How to Write an Op-Ed That Editors Publish

To write an op-ed that editors publish, argue one clear position about a current news story and support it with specific evidence from your own experience. Send it to an opinion section your buyers read, follow that section’s guidelines on length and exclusivity, and offer it to one publication at a time.

An op-ed is the one kind of earned media you write yourself, so no reporter decides which part of your argument reaches print. Below I compare local, trade, and national editorial pages and give you a complete outline for your first draft.

What is an op-ed?

An op-ed is an opinion article about a news issue, written by someone outside the publication’s newsroom, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s opinion submission page. Because it argues one position under your byline, buyers see how you think, with the credibility of a publication they already trust.

Local, trade, or national: Which opinion section fits you?

The right opinion section is usually the publication your buyers read every week. Smaller outlets close to your audience are often more accessible for a first op-ed, and my guide to getting press coverage explains why.

Local and regional newspapers want arguments about their own communities, and the Inquirer says plainly that local is better than national. In California, CalMatters publishes commentary on state policy, politics, and quality-of-life issues.

Trade publications reach the specific professionals who buy from you, which often makes them the strongest first choice. Every industry I have worked in since 2018, from food and construction to logistics, gaming, and technology, has trade journals its buyers read closely. Construction Dive asks for op-eds on a timely issue that adds value to an industry discussion.

National opinion sections have the largest audience and attract experienced writers from across the country. Publish in local or trade sections first, and mention those published articles when you approach a national editor.

Step 1: Read the submission page before you write

Every opinion section sets its own guidelines, and here is how four of them compared when I reviewed their submission pages in October 2026:

• The Philadelphia Inquirer suggests about 700 words, prefers a full draft to a pitch, and asks for five business days to review it.
• CalMatters takes commentary of no more than 650 words, and the piece must be exclusive to CalMatters.
• Supply Chain Dive says the average submission runs roughly 1,000 words, and it keeps exclusive rights for at least 30 days after publication.
• City & State New York wants 600 to 1,200 words with a New York angle, and a week with no reply means the answer is no.

These guidelines change, so review the publication’s submission page every time you submit, even for a section you already know. The Christian Science Monitor, for example, now says on its contributor guidelines page that it no longer has an op-ed page and does not accept unsolicited opinion pieces.

Step 2: Tie your opinion to the news

Editors need a timely reason to publish your article this week, and the Inquirer asks writers to tie op-eds to current news issues. It also notes that news moves faster than most fields, so an argument about a story from two weeks ago may already feel late.

For a trade section, the news can be a new regulation or an industry report, which often arrives on a date you can predict. Keep a calendar of those dates so you can draft early and submit a polished article within a day or two of the announcement.

Step 3: Choose an op-ed topic you can argue

If you are stuck choosing a topic, start with what you observe inside your own business, because that is where your evidence already exists. These op-ed topics suit most founders, since each one draws on experience you already have:

• A new regulation and what it costs the people you serve.
• A local problem your business sees firsthand, such as hiring or permits, with a fix you can defend.
• An industry habit that your own results contradict.
• A cost or delay your clients face that nobody measures, with your own figures to show it.

Step 4: State your argument in one sentence

Before you draft, write your argument as one sentence that someone in your industry could reasonably dispute. An op-ed idea that only describes a problem gives an editor nothing to publish, and strong opinions help only when you can defend them. If you are unsure of your point of view, my guide on how to become a thought leader helps you identify a position you can defend.

The same idea lands differently in a city newspaper and a trade publication, so shape your sentence with one of these patterns:

• Local section: “[A rule or trend] is costing [people in this city] [a specific cost], and [the people who can fix it] should [one specific action].”
• Trade section: “Most [businesses in this industry] still [a common practice], and [what your own work shows] means they should [a better practice] before [a date or event].”

Step 5: Support it with evidence only you have

Support each argument with something from your own business, such as a pattern across clients or a figure from your records. Link every outside statistic to its original source, because the Inquirer asks for hyperlinks to sourcing and Supply Chain Dive fact-checks submissions before publication.

Save your company’s name for your bio line, because an op-ed that reads like an advertisement is easy to decline. Supply Chain Dive reserves the right to decide whether a piece is promotional, and the Inquirer asks writers to avoid open letters and press releases.

How to structure an op-ed: A fill-in template

For a 700-word article, give about 100 words to an opening that names the news event and states your position. Give about 425 words to three or four paragraphs, each with one reason and its evidence, and then spend about 100 on the strongest objection. Close with about 75 words on a specific call to action, which the Inquirer suggests writers consider.

Copy this op-ed template and complete every bracket before you write your first full draft:

• Headline: [Your position, in under 12 words].
• Opening: This week, [news event] showed [what is happening]. I believe [your one-sentence argument].
• Why it matters: [People in this city or industry] now face [the cost or risk].
• Point 1: [Your first reason], seen in [an example from your own work].
• Point 2: [Your second reason], with [a figure linked to its source].
• Point 3 (optional): [Your third reason], with [your evidence].
• Counterargument: Some will say [the strongest objection]. [What is fair about it]. My position holds because [your answer].
• Close: [Who] should [one specific action] by [a date, if one fits].
• Bio: [Your name] is [your role] at [your company], where [the work that qualifies you].
• Disclosure: [Any financial stake or policy work tied to the topic, or “None”].

How to submit an op-ed

Each section tells you where to submit an op-ed, and the methods differ. The Inquirer wants its online submission form and discourages email attachments, while CalMatters accepts commentary by email. For an email submission, paste the draft into the message body with a short note giving your headline, one sentence on why it is timely, and your bio.

Every section in Step 1 that takes op-eds wants unpublished work, and several require exclusivity, so offer your op-ed to one outlet at a time. If the response window passes in silence, send a short withdrawal note so the article is available for the next publication on your list.

Disclose any conflict of interest in your submission note, as the Inquirer asks writers to declare lobbying work or significant financial stakes in their topic. If a section wants a pitch before the full draft, my guide on how to write a media pitch shows you how to structure one.

What to do after your op-ed runs

My press coverage guide explains how to share an article once it is live, and the same steps work for an op-ed. Review the publication’s rights terms before you republish the full text on your own website. Construction Dive and Supply Chain Dive keep exclusive rights for at least 30 days after publication, so link to the original article until then.

A published op-ed also gives AI assistants an independent source for your point of view, and my guide on how to appear in ChatGPT answers explains why that matters.

Frequently asked questions

Op-ed vs editorial: What is the difference?

An op-ed is written by someone outside the publication, while an editorial states the publication’s own opinion. The Philadelphia Inquirer says its editorials are researched and written by its Editorial Board, a group of journalists who work separately from the newsroom.

What is the difference between an op-ed and a letter to the editor?

A letter to the editor is a short reply, often to something the publication has already printed, while an op-ed is a complete argument in its own right. The Inquirer caps letters at 200 words and CalMatters at 150, and CalMatters asks letter writers to name the article they are answering.

How long should an op-ed be?

Use the length the publication asks for, since limits vary widely between opinion sections. CalMatters caps commentary at 650 words, the Inquirer suggests about 700, and Supply Chain Dive reports an average of roughly 1,000.

Can I submit the same op-ed to more than one newspaper?

You can, but only one at a time, because opinion sections expect unpublished work and several require exclusivity. Give the first section the full response window its submission page lists, and withdraw the piece before you offer it elsewhere.

Can I use AI to write an op-ed?

Check the section’s policy first, because several publications ban AI-written op-eds outright. The Philadelphia Inquirer rejects pieces written by or with the help of AI programs, and Supply Chain Dive and Construction Dive also reject AI-generated op-eds.