Welcome to our first submissions week – were we’ll talk about all things submissions. This is a great opportunity for our newer authors to learn things from our veterans – how to prepare your story (whether it’s a short story, a novella, a novel, poem etc) for submission to a publisher.
Today, your first foot in the door. The cover letter.
When you send in your work, many publishers will require a cover letter – something telling the a little bit about who you are and the story you are sending in.
Many will also have guidelines for this, so of course you should read these carefully.
But what should your approach be? Serious and straightforward? Humorous and stand-out? Or something way out of left field to catch their attention?
What has your experience been, QSFers, as writers and as editors? What works and what doesn’t? In short, how do you write the perfect cover letter?