Op-ed guidelines

Democracy works better when more people take part in the argument. Our blog has mostly carried our own voice. Guest op-eds open it to teachers, farmers, students, small-business owners, pastors, retirees, and anyone else with firsthand knowledge of how decisions at the Capitol and city hall land in real lives.

We publish pieces that inform, persuade, and invite people in. We welcome writers from every part of the state, with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. We publish views we disagree with when they're argued in good faith and meet these standards.

The best pieces make one clear argument about Oklahoma, back it with evidence, and end with something readers can do or think about differently.

• Topics: elections and voting, the Legislature and state agencies, local government, ballot questions, civic education, and policy choices that shape daily life in Oklahoma.
• An Oklahoma connection: national issues are welcome when the piece explains what they mean here.
• Your own experience: tell us what you've seen firsthand. That is what readers can't get anywhere else.
• Length: 250 to 1,000 words.
• Format: plain text pasted into the submission form, with links for any facts or figures. Include a one- or two-sentence bio.

Let's Fix This is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3). Federal law bars us from supporting or opposing candidates for public office, and that rule covers everything we publish, including guest op-eds.

We publish:

• Arguments for or against legislation, rules, and policy ideas
• Analysis of state questions, how they'd work, and what's at stake
• Criticism or praise of what an official has done in office, on the record
• Calls to register, vote, contact lawmakers, or show up

We don't publish:

• Support for or opposition to any candidate, at any level
• Support for or opposition to a political party
• Pieces that compare candidates or tell readers who to vote for
• Fundraising for any campaign, party, or PAC

We read pieces about sitting officials with extra care during election season, when a piece about an incumbent's record can read as campaign material. We do publish pieces urging a yes or no vote on a state question; during election season, we try to pair them with a piece making the other side's case.

• Accurate and sourced. Every fact, figure, and quote has a link or a source we can check. We'll ask about anything we can't confirm.
• Civil. Argue with ideas, not people. No insults, name-calling, or attacks on anyone's identity. Write for the neighbor who disagrees with you.
• Original and exclusive. Your own work, not published anywhere else, and not sent to another outlet while we review it.
• Upfront about affiliations. Tell us your job and any organization, campaign, or client connected to your topic. Relevant ties appear in your bio.
• Under your real name. We don't publish anonymous pieces. An editor may make a rare exception when a writer's safety is at risk.
• Your words. You may use AI tools for research or polish, and you tell us if you did. The argument, the experience, and the final words must be yours.
• One at a time. One piece per writer every 60 days, so more voices get a turn.

An AI gives every piece a first read within a day, and an LFT editor makes every decision. The AI never publishes, rejects, or replies to a writer without a human in the loop.

The first read checks each piece against these guidelines and sends the editor a score card:

• The nonpartisan line: pass or a flag, with the sentences that raised it
• Oklahoma relevance: a score from 1 to 5
• Accuracy and sourcing: a score, plus every claim to verify before publishing
• Clarity and structure: a score, plus suggested edits
• Civility and tone: a score, plus any lines that cross the line
• Originality: a score, and whether the writer disclosed AI use
• Overall: advance, revise, or decline, in two or three sentences

Writers hear from a person within 10 to 14 business days. If you haven't heard from us by then, it isn't a no: write to info@letsfixthis.org and we'll check on it. Approved pieces become a draft blog post, and the editor and writer finish it together.

• We edit for length, clarity, accuracy, and style. We may suggest cuts or ask for sources.
• We write the headline, and you see it before we publish.
• You approve any change to your argument before the piece runs. If we can't agree, either side can walk away.
• If a published piece has an error, we correct it and add a dated note at the bottom saying what changed. We don't quietly rewrite published pieces.

• You keep the copyright. You give Let's Fix This permission to publish the piece on our website and share it in our newsletter and on social media.
• Share it anywhere with a link once it runs. To republish it in another outlet, wait 30 days and note it first appeared on Let's Fix This.
• We don't pay for guest op-eds.
• Every guest op-ed ends with this line: Guest op-eds reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of Let's Fix This.

• Anything that crosses the nonpartisan line above.
• Personal attacks, harassment, threats, or content that demeans people for who they are.
• Claims we can't verify, or that a source contradicts.
• Advertising, product promotion, or pieces written mainly to promote a business or client.
• Pieces written mostly by AI, or copied from someone else's work.
• Pieces already published elsewhere.

• Submissions are stored privately in our content system. Only LFT staff can see them.
• For the first read, the text of your piece and your disclosures are sent to Anthropic's Claude, an AI service, under Anthropic's commercial terms.
• If we publish, we show your name, your bio, and a photo if you send one. We never publish your email address.
• Your name and email are added to our contact list in EveryAction, and you'll get our email updates. Unsubscribe anytime.