Are cover letters necessary?

Cover letters vary depending on the market, but the typical cover letter goes something like this:

Dear Editors (some people prefer to place the editor-in-chief's name here instead, others say to keep in general. Go whichever way you prefer)

Attached (or enclosed, whichever is more relevant) please find my short story "Awesome Publishable Story" for your consideration. It is 1234 words long, --Here is where I usually say if it's under consideration elsewhere (if the market allows simultaneous submissions) and where it's been published before (if the market allows reprints).

Thank you for your time/consideration/other pleasantness,

Name of Awesome Publishable Author

That's just how I do it. Everyone has their own ways, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of answers that are widely different and still right. Hope that helped

Go with what the submission guidelines say first. If they don't say anything, send one. Though the only places I've seen who say not to send one / it's optional have online submission forms, where they ask you for the same information in the form fields.

Thanks for the info!!

What I find useful (as a slush reader) about cover letters is that it helps me do a couple of things:

1. Know what I'm getting into (word length wise) prior to reading. If I only have 10 minutes to read a story, I may not want to start in on something 10K words long.

2. Helps me figure out which story you've submitted. (I receive 15 or so stories at a time as attachments, and it's a lot easier to figure out which email address goes with which attachment when the cover letter says something like, "Hello, I've submitted my story MUTIVE'S AWESOME STORY, which is 3k words long. Thanks! MUTIVE", because I can then go looking for MUTIVE'S AWESOME STORY by MUTIVE and log it in along with whatever email address the cover letter came from.)

But that's about it. I think that writers who put in much more than word count, story title, their name, and maybe 2 or 3 credits aren't doing themselves any favors. With that said, I would include one. It makes it seem like you care + really can be helpful for organizational purposes. (For me, anyway, I can't speak for other slush readers.)

EDIT: I also like to know if the story's been published elsewhere or is under consideration elsewhere, as it helps me plan. But that's about it. Really a cover letter should be a simple thing. Niccolo's example is perfect. (Although I would add credits if you have them, just as knowing that a writer has been published in a few places I like the work of will start me off with a good impression. With that said, I read everything I see even if the query talks about how the writer is 14 years old and is writing about his favorite toys, "The Transformers".)

Mutive said:

With that said, I read everything I see even if the query talks about how the writer is 14 years old and is writing about his favorite toys, "The Transformers".)

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You should have posted a coffee alert. Now I have to clean my keyboard.

A cover letter is necessary, if the magazine asks for a cover letter, or if you have something worth saying in a cover letter.

But unless a magazine says not to send a cover letter, and I can't remember any such magazine, sending one is never a bad idea.

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine's guidelines say a cover letter isn't necessary, and they ask for the ms. to be sent by postal mail. But even in those cases, it's a good idea to send one anyway.

Great question and posts. I had a hard time finding this a while back too and I adapted this from what another writer told me to do...

I always put the cover letter as my first page inside my doc file, then the story after the page break, set the first page to zero for the page numbers and click "don't show page one" or something to that effect on word's page numbering tab so that the story is paged 1,2, etc.

This is a typical cover letter for me:

My Address
and phone
email


Dear Editor (or journal name if I'm feeling up to saving the doc several times, or specific editor if it says to address somebody in their submission directions),

"Super" is a short story of about 4,250 words. This is a simultaneous submission and I will notify you promptly if it is accepted elsewhere. Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,
...

Sometimes I put credits or an award in the last line before "Thanks for reading" if it seems applicable, but I don't have any great publications yet, so I usually leave it off. I have also put where I am from originally if the story is set in that state. And if the story has won an award, I state that "I'm sending you my unpublished story "Super," which won..." Each one can be a bit different, but I wouldn't go over 4 short, straightforward sentences. Also, I round my word count to 50, which is just the way I do it.

Good thread! I remember feeling nervous about this and not being able to find it on AW.

Eli Hinze said:

Question about publishing credentials..
I have a flash fiction piece that might be published in a university's literary journal, and was told by an agent I vaguely know that it would count as a publishing cred.
I figure anything, no matter how small, would be better than nothing, but if it's small do you think I should just leave it off?
Or is it more personal preference?

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You can add that. All in all, cover letters should be short and to the point.

The cover letter below is what I have used for years. Anything in parentheses is to be changed by you, of course.

Note that this is different than a query.


Dear (Wonderful Editor):

Attached/below/enclosed is my (3,000) word short story with the title ("Short Story.") I am submitting it to (name of publication) for possible publication.

I am a freelance writer with (a short story to be published in Wonderful Journal).

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

(Your Name)
(you can add your email address here, if you want, or any contact info they might request)

I think if it is accepted for publication, or is published, then it is a credit. You can say forthcoming if it's not in print yet.

I personally don't include them if they are not well known or not applicable, but I have no idea if it helps or hurts. I've never been on the receiving end of a submission. Maybe someone else can chime in.

Since this is for submission to a short story market, putting in that one sale doesn't hurt, nor would it hinder. Now, say, if I was submitting an essay to a magazine, I wouldn't put in about the flash fiction sale. But again, it's not a deal-breaker by any means.

Ultimately, adding a cover letter when it's not required, is more of just a courtesy, or something to write in the body of the email when the ms. is an attachment.

Eli Hinze said:

Question about publishing credentials..
I have a flash fiction piece that might be published in a university's literary journal, and was told by an agent I vaguely know that it would count as a publishing cred.
I figure anything, no matter how small, would be better than nothing, but if it's small do you think I should just leave it off?
Or is it more personal preference?

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Small can be as important as large, if the small magazine has high prestige and standards. Many university journals are very prestigious, feature many big name writers, and are very, very difficult to get into. When this is the case, you should definitely use it as a credit.

As someone reading submissions, I will say that cover letters are very important. All I want to know is where they have been published and if the have an MFA. I'm not saying that you need these things, but I am more likely to read those stories first, hoping to find something good. I was surprised by a submission last fall where the guy didn't list any credits, but I just had to publish his work because it was so good. So it is not 100 percent needed, but I think it can help.

Picky follow up question: what about including the genre or category? Publications usually have a theme or genre, but there could be sub-categories of those. Like in fantasy: YA, epic, urban, etc? I take it that's not necessary, but is it possibly helpful?

I'll assume since it wasn't mentioned that adding a hook or anything about what the story's about isn't needed.

Hooks aren't necessary unless the guidelines ask for them. Generally, a simple genre listing helps with the story, esp. if the market takes more than one sub genre.

I give a genre if it's a multi-genre place. Otherwise, I don't. It's a bit redundant to say I've sent a science fiction story when it's a science fiction magazine.

JJ Litke said:

Picky follow up question: what about including the genre or category? Publications usually have a theme or genre, but there could be sub-categories of those. Like in fantasy: YA, epic, urban, etc? I take it that's not necessary, but is it possibly helpful?

I'll assume since it wasn't mentioned that adding a hook or anything about what the story's about isn't needed.

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I think it's helpful.

A lot of magazines actually ask for that, so they can sort/plan appropriately.

Beyond that, it seems possible that a magazine would have a science fiction editor vs. a fantasy one vs. a horror. (Or whatever.)

At the very least, it doesn't hurt. At the most, it can make it more likely your story gets to the right place. (Which is a GOOD thing.)

Cool, thanks guys! This is great info.