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The Cover Letter Made Easy
You have completed your ms, and now what?
You may ask yourself:
How can I submit it to publishers?
How can I present it?
Here comes the cover letter. It is not difficult to write one, just follow the instructions below.
Submitting the right cover letter to the editors /publishers will increase your chances of getting your work accepted!
What is a cover letter?
It is a letter that goes with your work. You cant send your work alone. You need to say something about it and about yourself in the cover letter.
This letter is very important as it is this document that will persuade prospective editors/publishers to read your work.
It is not difficult to write a cover letter, but you should be careful not to omit any essential info. If you dont do it right, you cant expect success.
I will help you do it right. If I can write a cover letter, you can do it, too. Its easy.
Lets get started!
First write your name, address and contact number/e-mail on the right side of an A4 sheet.
Next, write the editor/publishers name and address on the left side, below your personal info.
Write the date on the right side.
Start with : Dear Mr/Ms name of publisher
Its better to write the name of the publisher if you know it. If you dont, start with: Dear Sir/Madam
Keep in mind that the letter is formal. Dont use any contractions such as Im or its.
The first paragraph
Now you can add the first paragraph. It goes like this:
I enclose the synopsis of my book/article and I wonder if you would be interested in it.
Now give the publisher sufficient info about your book/article. Tell him in 1-2 lines the content of your book/article.
e.g. Let us suppose youve written a book about Turtles.
You can write:
TURTLES is about keeping and caring for turtle pets indoors.
The main body
You should tell the publisher why the people are going to read such a book, and who is going to buy it.
e.g. TURTLES is a pet book that would interest children from 8-16 years old, and all pet lovers as well. This book is original because it is written with children at that age in mind , and it is practical and easy to read.
You must convince the publisher that you are qualified to write on the subject.
e.g. This book is based on my own experience in turtle
breeding. Or I have worked in a pet shop for two years... . You can add any experience youve had on this subject. Ask yourself:
Any other experience relevant?
Any studies?
Any research?
More tips
Be brief and informative. One page of an A4 sheet is enough.
Now, if you wish, mention in your letter that you also enclose a sample chapter of your book.
e.g I also enclose a list of chapters and a sample
chapter for you to read.
The cover letter usually goes with a synopsis, a sample
chapter and a list of chapters.
This is the complete proposal package and I always do so myself. However, you can send a cover letter and a synopsis only, but be prepared to have a sample chapter ready whenever you are asked to by a publisher to submit it.
It usually takes a lot of time before you get a reply, so you may as well send the whole package to save time.
State that you enclose a s.a.e ( a second envelope that is stamped and addressed to yourself). They are not going to reply if you dont enclose this.
Close the letter. Be polite.
e.g. Thank you for your time.
I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest
convenience.
Yours sincerely
Your full name
Your e-mail address
If you wish to use the internet to submit your work, follow the same procedure-of course theres no need for a s.a.e.
Last notice
Before you submit any work, read the regulations thoroughly . Some publishers do not accept sample work via e-mail!
Now, you are ready to write your own cover letter.
GOOD LUCK!
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748
BONUS : The Details Are In The Calendar
Like many authors, writing a novel was always an aspiration. When I finally started the process, in Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace I had a great story that had evolved from real-life events. Still, the majority of my experience was writing nonfiction, a style that generally called for straight facts with less emphasis on descriptive elements. Exceptional fiction requires authentic details that pull the reader into the world in which the story takes place. I discovered that one of the best ways to do this is to construct the narrative around a calendar.
Wanting feedback on the story, I sent an early draft of the manuscript to an editor I'd learned of through one of my writing groups. While she liked the novel, she noted there was no specific timeline of years or events, and felt the story could essentially be taking place at any time. The editor suggested using a calendar with actual dates and specific years during which the story would be set. By taking this approach, it not only helped me plan the story better, but a historical reference of Jesse Ventura's election as governor of Minnesota in 1998 or making note of the Aquatennial Festival held in Minneapolis each July could be woven into the narrative and enhance the authenticity of the book.
