Writing letters to the editor can be a great tool. When you are writing letters to the editor you have to know what they are looking for.

When you're thinking of writing a letter, I would strongly encourage you to find out what the guidelines are for letters to the editor for the publications that you want to write for. Many publications have very different guidelines. Here in Milwaukee, for example, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wants letters of no more than 250 words. Other publications might take letters that are longer. Look on the editorial page for the little box that gives the guidelines on what they want for letters to the editor. They will also tell you how to submit them. If you're writing a letter on a very timely topic and you'd like to see that letter printed in a day or two, go ahead and email it, and usually that little guidelines box will give you the email address of the letters editor, the person who accepts and views those letters for publication.

You can find so much great information on this topic in How to Use Newspaper and Magazine Editorial Pages.