SUBMITTING A LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Post-Gazette welcomes your letters. Please include your address and phone number for verification. Pseudonyms, anonymous letters and form letters are not published. All letters are subject to editing. Priority is given to letters that are exclusive to the PG. We regret that we can neither print nor acknowledge all the correspondence we receive. Letters accepted for publication also appear on our Web site.

Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@post-gazette.com or by clicking here

By U.S. mail, send letters to:

By fax: 412-263-2014

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POLICIES FOR PUBLISHING LETTERS

The Post-Gazette edits letters for length, clarity and accuracy. Letters should be no more than 250 words. Letters that are concise and stick to one topic have a better chance of being used.

Also, the Post-Gazette limits writers to no more than one published letter every three months, in any section of the paper. This is not a promise, however, that every letter submitted within those guidelines can be used. These policies allow us to have more readers' viewpoints printed in a limited amount of space. Occasionally, we do make exceptions and allow longer letters to be printed, particularly if an organization or person who has been the subject of a news story wants to respond.

Those who have written letters being considered for publication will be contacted by the Post-Gazette. This is not a promise that the letter will be used, but we try to use most letters for which the writer has been contacted.

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SUBMITTING A GUEST COLUMN OR ESSAY

The Post-Gazette encourages you to submit op-ed articles for use on the Perspectives pages and in the Sunday Forum section. Here are submission guidelines, along with background information for first-time writers.

Send the piece by one of the following methods:

E-mail: opinion@post-gazette.com (It's easier to read text in the e-mail message, but we can accept Word files.)

Fax: 412-263-2606 (Attn: Opinion Page)

U.S. Mail:

The ideal op-ed article is a compelling argument about a timely topic by someone in a position of expertise. The writing must be clear and accessible to the general reader. Standard length is between 600 and 800 words. We publish longer pieces in the Sunday Forum.

Our "First Person" feature is a venue for personal essays. We prefer pieces that are topical, linked to the news of the day. But graceful writing, strong voice and humor are the key elements.

An op-ed is not a direct response to an article or commentary published in the Post-Gazette. If you want to offer your own opinion on an issue, feel free to submit an opinion column. In short, an op-ed must be free-standing, not a point-by-point reply to something published in the newspaper. We occasionally publish responses to op-eds and news articles under the heading "In Rebuttal"; they run between 400 and 600 words.

Because we publish so many nationally syndicated columns, we give priority to local writers writing on local topics. We generally don't use unsolicited freelance pieces on national and international issues from outside the region unless the writer has special knowledge or the topic is of local interest.

We welcome query letters. If the subject is appealing, we can let you know what approach works best at the moment.

If the piece is accepted for publication, you will be contacted right away. We require exclusivity in southwestern Pennsylvania. We pay between $50 and $100 for most pieces (though, as is customary, we don't pay writers from advocacy groups or government officials). Op-eds original to the Post-Gazette are posted on our Web site.

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SUBMITTING POETRY

Since 1993, the Post-Gazette has published original poetry every Saturday on the Weekend Perspectives page. We encourage you to submit work for consideration.

The U.S. mail remains the best way to deliver your work. Send to:

You can send via e-mail to nanderson@post-gazette.com; whenever possible, send work as a Word attachment in order to preserve the poem's structure.

Please include your name and phone number on every page and include a cover letter. A brief bio is helpful, though not required.

Please submit no more than three poems at one time. Ideal length is no longer than 30 lines, with stanza breaks. Very long poems, or poems that take on a whimsical shape, like a house or a Christmas tree, cannot be published because of layout restrictions. We believe in poetic license -- but this is a newspaper. We cannot use a poem that contains profanity or themes not suitable for publication elsewhere in the paper.

A panel (composed of writers, professors, editors) outside of the Post-Gazette assists in choosing the work selected for publication. We look for good use of language, sensitive and unique treatment of subject and overall originality. Writers we are likely to select have a tie to Pittsburgh or our circulation area, but do not necessarily have to be residents at the time.

The selection process is, alas, not speedy. We send the poetry in batches to the panel several times a year. But, as noted above, this is a newspaper: A poem in reaction to news events or with a timely element can be considered right away.

If your poem is selected for publication, we will contact you in the week prior to the poem's publication. We pay $25. Our standard freelancer's contract allows you to submit the work elsewhere without seeking the PG's permission.