I’m about to send a short story off to an SF/fantasy magazine, and they specifically request a cover letter. So I read up on what exactly a cover letter is supposed to contain, and everyone says the same thing: list your previous publications. Yeah, great, except I don’t HAVE any previous publications. So what’s left? The title, word count, “I hope you’ll consider my story” line? Isn’t all that obvious from the manuscript itself? The title and word count are there, my name and address are there, and obviously I want it considered for publication, so what’s the point of the cover letter?
And while we’re on the subject, do most writers include a cover letter even when it’s not requested? I’ve submitted two stories before and did not include a cover letter. Some people say do it anyway; some say don’t. Aaarggh!
Do whatever the guidelines tell you to do. If they want a cover letter and you have no credits, don’t sweat it. But think about your target magazine. If it’s pro-level then it’s true that non-professional credits won’t mean much. But if it’s a magazine that just pays in copies, anything you’d had published before might be evidence that you are a serious writer that someone else has taken note of.
If you truly have nothing whatsoever to put down, just do exactly as you did: I hope you’ll consider my story. And name and address and phone number and e-mail address and anything else that might help them contact you. I got a call from England once when a story of mine was exactly the right size to plug a hole at a deadline. You might also put in writing that you are including an SASE so they’ll be sure to look for it.
Editors sometimes want a cover letter just for inventory purposes. It helps them to know what’s come in and what they have taken care of. Or they can jot down notes on it, telling themselves that you’re someone to watch out for in the future even if this story didn’t work. And some editors don’t even bother to write up rejections: they just scribble on the bottom of the cover letter and send it back.
Of course, if they buy the story then they have something tangible to put into their files.
Back to guidelines. Unless editors say they specifically want a cover letter, it’s OK not to send one. Never leave out the SASE if you are sending hard copy, though. Making editors spend their own money to send a rejection back to you is the kiss of death.
Unless the editor requests one, a cover letter is not necessary. Usually, small press publishers are more likely to say they want one.
I usually write two-line cover letters:
If it’s a new editor, I’ll add a paragraph listing my credits. If you have no credits, write something that might indicate you read the magazine, or something of your background (that’s usually what a small press editor is interested in). Try a paragraph saying where you’re from, your family – that sort of chatty stuff. But keep it short.
Do not summarize the story in the cover letter. For no other reason that this allows them to reject your story without reading a word. I never mention anything about my story in the cover letter.
What SF/Fantasy magazine is this? I don’t know of any pro market that insists on a cover letter.
I’ve heard that there’s no point listing publications that aren’t relevant to the field you’re submitting in. I’ve never submitted to a market that required a cover letter, but all the advice I’ve ever read has said to keep them short and to the point–
Or something to that effect. All the advice I’ve heard has been similar to what Exapno has said–the editors aren’t looking for a stunning cover letter that will change their lives, they’re looking for a piece of paper with your name and address and the title of your story and some blank space to scribble on.
As an editor at a national (nonfiction) magazine who reads, accepts, and (mostly) rejects unsolicited ms.'s all the time, I can say that I very much DO want the cover letter to summarize the story.
Things are obviously different from magazine to magazine and genre to genre; some places would be dead without unsolicited manuscripts; some have a stable of writers they work with and develop stories with, but plug holes with other ms.'s; some are so huge that they only have to worry about reading letters from Saul Bellow and the like, and can chuck all the rest. But if I were to give advice to someone looking to send ME something, I would say:
I already get so many pitches every day that all are considered guilty until proven innocent. Expect you submission to be thrown own or rejected immediately.
Therefore, anything you can do to make my job easier and make me decide not to throw it out right away is to your benefit.
If a letter tells me what the story’s about, I will at least know whether it meets my broad editorial needs or not. A catchy description can pique my interest. No description whatsoever means I have to wade through your entire submission without any obvious hope of payoff just in order to figure out what you’re sending.
Again, I stress that magazines are different, esp. fiction magazines. They probably have a stated policy that they read all submissions and respond to them all, but that doesn’t mean that they necessarily spend a long time doing so. Likewise, if the cover letter isn’t clear, it’s very likely that the editor will set it aside to deal with later, so your story may languish for a long time.
Oh, and Winston, I personally don’t care a whit about previous publications. I’m more interested in the actual product. But that’s me.
F&SF magazines are indeed very different. Chuck is correct and I will restate it here: never summarize your story in your cover letter. The nonfiction world’s rules do not apply here. Know your market.
I was speaking of fiction, since the question was about fiction. Nonfiction is different.
For short fiction, you always send the entire work. Short fiction editors never buy a pitch. The elements that make a story work can’t always be summarized – style, for one thing, gets lost.
Even if your summary sounds great, it’s meaningless, since the editor still has to read the story to see if the execution is as good as the outline. Most fiction editors will say that summarizing your story merely lets them reject it without reading it.
