hi bucket! do you have any tips on creating a cover letter when submitting to literary magazines and journals? would they be different from cover letters for novels? thank you!
How to Create a Cover Letter for a Literary Magazine or Journal
#1 Follow their guidelines
First and foremost, read the magazine’s submission guidelines. Some of them will have specific instructions for how to do your cover letter. They may want it attached to the submission, or typed into an online form. They may want a short bio. Whatever they ask for, give it to them.
In the absence of guidelines, keep it short and simple. Give the title and word count of your piece, any previous publications or relevant accolades, and maybe a one-sentence personal thing. It should be no longer than a page, and ideally closer to half a page. I’ll give an example for you to use at the end.
#3 Address the editor BY NAME
This is pretty important. Find out the editor’s name and address the cover letter directly to them. In a print publication, the masthead will usually be on the first few pages. Online, you might have to hunt a little more. You can address it to the general editor, OR the genre editor if there is one. For example, if you are submitting a poem, you can address your cover letter to the poetry editor.
#4 Mention if the submission is a simultaneous submission
They will want to know if your piece is under consideration elsewhere. Only do this, of course, if the magazine accepts simultaneous submissions. Some don’t.
#5 If you don’t have previous publications, awards, or any credentials worth mentioning, just skip that part.
You can just write “If accepted, this will be my first publication.”
#6 It can help to say something personal so that the cover letter doesn’t feel like a form letter.
If you know someone at the magazine, mention that. If you read the magazine regularly, say something about it. “I read your magazine regularly, and really enjoyed the flash fiction piece Quail Hunting which appeared in the summer issue.” You could also mention why you chose to submit at their magazine. “I’ve noticed you publish a lot of hard-boiled mysteries, so I thought my piece might be a good fit at Eggsalad Monthly.”
Basically, this tells the editor that you give a shit about their magazine and aren’t just sending the same letter to 10,000 other people because you want to get published. Believe me, as someone who reads a lot of cover letters (I’m a fiction reader for Ploughshares), it makes a difference.
#7 Steal this template (blank)
Please consider my story “TITLE,” XXXX words, for consideration at NAME OF PUBLICATION. [This is where you can include something from #6, if you have anything.]
[Briefly list your previous publications, pending publication, awards, residencies, MFA candidacy or degree, etc. here. Keep it to 5-6 sentences. You’re giving the highlights, not a CV.]
[If unpublished, this is where you can write: If accepted, this will be my first publication.]
[Optional: Add a sentence or two here about yourself personally.]
This is a simultaneous submission. I will inform you promptly if it is accepted elsewhere.
#8 Or steal this template (example)
Need more? Here is my very own cover letter from my most recent publication in Bracken Magazine.
Please consider my story “Fever,” about 800 words, for publication at Bracken. I love that your magazine is inspired by woods and shadows. Even though my story is not about the forest per se, I think it might be a good fit there.
I hold an MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop, and have been a Vermont Studio Center Fellow and the recipient of a Fulcrum Fund Award. My work has appeared in The Nervous Breakdown and Storm Cellar, where I won second prize in the 2017 Force Majeure Flash Contest. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, I have lived in New Mexico since 2006.
This is a simultaneous submission. I will inform you promptly if it is accepted elsewhere.
Hope this helps, @perringwrites!!
The Literary Architect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler. For more writing help, check out my Free Resource Library, peruse my post guide, or hire me to edit your novel or short story. xoxo
