Short Story Cover letter - Writers Forum

enron1982 · 09-05-2007, 10:10 AM

Any good websites or resources i can use for samples/how to's on cover letters.
Any advice?

Mike C · 09-05-2007, 10:20 AM

Just keep it brief.

Dear ****

Please find enclosed/attached my short story 'Name of Story' (2,500 words) for your consideration.

My work has previously appeared in...

or

Short bio available on request.

Regards

Enron

enron1982 · 09-05-2007, 10:33 AM

So if this is my first attempt ever at submitting anything, do i not include a brief bio? Should i not say anything about myself at all?

enron1982 · 09-05-2007, 11:59 AM

Sorry for the plethora of questions....

so does that mean i tell a little bit about the story, or do i just let them read it?

surrealist · 09-05-2007, 12:00 PM

Just let them read it. They're going to do it anyway, and they don't need a preview of it.

surrealist · 09-05-2007, 12:35 PM

None of what you said applies to the submission of a short story, which is what the original poster is trying to submit. It isn't a "manuscript", nor a novel. It's a story, and he's going to look dead silly if he drafts out a page's worth of begging the editors to read it. OP, listen to the people who are offering you advice on how to write a short story's cover letter. So far in this thread, that's me, and that's Mike C.

surrealist · 09-05-2007, 01:03 PM

I'm not going to get into an argument with you. I've published my fair share of stories in the past year, and your advice has nothing to do with publishing stories. This will be my last response to you.

To Enron: good luck with your cover letter. I would suggest following something akin to Mike's advice, or the following, which is similar to my preferred letter format.

---

Dear (Editor's name),

Enclosed is my [short story/fiction] submission, [title] for your consideration. It is attached as an MS Word document, and is [x] words long.

Best,
[name].

[Address].

Biography (2-3 sentences):
[name's stories have most recently appeared in x and y].

---

If you don't have prior publication credits, either leave the biography blank or write something to the effect of [name lives and writes in [state]]. You basically want a clean, simple letter that addresses the editor, names your manuscript, and if desired, offers a small list of prior publications.

Once you're more comfortable with it, you can switch it up as you approach different editors. Some magazines are more formal, with authors listing several credits to their names, while others are more laid-back, with authors using humor in their biographies. In some cases, you may not know the names of the editors (or there may be several), in which case I'd address them collectively as "Dear Editors of X magazine", etc. But the basic format, as I do it, is outlined above.

enron1982 · 09-05-2007, 02:06 PM

LoL. I'm so confused.....

Mike C?

Truth-Teller · 09-05-2007, 03:08 PM

Do NOT WRITE AN EFFING COVER LETTER for Short Story.

You will look like an ass.

wmd · 09-05-2007, 09:00 PM

Enron...

Everything submitted gets a cover letter. For a short story the cover letter looks just like what Mike posted... go with that. No need to summarize the story in the letter. The publisher might not read the whole thing, but they will read the first few paragraphs and if you hook them they will read the whole thing and find out what the story is about.

A Cover letter is different than a query. A query would also get a cover letter, but if you are sending a query you are summarizing your work and asking if they want to see the whole manuscript. This is not usually done with a short, just novel manuscripts.

If you are sending the whole manuscript to a publisher that has not asked for it than you are submitting an unsoliceted manuscript, not a query. This is not usually done with novel manuscripts, just short stories.

I listen to a lot of advice on this board, but personally would not take advice from someone that calls other names and tries harder at pointing out mistakes than offering advice.

Mike C · 09-06-2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WordWeaver

Ok, just never give advice again until you actually know what the hell you are talking about.

Good advice - you should follow it.

Contrary to your ridiculous blathering, in my experience magazine editors do read every single story submitted. The may not read every word, but they look at every story. The often DON'T read the accompanying letter; if it's an online submission, it's likely they may not look at it at all. Either way, it's the story they're interested in, not your potted version, or the bit about your cat, and how you live up a mountain with only goats for company. If they publish you, they'll ask you for a brief bio, and they won't care if you've been published 100 times before, or never. It's the story you submitted they're judging, not your past successes.

