• It is much easier to publish a letter to the editor than it is to get a story written by a reporter.

• Your letter has the best chance of being published if it is a reaction to a story in the paper. Respond as quickly as you can.

• Letters should have a clear message. Focus on one main point and make a compelling case.

• Letters should be concise, to the point and original. Lead with your most important information.

• Letters are usually 2-3 paragraphs (approximately 150-200 words); they are more likely to be printed if they are short and clear. The paper will take the liberty to shorten your letter to suit its format; the more it has to cut, the less control you have of what gets printed.

• The tone of the letter should be straightforward, civil and sincere.

• You can write the letter as an indiv­idual or as a representative of an organization such as your SFT chapter.

• Present a local angle - if you are a member of an SFT chapter make that clear and stress that your chapter is one of 650 around the world - you represent a larger group and a powerful, widely supported international movement.

• Exercise your power as a constituent and call upon your elected political representatives, by name, to take action on behalf of Tibet and Tibetans.

• Highlight a human-interest element, if appropriate, by portraying the Tibetan situation through the story of an individual Tibetan like the young Panchen Lama or another Tibetan political prisoner.

• Put your full name, address and phone number at the top of the page and sign the letter at the bottom. You must include a phone number for verification purposes.

How are these letters used?

Newspapers and magazines print letters to the editor in part to allow others to raise or comment on issues that editors themselves may not. The letters section can provide a forum for local and regional awareness building about Tibet and help expose the community to new or challenging topics within the Tibet issue.

Any time you see an article about China or your country’s relations with China in your local paper that you feel does not give full or accurate treatment to Tibet, take the opportunity to express your opinion in a letter to the editor. Alternatively, if you see an article that you feel represents the issue fairly and accurately, take the opportunity to write in and say so!

What can these letters accomplish?

Letters to the editor can be effective in getting your message out to others and raising the profile of Tibet in your community and beyond.

Letters can also be used to keep an issue in the public's eye over an extended period of time if a series of letters about a single issue can get printed. This might take the form of an exchange between multiple writers with different positions or comments on an issue.