Ever wonder how important that cover letter really is or whether it impacts your chances at publication?
The common sense answer is: Your cover letter is very important. If you’re a professional, it’s as important as every other piece of your submission. And it’s how you introduce yourself to the editor.
With that in mind, here are some things I’ve come across that can help maximize those first impressions:
- Don’t give the editor a reason to reject the story before reading it. For instance, don’t say it’s Crime fiction when you’re submitting to a Fantasy market. Also goes along with the old rule “Know the publication before you submit.”
- If you’re using a form cover letter (don’t do that either, but if you do), don’t forget to change the name of the last magazine you submitted to. It’s not very encouraging to see “Dear Publication Mars, I hope you like my story,” when you are not in any way affiliated with Publication Mars except as a competitor. (Note: this may be a reason to get your story rejected before it gets read, based on whether or not the editor accepts simultaneous submissions. If he doesn’t, this sort of untidy detail can make it look like you’ve ignored the guidelines, which doesn’t do you any favors.)
- Include a BRIEF bio. Don’t write two separate bios for your pre-writer and current-writer life, don’t say what elementary school you went to or what the name of your first dog was. Describe who you are as an author and what’s important about what you’ve written. If you have something supremely interesting and unusual (like you climbed Mt. Everest or you’re a prize winning scientist), by all means, include that.
- Don’t list five hundred credits from For-the-Love, self-published, unknown press markets. One or two is enough, and if you have 500 publications but no actual sales (meaning, you got a cash payment for the work), the editor will wonder why. And not in a good way.
- Don’t say your story came from a dream, an acid trip, a drunken binge or anything that might suggest you are a fruitcake. Wait until you’re famous for that.
- Don’t tell the editor how important and dramatic and awesome and enlightening and amazing and really interesting your story is. Because if you have to say those things, it probably isn’t.
- Don’t write a sloppy “hook” paragraph. A hook introduces your story to the editor and lets her know what she’s getting into. Personally, I’m not a fan of hooks for short stories, primarily because I believe in letting the story speak for itself. But if you have to write a hook paragraph into your cover letter (and I mean have to – you generally don’t, because guess what? You submitted. That means someone generally has to read your story regardless of the cover letter!) make sure it’s not sloppy. As in: don’t be boring (Well, this is a long, drawn out tale about a prince and princess and all of their adventures), don’t violate the rules above, and make sure you actually convey what the story is about.
- Don’t use submissive language. You might be tempted to violate tip 6 above in order to compensate for this one, but don’t do that either. Submissive language actively works to kill your story before it gets read. It looks like this: “Regardless of your decision,” or “This may not be what you normally publish but,” or “I think this is probably too dark/light/humorous/etc for your publication,” etc. Always present yourself as confident and professional. A writer who believes in her work, presents it professionally and communicates strongly is the kind of writer that editors want to work with.
- Provide contact info! Don’t rely on your story or the submission form for this!
- THANK the editor for reading. It doesn’t cost you anything and it makes you look like you care about what you’re doing.
