Great stories do not sell themselves. Neither do spiffy gorgeous cover letters, and queries, sell rotten awful stories. It takes both, and I'm going to assume for now that you have a great story, not a rotten awful one, and that all you need now is something to wrap it in.

In our modern society, presentation is key in many aspects of our lives, from job interviews to getting raises, asking for a loan from your bank, running for any form of public office, making sure your house gets the best out of its value on the open market. In writing for any sort of publication, the big time New York presses and even the small online literary magazines, there is no difference in the fact that you need to be just as well represented as you would if you were going to win a court case. The best armies are ready armies and every word you have written in any particular form is a soldier, and needs to be ready to face the battle to win editors' hearts. Whether that editor be big or small, arrogant or friendly, your best fighting chance is to make that editor believe you are not lazy, but willing to go the extra mile for the details.

I'm going to show you the basics of how to make your cover letter look professional, make you look professional, and to make your story look like it at least deserves to be published. There are no sure things in the publishing industry, but you can certainly bet that by giving sloppy work to an editor, you're sure to get rejected.

The basics of a cover letter:

If the Hare had been a black pen, and the Tortoise a blue one, it'd have been short and precise wins the race, not slow and steady. Short and precise sums up what a cover letter should be. You should aim at getting your information across in a very concise manner. There should never be unnecessary words.

In most cases, if an editor wants the cover letter done in a certain way, such as leaving certain features out (a summary of your story), that editor will place what he wants done in the "writing guidelines." It is always a good policy to look at a magazine or publishing house's "guidelines" to see how they would like the cover letter done. If they don't say anything about it, you should follow a standard format procedure.

You should also always find out who you're sending your cover letter or query to. You should know the editor's name and the address.



The basic cover letter follows:

Your address
City, state, zip code
Your phone number
Date

(you should put about five spaces between your information and the editor's)

Editor's name
Magazine
Magazine's address
City, state, zip code
Dear "editor's full name,"

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I am submitting my short story, poem, or novel:" "Story's Title," for publication in your magazine, "Magazine's name."

The second paragraph should be about yourself, if you have anything to say about your writing career that is of note (published works, college degrees, if you work at a notable newspaper or publishing agency, yourself).

For novels sent to publishing agencies, you should put a summary of your story here.

Your third paragraph is for anything you are enclosing or wishing to say, such as a message that you have enclosed an SASE or to say that you do not wish to have your manuscript returned,.

I look forward to receiving your response.

Salutation
(you should leave enough space here for your signature)

Your full name

That's what it is your typical cover letter.



Cover letter research:

There are a plethora of sources you can find on creating an effective cover letter. You can type into any major search engine "writing a literary cover letter" or "cover letters for submissions," and you will get even more sources. Many people have dedicated entire websites to the art of the cover letter. Not all are completely reliable, and you should always look at more than just a few sources in order to get a good grasp of what you want to do, but you will find the amount of good sources numerous, and your time well spent.

Many books also delve into the cover letter. Books such as "The Freelance Success Book," by David Taylor, and "The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing," published by Writer's Digest are good to get a grasp of what editors and agents are after.

It would be good to keep your information readily available for each new cover letter you are embarking on. Saving key websites in your favorites' folder or keeping good writing books on your bookshelf is important to keep your knowledge close at hand.



Always keep in mind that it is not only your work that you are selling. You are also selling yourself. In any business, and writing is certainly a business, people are looking for professionals that they can count on and come back to when the last job is over and the next job is just beginning. It is absolutely no different in the writing industry. Editors and agents are looking for competent writers; writers they can assume will be able to do what is asked of them and bring more work on a consistent basis. What better way to judge a writer's accountability than the way they present themselves and their work.

Cover letters and queries also bridge the gap between writer and agent. It's the first hello, it's the first impression. Why would I, as an editor, want to read someone's work if that person isn't even able to acknowledge my presence and show to me that they care?

Remain professional, and you will attract professionals. There is no short or easy way around that.