somewhere else.
If writing an opinion piece challenges a handful of people to rethink their position on the right to life, it is worth the effort. Changing hearts and minds is the best way we can protect innocent human life both now and in the future.