Tips to Increase the Odds that your Submission will be Published:

• Write about a current issue of widespread local interest.

• Make it original. Write it yourself. Don't submit copies of letters submitted elsewhere. Don't use a form letter from an organization. If we think your letter sounds like part of a campaign, it doesn't stand a chance

• State your view instead of quoting others. We do not publish extensive quotations

• Set an example by being civil. There's an important distinction between referring to a policy as idiotic and calling someone an idiot

• If you're referring to a previous item in the Statesman Journal, please include the date and title of that item and whether it was in print or online.

• Remember that all submissions are subject to editing for length, grammar, accuracy, libel concerns, clarity and other issues. (Unfortunately, because of time constraints, we cannot offer you pre-publication review of your edited submission. Everything published in a newspaper is subject to editing, and editing often happens on deadline.)

• A submission, even if it falls within our word limits, still might have to be shortened for publication due to space configurations on that day.

• E-mail submissions are greatly preferred because we don't have to retype them into our publishing system.