acp751

I'm about to send my very first query letter for an idea I have for an article/recurring column. I'm sending it first to a local newspaper. Should I mail it or e-mail it? (or both?). Plus any other advice will be most appreciated. Also, I'm assuming I can make simultaneous submissions of an idea to other publications, am I right?
Note: There are no writers' guidelines for this newspaper on its' website. Thanks everyone.

Ken

If it's a large paper with multiple sections, make sure to address it to the specific editor for the section in which your type of article would appear. You should be able to get this info from the website or in a hardcopy of the paper. If not, call the paper directly and ask for who the editor is for that section and for their contact information.

In other words, make sure your query gets to the correct person.

Good luck!

Ken

__________________
"Doubt is an uncomfortable condition. But certainty is absurd." --Voltaire

murder_of_crows

i am an impaticent person if it were me i would take it there myself but i think in todays world an email or mail would be fine i would just take kens advice and mark it correctly

__________________
Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering. -ida scott taylor

Malone

You have to specify in the query if you are sending it to one than one source. And an unknown writer submitting only an IDEA will 99% of the time get rejected. You need to write up a bunch of example articles to submit if you even want to stand a chance.
Call the paper and see if/how they accept these kind of submissions. They probably don't unless it's a very small paper.
Do research online. There are tons of articles on this sort of thing all over. They're easy to find.

acp751

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Malone, I'm sending two sample articles as well, 500 words each. I'm enclosing a SASE as well, so they can inform me as soon as possible of my rejection... or my acceptance...