The most common question I get is, “Can you tell me when my letter will run?” While we are constantly looking for ways to improve our letters process, we cannot guarantee writers a date of publication. That’s because each week, we strive to provide a good mix of letters on various topics from all viewpoints, and also to publish the most timely letters when we can.
There are some things writers can do, however, to improve their chances of getting published as soon as possible. The first is using our form at letters@theadvocate.com. Sending letters to individual writers or to me may delay your submission getting into our system. Second, sending attachments isn’t necessary and can sometimes make it more difficult for us to move it into our system. Third, if you do have a letter commenting on an upcoming event, consider getting it to us at least two weeks in advance.
We also recommend that writers take the time to compose a letter, then perhaps read it again a day later or let a friend read it to make sure it says what you want it to say. Writers sometimes send a letter, then regret it and ask to withdraw it a few days later. Other times, writers want to submit corrections to a letter they have sent. While we usually accommodate these requests, it can make it difficult to choose our letters each week and slow our editing process. I recognize it can be frustrating waiting for your letter to be published, but know we are working to get as many in as soon as we can.
Of course, following the rules and keeping your letters within the 300-word limit and sending only one letter per quarter per writer also makes your letter move quickly to publication. Some like to send letters through the mail, but please know it takes longer for these letters to be entered into our system.
As we faced Hurricane Francine, I didn’t have the opportunity to give you the letter totals for the week of Sept. 5. In that week, we received 51 letters with 29 accepted for publication. The topics that were most popular were: national politics (eight letters), school shootings (seven letters) and voting rights (two letters).
But it was naturally a quieter week as everyone hunkered down for the storm. That should allow us to catch up on our backlog. So hopefully, if you haven’t seen your letter yet, you’ll see it soon.