Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Submitting short stories-- Cover letter ???

This is topic Submitting short stories-- Cover letter ??? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by SiliGurl (Member # 922) on :

Hi! I'm used to sending out short stories and getting the occassional (ok, ok-- frequent!) rejection letter. I just finished a new short story (hooah!) and am preparing to send it out.

I'm thinking about updating my cover letter. Having seen on several writer's guidelines that cover letters really should be kept brief and to a bare minimum (ie, title, word count, and the usual courtesies) that's what I've always done. NOW I'm curious as to whether I should say anything about my story, like a one liner about location, protagonist, and set up.

Any thoughts???

Thanks,

Jennifer
Aim High

Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :

For reasons beyond my comprehension, I long ago decided to forego submitting short stories (I write them all the time, though) and go for the big 'un: A huge, action-packed novel. Soooooo, what are "the usual courtesies"?

Chris

PS -- What is the usual pay (if any) for a short story. Say, 6-10,000 words...if not more?

[This message has been edited by cvgurau (edited April 19, 2003).]

Posted by Balthasar (Member # 5399) on :

Your cover letter should be brief.

quote:
Dear [editor's name],
Enclosed is a XXXX-word manuscript entitled, "XXXX." I would appreciate if if you would consider it for publication in your magazine, XXXX. I have encluded a SASE for your reply; recycle the manuscript when you are finished with it.
Sincerely,
XXXX

If you want your manuscript back, you'll need to modify that last line. If you have any publications, use a second paragraph:

quote:
I have recently been published in XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX.

My own cover letter is a little tighter than this, but this is it. Oh yes, one last point about listing your publications: make sure its a respectable publication, not your friend's website.

DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT say anything about your story!!! The cover letter is not the place for promoting your story. Think of it as an very brief introduction: here's my story, and here's what to do with the manuscript when you're finished.

Some people don't think you even need a cover letter with a short story. If I were an editor I would find this rather cold, as if some punk just through his or her manuscript on my desk without taking the time to say hi and shake my hand. So I always include a cover letter unless the magazine explicitly says not to include one (I haven't found one yet).

If you really want to get serious about submissions, go to this link and read carefully: www.speculations.com/slush.htm .

Good luck.

[This message has been edited by Balthasar (edited April 19, 2003).]

Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :

Wow.

It's just...wow.

I think I'm going to cry.

Okay, I'm not, but still...that's pretty harsh. Is this stuff for real? 'Cuz if it is, I gotta say, it looks like a bleak world out there for a amateur writer such as myself. A bleak, bleak world, indeed.

Bummer.

Chris

Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :

I'm an editor--I like a cover letter, and I like a one liner in it that grabs---a cliff hanger.

Ok so you are brief, yeah! But once an editor sees that you are not published--plink. That was the sound of your sub being recycled.

If you can write for some "free" no paying publications. (Boy, the magazine I work for could use some quality submissions!!!)(hint)(and we do pay one writer per month--an editors choice payment)

Also, come up with a what if line--a simple plot summery. Add it after word count ect.

Shawn

[This message has been edited by srhowen (edited April 19, 2003).]

Posted by SiliGurl (Member # 922) on :

Thanks for the feedback... That Speculations post differed somewhat from the other writer's guidelines I've seen (at least at the mags I'm thinking of submitting this short to), but that's to be expected. He was kind of brutal, though, wasn't he??

What magazine are you with, srhowen, that's looking for ms?

Have a great weekend!

[This message has been edited by SiliGurl (edited April 19, 2003).]

Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :

it's online-- www.wildchildpublishing.com --we are soon to be an e-book press as well.

Shawn

Posted by Amka (Member # 1262) on :

Actually, I don't ever put in a cover letter. I've read that they are optional, and like others, I've heard "your story will sell itself".

They have the product before them to test. They certainly won't buy it if it is bad, even if it came with the best cover letter written.

So if an editor likes a cover letter, I think it might be a good idea for the editor to say they prefer a cover letter with a one sentence synopsis.

Posted by Penboy_np (Member # 1615) on :

So far I think there's been 3 very different answers. Who is more 'right'?

