How to Write a Letter to the Editor

Action Toolkit
Written By Warwick Democratic Committee

Writing Letters to the Editor is one of the easiest ways to support progressive candidates and causes and shape the public conversation about issues that matter to local voters. Whether you're backing a candidate or speaking up for a cause, a well-placed letter builds support and helps get out the vote.

It's okay if you don't consider yourself a top-notch writer: your voice matters, and simply sharing it with our community helps raise awareness.

Why write a Letter to the Editor?

Letters to the Editor (or “LTEs”) are like a soapbox in the town square. Writing one is an easy, accessible, and free way to share your thoughts with the local community. Letters reach neighbors who don't follow local politics closely, and editors and readers alike notice letter volume as a sign of grassroots support. Your letter might:

  • Raise awareness about something going on in your community or local government.

  • Share your opinion about a candidate or elected official and why you support or don’t support them.

  • Share your opinion about an issue, like school funding, affordable housing, or voting rights.

  • Share a concern for your community or your family and how you feel it should be addressed.

  • Shout out an elected official, teacher, public servant, or other local leader who goes above and beyond.

  • Give praise or offer a rebuttal to a previous LTE or article that appeared in the paper.

Which newspaper should you submit your letter to?

Should you submit your letter to the countywide newspaper LNP LancasterOnline or the more local Lititz Record Express? Both papers are owned by the LNP Media Group, but they have vastly different publishing schedules, readership, and digital versions.

  • FIRST CHOICE: LNP Lancaster Online (“LNP”).

    • We recommend submitting your letter here first, even for Lititz- or Warwick-specific topics.

    • Published daily and new LTEs are posted online several times per week.

    • The LNP website is more accessible and articles are easy to share.

    • Higher local readership; print edition + news website = broader age range of readers.

  • SECOND CHOICE: Lititz Record Express.

    • While this is technically the more local paper, we recommend this be your fallback option only after submitting to LNP.

    • Only published once per week and rarely features letters.

    • NO normal website—the “digital edition” is a clickable version of the printed paper; it’s clunky, hard to navigate, and hard to share.

    • Local readership is much smaller; no website = likely more mature readership, few younger readers.

You can certainly submit your letter to both newspapers, but if you’re only going to submit to one, send your letter to LNP.

Guidelines for getting your letter published

Check the newspaper’s official ‘Letters to the Editor’ policy.

Follow the word limit.

  • LNP: limits letters to 250 words and their online submission form cuts you off at precisely that number. They've been known to be a little more flexible by email or postal mail, but don't push your luck.

  • Lititz Record Express: doesn't state a word limit, but aim for around 250 words anyway.

Include the required contact info.

Include your name, address, municipality, phone, and email when submitting. Only your name and municipality (e.g., "Jane Doe, Lititz Borough") get published with your letter—the rest is used to verify your identity. LNP may reach out to confirm before publishing, so watch for a call or email.

Your municipality is the city, borough, or township where you pay local taxes. If you live in Warwick School District, your municipality will be either Lititz Borough, Warwick Township, or Elizabeth Township. If you don’t know your municipality, you can look it up here.

You’re limited to one letter published per paper every 30 days.

LNP and LRE each run on their own 30-day clock—a letter published by one doesn't restart the other's timer. This only applies to published letters; if a paper declines to publish your letter, the 30-day wait doesn't apply and you can submit again right away.

Pay attention to the pre-election cutoff date.

  • LNP: The cutoff for submission of election-related letters is one week before the relevant election.

  • Lititz Record Express: The cutoff for submission to each week's edition is Monday at noon. The last edition before an election only runs "straight rebuttals of a previous letter or endorsements of a candidate."

✅ Tips for writing an impactful Letter to the Editor

Make sure your letter covers the “Five Ws” of journalism.

  1. WHO? Name the candidate, politician, or cause you’re writing about. Yes, you are allowed to name candidates in your letter!

  2. WHAT? Do you want readers to pay attention to something they may not be aware of? Do you want them to take action?

  3. WHERE? Does this issue affect a particularly local group of people, like Lititz Borough residents or students in Warwick School District?

  4. WHEN? Do you want them to do something time-sensitive, like vote? Include the date of the election!

  5. WHY? What are the stakes or consequences? Why is this important? What could happen?

Personal stories resonate more than platitudes.

Your story and lived experience are powerful tools to help readers see things from your perspective. What's at stake for you, your kids, your family, or the people you care about? What values do you and the reader likely share?

Balance negative consequences with a clear Call-to-Action (CTA).

It's okay to talk about the bad things that could happen if people don’t pay attention, but balance it out by very clearly telling them how we can avoid those things. Tell the reader exactly what you want them to do.

Include a click-worthy headline for your letter.

