![]() ![]() ![]() If you’re like me, you feel awkward about this, but you shouldn’t. Has it been a million years since you submitted your story (aka a few months)? Is it past the estimated response time stated in the guidelines or perhaps the publisher posted on Twitter saying they’ve cleared all of their submissions? Then it’s time to query! How to query a short fiction magazine or anthology after you’ve submitted a story: Seriously, don’t overthink it or spend an inordinate amount of time on it. I appreciate your time and consideration.Īnd that’s basically how you write a cover letter. I am a member of SFWA and my short fiction has appeared in FIYAH, Anathema: Spec from the Margins, and other fine publications. This is a simultaneous submission and I will notify you immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. Please consider “Songs of Death” (5700 words). You can also mention if you have any relevant education, like an MFA, or associations you’re a member of, like SFWA.Ī quick Best or Warmest regards or even the old classic, Sincerely, will do here. ![]() If you have had your work published, you can list up to three or four places your fiction has been published. You can omit this section or say something simple like, “My fiction has not previously been published.” A lot of magazines are excited about publishing new authors. If you haven’t had any stories published, don’t sweat it. ![]() Next up is the title of your story, the word count rounded to the nearest hundred, whether it’s a simultaneous submission (check the guidelines to see if they accept submissions still waiting on a response from another magazine), and whether it’s an original or a reprint. It’s simple, and I like that it covers all the staff who work hard on the magazine.) (Edit: These days, I often just put Dear editorial team. Some editors have a preference for how they’re addressed, so look for that in their submission guidelines. If there is more than one editor-in-chief, you can put all of them. (If your story is accepted, they might ask for it then.)įor the greeting itself, I recommend looking up the editor’s name and addressing them specifically. That seems to be going out of fashion and a lot of magazines either explicitly or by omission do not want all of that personal information during the submissions process. Some cover letter instructions mention headers with your name, address, email address, and phone number. Second, there are only FOUR components to 90% of cover letters: greeting, info about the story, your publication history, and closing. Most magazines openly admit they don’t care much about the content of your cover letter after all, it’s your story they’re buying. Cover letters don’t need to be creative or even particularly well-written. How to write a cover letter for short fiction submissions:įirst, don’t overthink it. It will make everyone’s life easier and significantly improve your chances of getting that coveted acceptance letter. Also, every magazine is different and if you take nothing else away from this: read the submission guidelines from top to bottom to see if they have any cover letter preferences.Īgain, please read submission guidelines. First and foremost, my experience with cover letters is based on a couple years of submitting stories to magazines and is limited to speculative fiction magazines and anthologies. ![]()
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