Hobbes · 09-06-2007, 03:39 PM

As nearly everyone has suggested, ignore wordweaver, and listen to Mike C and surrealist - two blokes who actually know what they're talking about. Peace.

Hobbes · 09-06-2007, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WordWeaver

All bow down to Mike C. His word is law, regardless of how arbitrary and vague his wordly advice always seems to be. What a crock.

Oh, shut up and quit whining. You've been proven an idiot multiple times in this thread, and you insist on digging yourself deeper in. Mike and surrealist were right, you were wrong. Let it go.

Mike C · 09-06-2007, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WordWeaver

But yes, ignore me for stressing the importance of a query.

We're trying, but you won't go away.

Let me try to simplify it for you. A query letter and a cover letter are different things. A query letter you will sent to an agent or publisher if you're shopping a novel. It will tell a bit about you, a bit about the book and something about how you see it marketed. It's advertising.

A cover letter will accompany a short story. It's not a query. It's just an intro. Can you imagine writing a thousand word query for a short that may only be 500 words long? Don't be stupid.

And editors of lit mags do read every submission. I've worked as senior fiction editor on two magazines, and know editors of several others. I don't just pluck theory out of the air as you seem to do, and present it as fact. I don't shout loudly to make myself look good at others expense, as you do. I'm telling you because I know from experience both as a published writer and as a fiction editor.

Quote:

Considering most editors that I know can't possibly find the time to read every single story submitted...

How many do you know? Care to name them?

Hobbes · 09-06-2007, 06:02 PM

Here's a sample of a query: Sample Query Letter

Quote:

Editor's Name
Assistant Editor
Silhouette Books
300 E. 42nd Street
6th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Dear Ms. Name, Never just use Dear Editor

To start off, give the name and length and type of manuscript you are sending.
A COWBOY'S WILL is a completed 57,000 word contemporary romance set in Louisiana. This story is targeted
for the Silhouette Desire line.

Next add the meat of your query... Remember that teaser on the back of the book. You don't have much more
room than that. A good query should be no more than one page long.
Grady Reid was a good man, and somewhat of a match maker. He was also the closest thing to family Cody
Lawrence had. When Grady died, he left half of his cattle ranch to Cody. Grady left the other half to his only
grandchild, Blair Taylor from New York. They would each get their half, but only if they spent a month together on
the ranch. Problem was, a month could seem like a lifetime when two people were so different, and disliked each
other as much as Blair and Cody did.

This is where you brag. Add anything that shows you are a serious writer who has studied her craft.
I have been writing for almost ten years. Romance is my first love, though for now it is freelance writing that helps to
pay the bills. Over the years Iâ€™ve completed a few other romance novels, some historical. I've been a member
of Romance Writers of America, Southern Louisiana Romance Writers, a number of on-line writer's groups, and of
a wonderful critique group where I was fortunate to work with a published author. I'm proud to add that this
manuscript was a finalist this year in the Molly writing contest.

Don't forget the SASE, and don't forget the thank you!
If you are interested, I will gladly send you either the first three chapters of this story, or the complete manuscript. I
have enclosed a synopsis and a SASE for your reply. If you prefer, you can send an e-mail. Thanks very much for
your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Your name

That's a query. It's different from a cover letter. See how it's geared towards the submission of a MANUSCRIPT? As in A NOVEL? As in SOMETHING MUCH DIFFERENT FROM A SHORT STORY? IE, what surrealist was saying when you blathered in idiocy on page one? You've clearly shown you can't tell a query letter from a cover letter, and the only possible way to save face now would be to simply apologize, and stop arguing. What you see above is a query. It is NOT a cover letter. It is *NOT* sent in accompaniment to short stories, as a rule. What is sent with short stories - whether online or in print - is a cover letter. What does a cover letter look like, you ask?

There are two fine examples of cover letters on the previous page. For your own sake, listen to everyone, and learn the difference. Enron, it should be obvious by now which people on this thread have actually submitted (and PUBLISHED) short stories, and which people were the laughingstocks of editors. You want to emulate the former, and not the latter.