By Sarah A. Martin, DNP, MS, CPNP-AC/PC
Writer’s Camp Counselor
Nurses are experts with powerful voices that can bring about change.
I love writing which has mostly been of the scholarly variety, until recently. After volunteering to be the social media chair for “On Call 4 Kids,” a bipartisan group of health care providers with a mission to ensure no child falls victim to gun violence, I was charged with helping others write an op-ed. As I had never written an opinion piece, I embarked on a learning journey. I attended an Op-Ed project workshop coupled with mentoring and wrote my first piece after that. Cozy up to the campfire as I share my story of writing it and things I learned in the process: what an op-ed is, key questions to contemplate when writing one, its basic structure, and finally, pitching and submission considerations.
Learning the Ropes
Op-eds are opinion pieces authored by expert community members. In print newspapers, these pieces are published “opposite the editorial page,” hence the name. If you write one, plan on 600 to 900 of the most thoughtful, impactful, pithy words you can possibly put on paper. Op-ed authors aspire to “change the world” and offer insightful commentary and opinion on an issue of the day. There are usually no references and they are published within hours to days.
My op-ed writing journey began with attending the core workshop “Write to Change the World” offered by the Op-Ed Project. The workshop was a wonderful experience, and through it, I learned what I needed to become a novice opinion writer. The Op-Ed Project1 teaches five questions that need answers when writing an op-ed:
- How do you establish credibility?
- How do you build an evidence-based, value-driven argument?
- Why should others care?
- What is the difference between being right and being effective?
- Do you understand your own experience and value to others?
These questions provide the basic structure for the op-ed. You have 7 to 30 seconds of reader time to establish credibility, which helps you to build your argument that supports a call for action.
Unexpected Help from a Variety of People
Following the workshop, my draft of “A Pediatric Nurse’s Plea for Help with the Firearm Epidemic” was reviewed by a journalist mentor. I made the changes suggested by my mentor and continued to refine my writing with coaching from an unexpected source—the best kind in my opinion.
As a regular “back of the pack” runner on Saturday mornings, I have had the opportunity to dialogue with warm, supportive, thoughtful runners, many of whom have become friends and trusted colleagues. One of my running friends offered to arrange a meeting with her husband, an attorney who had published an op-ed in the New York Times, to review my work. Of course, I said yes. A Zoom meeting was scheduled.
My friend’s husband reviewed both my pitch and my piece. A pitch is your “cover letter.”2 Your headline is your email subject line in your pitch to an editor. Your “bait,” a maximum of 200 words, is used to get a “bite.” I used an anecdote to establish my credibility by stating my firsthand experience caring for pediatric firearm victims with life-altering injuries. Editors for these columns at major newspapers receive 50 to 60 submissions per day, with a huge number of rejections. In the closing minutes of our meeting, my friend’s husband asked if I had shared my submission with my employer. My answer was “No.” He then asked if I needed my job and I said “Yes.” The decision was made: I had to inform the higher-ups at my institution about my contemplated publication.
After revision, I emailed my op-ed to a Public Relations contact at my employer and within 24 hours I received feedback from the Senior Vice President and Chief External Affairs Officer, the Vice President for Government Relations, the Chief Compliance and Integrity Officer, and the Director of Public Affairs and Communications. You can imagine that I was a little bit stunned! Their thoughtful and expeditious feedback gave me necessary edits and deletions for this politically polarizing topic. After making the changes suggested by these organizational leaders I was ready to submit.
Submitting to a Newspaper
The timing of submission requires thinking through several factors. As you do not want your email to get lost in an editor’s inbox, it is best to submit early to mid-week; the days around holidays are not recommended although I didn’t exactly follow that advice. Like a scholarly publication, you should read the guidelines for op-ed writers, which can be accessed on a newspaper’s website. A number of news outlets are listed in the On Call 4 Kids media database too, which is a helpful resource.
My “hook” was the second anniversary of the Highland Park mass shooting that occurred on July 4th, and I submitted on July 3rd to the Chicago Tribune, considering the news cycle. Per the submission guidelines, I waited 48 hours. When I had not heard a word, I knew my submission had not been accepted. There are no rejections, just acceptance emails. There is a statement in the guidelines that you are free to submit to other publications after 48 hours.
Writing takes perseverance and I shifted my focus to a nursing journal with an opinion column. I submitted it to the American Journal of Nursing and it was accepted.3 Looking back, it’s a little bit what Nicoll writes about regarding journal due diligence.4 The Chicago Tribune was my “stretch” publication outlet. The American Journal of Nursing is undoubtedly important and widely read, and my piece was noticed: Brady United has been in touch. Still, I feel a little bit like I am preaching to the choir. I remain committed to writing an op-ed on this topic for a major news outlet and getting it published.
Conclusion
I am steadfast in my work to combat the leading cause of death in children, firearm violence. Publishing opinion pieces allows for meaningful and spontaneous networking, which I have experienced through LinkedIn and writing my opinion piece. Op-eds are needed and are a new writing voice for nurses to support needed change. Nurses hold expert knowledge for numerous health care topics and have the power to change outcomes for our individual patients, families, and communities. Keep the campfire going as I continue to ponder my ideas and free-write while working on my next op-ed!
References
- Op-Ed Writing: The Basics —. The OpEd Project. Accessed May 31, 2025. https://www.theopedproject.org/resources
- Pitching —. The OpEd Project. Accessed May 31, 2025. https://www.theopedproject.org/pitching
- Martin SA. A Pediatric nurse’s plea for help with the firearm epidemic. American Journal of Nursing, 2025; 125(4):9. doi:10-1097/AJN.0000000000000042.
- Nicoll LH. Manuscript Success: Journal Due Diligence. The Writer’s Camp Journal, 2025;1(1), 10. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.15570045
Author: Sarah A. Martin
Editor: Leslie H. Nicoll
© 2025 Writer’s Camp and Sarah A. Martin. CC-BY-ND 4.0
Citation: Martin SA. Writing an Op-ed for Change. The Writer’s Camp Journal, 2025; 1(1):13. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.15594412
-