Every month, the typical small-town newspaper editor receives hundreds or even thousands of letters from readers.

Still, many are unprintable either because they are too long, too confusing or just plain offensive.

That means it's not that hard to get your letter published, provided you follow a few simple rules.

Here are a few tips to better your chances:

What to Do:

* Stay within the word limit. Each newspaper has a set limit on how long published letters are allowed to be, so check the limit before you start writing. The Beaverton Valley Times in Oregon, for example, asks for 300 words or fewer, while The Citizen in Auburn, New York, has a limit of 400 words.

The Pantagraph in Illinois allows even fewer words, explained opinion editor Lenore Sobota.

"We have a 250-word limit, because we don't have enough room to print all the letters we receive. [The word limit] gives more people the opportunity to get their letter published," she said.

* Think Locally. Small papers focus on local news, so you should address issues concerning residents of your town specifically.

"We want local topics. That's one mistake people make, writing about something happening in Mexico or Venezuela that doesn't really affect our readership," said Michael Dowd, the managing editor of The Citizen in Auburn, NY. "We're looking for local people writing about local topics."

It also helps if you're also local. Sobota said the Pantagraph only prints letters from people who live in the paper's circulation area.

* Sign Your Name — and Number. Include your contact information for follow-up questions from the editor.

"We contact every letter writer by phone to determine to the best of our best ability if they're the person who wrote it," Dowd said.

For each letter to the editor to The Citizen, he requires a signature, the author's hometown, and phone number.

* Write about positive issues in the community from time to time. Even though they're used to getting a lot of negative mail, editors like to see a nice word from time to time.

"We also publish 'thank you' (letters) especially if they are about a non-profit organization who has done something positive for the community." said Tish Flattery, the news assistant at The Waterloo/Cedar Falls Daily Courier in Iowa.