You’ll notice that some of the LTE examples below have short, vague headlines like, “Importance of Warwick election.” Often, that’s because the letter writer didn’t include a headline with their submission, so the editors wrote one that simply describes the topic of the letter.

Other letters have much more detailed and compelling titles, like, “Voter suppression efforts are greatest threat we face from Trump administration.” That much more flavorful headline means that the letter writer probably wrote it themselves.

LNP won’t always use your suggested headline verbatim, but you should always include one. Try to keep it at 10 words or less.

Consider a letter-writing party!

Writing letters together with friends is a great way to get a lot written in a short amount of time. Brainstorm ideas, write your letters, proofread each other's work, then stagger your submissions to send 2–3 letters per week.

🛑 Things to avoid in your Letter to the Editor

Don't beat around the bush—use the candidates’ names!

If you want the reader to act on something, don't assume they'll be able to read between the lines. Tell them exactly what you want them to do or who you're encouraging them to vote for. Writers often get shy about naming candidates, but it's okay to be direct in an LTE! This is your opinion,

For example, instead of, 'Vote for the candidate who will prioritize affordable housing' (mysterious!), say, 'Vote for Jane Doe because she will prioritize affordable housing!'

Don’t make claims you can’t back up.

Aside from being disingenuous, LNP simply won’t print them. Do we all suspect that Josh Parsons kicks puppies in his spare time? Sure. But we can’t prove it, so they won’t print it. Some things need to remain indoor thoughts.

Don’t stuff your letter with excessive facts and data.

As counterintuitive as it is, arguing with facts and data has been shown to be one of the least effective ways to change someone’s opinion. Yes, that’s frustrating, but it also makes sense if you think about human nature—you’re positioning yourself as more enlightened and educated than the reader, which triggers their instinct to defend their stance, rather than reconsider it.

Instead, lean on your personal experiences and shared values to help the reader relate to you as an equal who is just like them.

Don’t repeat misinformation or extremist buzzwords.

Don't give extremist talking points more oxygen by repeating them and avoid adopting their loaded right-wing buzzwords. Extremist narratives don't resonate with average voters anyway, but repeating them, even critically or sarcastically (“Just a proud ‘woke liberal’ over here!”) can bestow a sense of seriousness on them that they don’t deserve. Let them do their own PR.

Example Letters to the Editor

We’re proud to have some prolific local Letter Writers! Here are a few examples of Letters to the Editor written by Warwick Democrats.

How to submit your Letter to the Editor

Ready to submit your letter? Here we go!

  1. Do a final check for wordcount, grammar, and spelling. Reading your letter aloud can help you catch your mistakes.

  2. Have a friend read it to make sure it's clear and lands with the tone you intend, or send it to our LTE Team—we’re happy to help!

  3. Decide how you’ll submit your letter: online form, email, or snailmail. We recommend the online form, as it ensures all of necessary info is included, but note that you’ll need to put your suggested headline in the body of your letter, which goes toward your wordcount.

  4. Make sure to include your name, address, phone, email, and municipality (Lititz Borough, Elizabeth Township, or Warwick Township).

Submit your letter to LNP LancasterOnline (Recommended)

  • OPTION 1 – Online Form: Fill out the submission form here and under Publication select “LNP LancasterOnline.”

  • OPTION 2 – Email: Paste your letter into the body or attach a document and send to LancasterLetters@lnpnews.com.

  • OPTION 3 – Postal Mail: Letters to the Editor, c/o LNP LancasterOnline, PO Box 1328, Lancaster, PA 17608

Submit your letter to the Lititz Record Express

  • OPTION 1 – Online Form: Fill out the submission form here and under Publication select “Lititz Record.”

  • OPTION 2 – Email: Paste your letter into the body or attach a document and send to Pburns.Eph@lnpnews.com.

  • OPTION 3 – Postal Mail: Letters to the Editor, c/o Lititz Record Express, PO Box 527, Ephrata, PA 17522

After submitting, wait about two weeks before following up. If your letter hasn’t been published and no one has reached out to you via phone or email (check your spam folder), follow up via email at the email addresses above.

After your letter has been published

If your letter has been published, promote it!

  1. Copy the link to your LTE and share it on Facebook.

  2. Take a photo of your letter in the paper and share it on Instagram.

  3. Get creative and record yourself reading it!

  4. Tag us @WarwickDemsPA on Facebook and Instagram so we can share it, too!

Thank You for Your Support!

Every Letter to the Editor is a small act with real impact. It reaches your neighbors, shapes the conversation, and reminds Warwick voters they're not alone in caring about these issues. Thank you for taking the time to add your voice.

If you have questions or need a hand with your letter, reach our LTE Team at letters@warwickdemspa.com!

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Warwick Democratic Committee https://warwickdemspa.com