 Short Stories: May 23, 2018 Issue [#8918] |
  Short Stories
This week: Cover Letters for Short Story Submission Edited by: Jay's debut novel is out now!  
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This issue:
Cover Letters for Short Story Submissions
Ever wondered what you need to include in your cover letter? |
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I'm recuperating from some truly epic conference crud, so I figured I'd keep it short and sweet this week.
Having read hundreds of short stories (and cover letters) over the past few months, I'm always startled by the broad variances in what people believe is necessary in the cover letter for a short story. I have seen people worry about the contents of their cover letters as reasons their story was rejected, and the reality is that that's an unlikely event. That said, a short, sweet, polished cover letter will help your editors when they need relevant information about your story.
Part of the problem is that writing advice all over the internet is sometimes truly unclear. Of the mistakes and missteps I see, most common are the ones that mistakenly use the instructions for a novel query letter in the cover letter for a short story. Novel queries are a little outside the purview of this newsletter, but suffice it to say that these two types of letters are very different and require different types of information.
The cover letter for a short story can almost always be as short and simple as possible.
Most publishers will need:
- title and word count for your short story.
- any relevant information or credentials you may have--these are completely optional and only recommended if there's a direct link; eg, you work in robotics and your story is about robots. You do not need to include any education credentials unless they are relevant, either. If the first reader is interested in your story, your lack of credentials here will not harm your chances, so I would include only as needed.
- If you have attended a relevant workshop, you may include that, and if you have recent relevant publications, you may list up to three of these.
- your name and contact information.
Read the submission guidelines for every publication you submit to! Follow any additional instructions they advise; for example, if they request you to include the subgenre of your story as well as the title.
If you do not know or are not sure of the name or salutation of the editor or editors for the publication, even after reading the guidelines, my suggestion is to use "Dear Editor" or "Dear Editors" instead of potentially naming the wrong person or misgendering them.
Here is a good framework I like to use for my own submissions. I've placed all of the components in brackets so you can easily see the way to use them for your own cover letters.
Dear [Name of Magazine] Editors,
Please find attached my short story, "[Title of Story]," (number of words) for your consideration in [Name of Magazine].
[Any relevant bio information goes here, but it's not required! For the purpose of providing an example, mine looks like this:
I am the short fiction editor of the Speculative Masculinities anthology, forthcoming from Galli Books, and an alumnus of the Viable Paradise workshop (XIX, 2015).]
Thank you for your time and attention!
Sincerely,
Your Name
[contact info--email address is best]
And that's all you need!
Unless the publication requires it, I would strongly recommend you NOT include any summary information about the story as it's not required and usually just adds unnecessary bulk to the cover letter.
I know I've already harped on it, but I can't stress enough to look at the guidelines for the specific magazine you want to send your story to, and follow their instructions as well as any of the above that apply to your submission. "Didn't read the guidelines" is not the impression you want to give the editor!
Let me know if you have any questions about this process - - it can be really daunting to send out your work for publication!
Until next time,
Take care and Write on!
Jay |
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Feedback from "A Day in the Life of an Anthology Editor" :
deemac  writes:
Fascinating insight into the travails of Anthologising, Jay. I'd always thought it was all done with just a roll of Scotch tape!  And thanks for giving me a chuckle with "As in the rest of the arts, we writers are masterful procrastinators" - alas, too true! Also, my thanks for the recommendation for "Dead Cert" , it's very much appreciated. Best, as ever, dee
Aw, anytime, Dee! Happy to oblige.
Any questions or ideas you want to see in an upcoming issue? Let me know and I'll see how I can help! |
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