No one wants your op-ed? I’ll tell you why.

I’d wager that 95 out of 100 people who write an op-ed draft skip the most important part of the process. And that’s why 95 out of 100 op-eds fail.

Many aspiring op-ed writers spend too much time worrying about their audience, or the quality of their writing, when coming up with an article. That’s a mistake.

The path to a brilliant column is much simpler: The best op-eds come from original ideas.

That’s it.

If you’re confident that you have a truly original idea for an opinion piece right now, then you can stop reading. Go write it and send it to the New York Times. Even if they don’t take it, there’s a good chance you’ll eventually get it published somewhere respectable.

But if not, you’ll need to stick with me for a few minutes. 

If you google “how to write an op-ed,” you’ll find plenty of articles that explain the process of writing an effective opinion piece. They explain how to write a lead, structure the article, build your supporting points, introduce tension, etc. Some of these articles are very helpful.

But even if you follow every signpost of the op-ed process perfectly, there’s no point in making the trek if no one wants what you have when you reach the end. 

Going through the effort to write an op-ed is extremely laborious and time-intensive. You need to find an idea, write a draft, edit the draft, find the right publication to send it to, pitch it, wait for the editor, make revisions with the editor if they accept it, wait for the editor to publish the piece and promote it on your channels once it’s up. And if an editor rejects your piece, you have to do the second part of that process over again until you find someone who wants it. Looming over all of this is the risk that no one wants it.

Before you commit to what sounds like the editorial equivalent of a root canal, it’s only logical to make sure you have a rock-solid foundation in place. If you spend most of your time at the beginning of the process, you can mitigate your risk and save yourself from unnecessary stress and wasted time.

This may sound simple, but because most people don’t approach op-eds this way, I think it’s worth emphasizing: If you want to write an op-ed that editors want to publish and people want to read, you need to have something new to say. 

Where does novelty come from? Literally anywhere. Inspiration can stem from a conversation you had with your hair stylist. It can be from a line in a children’s book. It might pop into your head as soon as you wake up in the morning. Maybe you saw something interesting on a bus ad.

If you get a burst of excitement about an idea, ask yourself if you are well-qualified to write about the topic based on your experience and skills. If you are, then congratulations. You’ve found the kernel of a great op-ed.

If you dedicate yourself to finding an original idea, the rest of the process will be immeasurably better. If you still need writing, editing or pitching help, then hire someone. They’ll have a much smoother experience working with you if you start off with a novel and thought-provoking thesis. And if you choose to produce it yourself, you’ll already have an iron grasp on the topic, which will make writing and pitching the piece a lot easier. 

Many people who fail to place an op-ed on their first try conclude that it’s just too difficult. I won’t deny that it’s hard. But if you devote time to the creative stage of the process, you’ll increase your chances of success considerably.