The Seattle Times accepts letters and guest columns from its readers.

LETTERS

The Times receives more than 15,000 letters a year, averaging about 1,200 a month, sometimes more than 100 a day.

Letters editor Betty Anderson selects letters based on clarity of thought, response to current events and the graceful art of letter writing. If your letter is selected for publication, you will be called for verification.

The Times always tries to give preference to the paper's critics in choosing letters to be published.

Be concise and try not to quote everything in the article to which you are referring. Please include the topic or headline and date of the article, editorial or opinion piece to which your letter refers.

Letters to the editor should be roughly 250 words or less, compared with 800 words acceptable for essays and opinions.

Please do not submit a letter more frequently than once a quarter to give other readers a chance to express their opinions.

You may mail, fax or e-mail your letter, but letters must include your full name (no initials), home address and daytime and evening telephone number(s) for verification. Only your name and city of residence are published. Letters may be edited for publication and become the property of The Times.

Send letters to:

Letters Editor
The Seattle Times
P.O. Box 70
Seattle, WA 98111
Fax: (206) 382-6760
E-mail: opinion@seattletimes.com

Several times a week, The Seattle Times publishes articles by guest writers.

Submissions to The Times should be addressed to:

Ken Rosenthal
The Seattle Times
P.O. Box 70
Seattle, WA 98111
Fax: (206) 382-6760
E-mail: opinion@seattletimes.com

Do's and Don'ts for Op-Ed Writers

• DO have an opinion and state it forcefully. Many opinion pieces submitted are explanations of an issue rather than knowledgeable arguments about an issue.

• DO present the case from the top down. It's usually better to begin with the premise of your opinion rather than assembling the facts and presenting a conclusion at the end.

• DO read the paper. You should at least know some of the basics: the space available daily and Sunday for op-ed material and the general format and tone of the op-eds used.

• DO be timely. Editorial page editors prefer articles about events that are in the news today, rather than last year.

• DO be patient about seeing your article in print. Typically, an author will say, "I've worked on this piece for the past month...can you get it in the paper in the next couple of days?"

• DO be willing to submit simple graphs and charts. They help explain the issue and often enhance the visual presentation.

• DO write tight. Ideally, an op-ed is between 700 and 800 words, although up to 1,000 words are possible for the right topic. A tightly written piece of 750 words often has greater impact because it is more likely to be read.

• DON'T use footnotes or cite references. Nobody cares about them. Obviously, attribution to other authors may be done in the body of the text, but without the formalities of academic writing.

• DON'T demand review of editing or headlines. "Titles" on articles are rarely used because of the nature of type size and formatting used by the paper. Most editors are willing to discuss editing changes for brevity or clarity but are seldom patient with nitpicks. Headlines are usually written by someone else who specializes in that skill.

• DON'T submit the same piece to different papers at the same time. Editors hate to see a piece on their desk appear in a nearby paper. As a general rule, ride one horse at a time.

• DON'T use specialized jargon. Use common English.

For more information regarding op-ed submissions, leave a voice mail message with Ken Rosenthal at (206) 464-2326 or Jim Vesely at (206) 382-6760.

Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company