Book-length fiction is a third category – you send an outline and sample chapters, so you are summarizing the book. But the sample chapters are more important in selling a book – if the editor likes that, you’re close to publication. The outline merely shows the editor that you know where you’re going with the rest of the book. (Though if you’re an established author, you can sometimes sell a novel on an outline alone – or even less, if you’re Stephen King.)
Speaking from a journalist perspective, here is a vote for including a brief summary of your story.
If you can make this a tight, bright paragraph, it will further convince the editor of your writing ability, and make them more likely to actually read your work.
Also: I always include a cover letter with anything I send off. Even if it’s forms that don’t specifically require a cover letter as well. A well set out, typed letter makes any application for anything look more professional.
Plenty of good advice so far. In fact, it looks like it’s unanimous: we all disagree with each other.
Exapno cleared up some of my confusion on why an editor wants a cover letter, which leaves me less concerned about stating the obvious within it. As for the brief bio, I hesitate to include such information because it’s hard to imagine any editor would want to know this. Unless it pertains to the story somehow, or unless it contains the phrase “I am Harlan Ellison,” I doubt if he/she is going to care. True, if it’s a small press mag that pays in copies, I can see how a more personal touch might be appropriate, but this is a pretty high-end magazine. (It’s The Third Alternative, a UK publication; the guidelines on their website mention a cover letter. I almost missed it.)
As for the other bit, everything I’ve read regarding genre magazines agrees with Chuck and Exapno about not summarizing your story. I can see why: it’s not exactly going to be an objective account. A “catchy description” may be no more reliable than an impressive movie trailer. So that’s definitely out – although I can see how it could be very helpful to a non-fiction editor.
Finally, although the advice posted by Nametag from the Speculation publisher seems pretty sensible, the part about not listing previous credits seems kind of asinine. “Bounce it,” he says, “this guy’s applying for a job, not trying to sell you a story.” What the heck does that mean? Do the editor’s eyes start to bleed if he has to read more than three credits? Seems like a flimsy reason to reject a story.
By the way, Bren: how did you know my story was called Attack of the Man-eating Mutant Oysters? Unless you’ve already written the same story. In which case: damn! Another idea stolen! :smack:
We’re not totally disagreeing with one another: just acknowledging that the fiction and nonfiction worlds function in entirely opposite ways. Chuck and I are saying the same things - no surprise there.
Kent’s advice is pretty good. I’d certainly pay attention to it if I were just starting out. I do wonder a bit about his credit rules, though. If you’re sending to a semi-pro or lower market then those credits are perfectly good ones to state. And while giving a million credits may come across looking bad, there is no special reason to stop at three, especially if you want to show the range of your work.
The only time a bio should be included is if it shows you have special, applicable knowledge. If you work on Mars missions for NASA and your first story is about Mars, then by all means say so. If you just say you’re an English major who has read a lot about Mars before writing the story, that goes without saying and so shouldn’t be said.
If you send to a non-US publication and want a hard copy response, you need to send International Reply Coupons (available at the Post Office) so that the recipient can trade them in for local postage. For this reason, many non-US pubs are willing to respond via e-mail today to minimize the expense at both ends. As always, check the guidelines to be sure.
From what I know of The Third Alternative, don’t sweat it. Send a short cover letter. They are market whose stories can’t be easily summarized in any case. Give a quick hello and let them get to the story.
I am Harlan Ellison. I have written numerous short stories, including a Star Trek episode. Enclosed please find my short story, Attack of the Man-eating Mutant Oysters. It’s like Aquaman meets Jaws meets Attack of the Clones. I had some personal demons, and this story is the orifice from whence to get them out. I hope you will consider it for publication in Tales from a Damp, Dark Basement. Please feel free to recycle the manuscript, and thank you for your time and attention. And no, the part about me being Harlan Ellison is NOT true.
I was about to just copy and paste that letter as is. Then I realized its fatal flaw: the real Harlan Ellison would NEVER just say he wrote a Star Trek episode and leave it at that. It would have to be followed by about six pages of blazing Roddenberry hatred and possible accusations of mass murder. So really, any editor would spot a fake Harlan from the first line.
Oh, well . . . maybe I can still adapt it into something workable.
Damn! That’s the third time this year! I beat my brains out over Attack of the Man-eating Mutant Slugs, only to discover someone else was already writing it. And I don’t even want to think about what happened when I wrote Attack of the Man-eating Mutant Moths. That really burned me, because it was a completely new direction for me, and I was sure it was perfect for Analog.
Perhaps you could try Attack of the Moth-Eating Mutant Men? No need to credit me . . . that one’s for free.
An additional question now, since you folks have been quite helpful so far: since I’m writing under a pseudonym, should I make mention of that in my cover letter? It’s on the byline of the manuscript, of course, but I didn’t know if it’s standard practice to repeat it.
The link I provided also advises against using a pseudonym; if I used a pseudonym, I would make sure that (1) the story got run under the pseudonym, and (2) that the check got written to my real name (verinym?). Is the cover letter the place for that? I don’t know.
