Jun

5

Get Covered.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

June 5, 2008 |

For almost anyone starting out as a writer one of the biggest obstacles has to be the obligatory cover-letter. You’ve worked hard on something, you have enough confidence to send it out into the world, but the cover-letter is where the editor gets his or her first impression, and that can be pretty intimidating. Your work should speak for itself, right? Unfortunately it’s never that easy. Even the most accomplished writer must have a hard time with the right cover letter simply because the underlying work, whatever its merit, can stand or fall based on a few sentences. At the age of fifteen the great French poet Arthur Rimbaud sent three poems to an editor. The poems themselves were surprisingly mature (but then Rimbaud’s entire poetic career was crammed into the years before he turned twenty-one). The cover-letter, on the other hand, was so juvenile it’s not surprising the editor apparently never got to the poems themselves. Once, looking for magazines in the Writer’s Market, I found most of the entries said, “Be sure to list your previous publications in your cover letter.” If you’ve never published anything, what do you say? I found an entry for one publication that said, “In your cover-letter tell us a little about yourself.” Well, I’m a Sagittarius, and I like sushi and long walks on the beach.

When a friend of mine read something I’d written and suggested I send it to a local publication, I asked him what kind of cover letter I should include. He’s a very accomplished writer himself. You can find some of his work at The Time Garden, so I thought he’d have some insight. And he gave me some helpful hints. Since it was a local publication he suggested I mention I live in the area (funny, I never would have thought of that) and included this incredibly good advice:

“Absolutely do not apologize for taking her time or for anything else, above all not for the quality of the piece. In closing say you are looking forward to hearing back from her.”

Now this might seem obvious, but, to someone who’s just starting out as a writer, it’s possibly the most solid advice you can get. It might be tempting to present a front of false modesty, especially when you’ve got no prior experience, but remember that confidence will open doors that get slammed in modesty’s face. As difficult as they can be to write, cover letters should follow basic rules: be direct, be honest, and, as in all good writing, don’t include anything that doesn’t need to be there.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Stephanie Z on June 5, 2008 7:40 pm

    Good advice. I still love Steve Brust’s idea of a good cover letter. “Here’s my story, XX. I hope you like it.”

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