It's well written and easily understood, send it in and hope for the best.
It depends on the publisher and editors if:
It is printed at all
Printed in its entirety
Shortened and clarified
Edited until the message is gutted
Edited and rewritten until it is barely recognizable and the message is changed but still has your name on it.
Generally, the shorter the better, usually less than 300 words. It seems the local / regional paper in my area has unofficially reduced that maximum to about 150 words.
A couple of times I have had opinion pieces of over a thousand words printed, the one publication (semi regional distribution) placed it in a column normally reserved for op-ed or similar views, the other was a local distribution periodical in which the editor recognized the whole piece was needed in its entirety to make the point - one of the very few pieces I have contributed anywhere which wasn't edited in some fashion.
The editor always has the last word and sometimes allows the occasional contributor to be an idiot (I have taken my turn in that box more than once), it always helps to make the point while being carefully tactful and scrupulously fair as well as demonstrably accurate.
__________________
Freibier gab's gestern
Hay burros en el maiz
RAP IS TO MUSIC WHAT ETCH-A-SKETCH IS TO ART
Don't drink and post. 
"A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat." - Old New York Yiddish Saying
"You can observe a lot just by watching." Yogi Berra
Old journeyman commenting on young apprentices - "Think about it, these are their old days"
SOMETIMES IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
Never, ever, wear a bright colored shirt to a stand up comedy show.
Last edited by ilbegone; 08-11-2013 at 07:51 AM.
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