Posted by Balthasar (Member # 5399) on :

Chris -

quote:
Okay, I'm not, but still...that's pretty harsh. Is this stuff for real? 'Cuz if it is, I gotta say, it looks like a bleak world out there for a amateur writer such as myself. A bleak, bleak world, indeed.

I'm not an editor and I have never worked for a magazine, so I can't testify to the verity of the Speculations article. However, if you read it a few times, you see what it's trying to get at. If you want your submission to be taken seriously, then be as professional as possible. That's the easy part, and from what I have read (from Ben Bova, I think), about 85% of the submissions are rejected because of unprofessionalism.

The strange thing is that acting like a professional is the easy part. If an author doesn't conform to the current etiquette of manuscript submission, then why should that author or his or her work be taken seriously?

The hard part is moving from the 85th percentile to the 99th percentile -- to the place where an editor says, "This story is really good, now what am I going to do with it?" So I don't think the Speculations article is that bleak. Realistic is more like it.

The only point the Speculations article makes that I find specious is the point it makes about the use of a pen name. Why would an editor care if an author wants to use a pen name? There's no shame in that. And besides, if my legal name is David Douglas Smith (which it's not), and my friends and family call me Dave, and I prefer my byline to read, D. D. Smith, or David Smith, or Douglas Smith, or Doug Smith, that's a pen name even though it's my legal name.

Shawn -

quote:
I'm an editor--I like a cover letter, and I like a one liner in it that grabs---a cliff hanger.

This can't be true for most editors because everything I've read about cover letters states very unequivocally not to say anything about your story.

quote:
Ok so you are brief, yeah! But once an editor sees that you are not published--plink. That was the sound of your sub being recycled.

I question this one, too. Sure, some editors are like this. But I've seen first-time authors get published in places such as Analog and Asimov's. Granted, that is rare, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible.

Penboy_np -

I am, of course!

[This message has been edited by Balthasar (edited April 19, 2003).]

Posted by Hildy9595 (Member # 1489) on :

Don't let the cover letter paralyze you. As long as you are brief and to the point, it is unlikely an editor will outright reject your story because you included a one-liner about your story (or conversely, did not). Just make sure your cover letter is professional...no gushing about sending in the greatest story since the Bible, no threats that you will just give the story to another magazine if rejected. Yeah, I know, those things sound silly, but they have been done. This is why the stats on rejection are so high; most submissions are so piss-poor in format and unprofessional. Like Balthasar said, beating out approx. 85% is simple so long as you behave like a mature adult. It's the remaining percentile that's dependent upon your writing ability, the editor's personal story preference, and plain, dumb luck.

BTW, there are still many magazines of high quality that accept amateur submissions. Darrell Schweitzer of Weird Tales told me face-to-face that they accept stories from previously-unpublished authors, and one of the officers of the SFWA told me that Fantasy and Science Fiction does also. The latter is particularly attractive, in that their response time on submissions is remarkably fast for the industry (about a month, sometimes less, from date of receipt). Plus, there are tons of small press out there openly soliciting work. So don't give up before you even try!

Posted by SiliGurl (Member # 922) on :

Definitely no giving up here! I actually kinda look at my rejection letters as a badge of honor. Least I was able to see the story from beginning to end and put it out there to be brutalized by an editor, right?

Besides which, I'm getting better with each one (at least, I hope so!) and I really like this one I just finished. It's a monster though, clocking in at about 8,700 words so that eliminates a boatload of markets!

Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :

Ahh, yes, there are a great many amature ones published--but you didn't see their cover letter--or you don't know what background they have. (free, non-paying publications ect.)

Shawn

Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :

Balthasar -- how's this for coincidence? The name of my high school is David Douglas High.

Chris

Posted by Phanto (Member # 1619) on :

If you want to trim down your story, I always use this trick: cut out every single adjective. Of course, sometimes they are essential, but often they are just tasteless fluff.

Posted by Scott R (Member # 1353) on :

In my cover letters, I always make sure to mention a story from the magazine to which I'm submitting that I've enjoyed. I do not submit to magazines that I haven't read and researched first, so I always have something nice to say.