Implementing her advice, I constructed a five-year calendar over which the story in Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace unfolds. The calendar not only worked well as an organizational and research tool, but it also served to focus the book over a definite time period. In real life, the events that inspired Shades of Darkness occurred over a much longer period of time, making for an unwieldy time frame that dragged on too long, offered no sense of closure, and risked boring the reader. By using a specific calendar, those events could be compressed into a much shorter and intense span.
Employing a real calendar also heightened the dramatic effect of the narrative. In a crucial incident near the end of book, Paul Pierson is arrested for domestic battery in a scheme orchestrated by his ex-wife. Threatened with spending the weekend in the county jail if bail money cannot be raised, the scene takes place over the New Year's holiday of 2000/2001. Only by using a real calendar did I discover that if Paul were arrested on Saturday December 30, 2000 he could be looking at several days in jail. In 2001 New Year's Day fell on a Monday, and banks would not have reopened until Tuesday, January 2. Utilizing real dates offered the dramatic dilemma of the Pierson family frantically pooling their financial resources to keep Paul from extended jail time.
Working off a calendar can also combat one of the hazards many authors confront writer's block. Once I had the basic framework of the novel laid out across a calendar, if I was having difficulty with a particular chapter or scene, I could write another chapter and return at a later point to the problematic area with renewed inspiration. For many authors I've known, it can be easier to write out-of-order when the energy strikes than to force a writer to compose a manuscript in linear fashion. A calendar not only helps an author render a vivid story, but can be a useful tool in tracking the progress and consistency of the plot.
The initial version of the calendar was bare bones an outline of the main scenes that comprised the novel. From there I began writing individual scenes, building on them and incorporating the crucial details, many of which were discovered through research. Those descriptions that make a scene real might be as ordinary as the weather on Halloween or the once-in-a-lifetime occurrence of the Millennium, experiences any reader could relate to.
Details should engage the reader and connect them to the characters, setting, and narrative. This editor taught me a great lesson that for fiction to truly come alive requires authentic details. For many authors, those details can often be found within the framework of a calendar.
Like many authors, writing a novel was always an aspiration. When I finally started the process, in Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace I had a great story that had evolved from real-life events. Still, the majority of my experience was writing nonfiction, a style that generally called for straight facts with less emphasis on descriptive elements. Exceptional fiction requires authentic details that pull the reader into the world in which the story takes place. I discovered that one of the best ways to do this is to construct the narrative around a calendar.
Wanting feedback on the story, I sent an early draft of the manuscript to an editor I'd learned of through one of my writing groups. While she liked the novel, she noted there was no specific timeline of years or events, and felt the story could essentially be taking place at any time. The editor suggested using a calendar with actual dates and specific years during which the story would be set. By taking this approach, it not only helped me plan the story better, but a historical reference of Jesse Ventura's election as governor of Minnesota in 1998 or making note of the Aquatennial Festival held in Minneapolis each July could be woven into the narrative and enhance the authenticity of the book.
Implementing her advice, I constructed a five-year calendar over which the story in Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace unfolds. The calendar not only worked well as an organizational and research tool, but it also served to focus the book over a definite time period. In real life, the events that inspired Shades of Darkness occurred over a much longer period of time, making for an unwieldy time frame that dragged on too long, offered no sense of closure, and risked boring the reader. By using a specific calendar, those events could be compressed into a much shorter and intense span.
Employing a real calendar also heightened the dramatic effect of the narrative. In a crucial incident near the end of book, Paul Pierson is arrested for domestic battery in a scheme orchestrated by his ex-wife. Threatened with spending the weekend in the county jail if bail money cannot be raised, the scene takes place over the New Year's holiday of 2000/2001. Only by using a real calendar did I discover that if Paul were arrested on Saturday December 30, 2000 he could be looking at several days in jail. In 2001 New Year's Day fell on a Monday, and banks would not have reopened until Tuesday, January 2. Utilizing real dates offered the dramatic dilemma of the Pierson family frantically pooling their financial resources to keep Paul from extended jail time.
Working off a calendar can also combat one of the hazards many authors confront writer's block. Once I had the basic framework of the novel laid out across a calendar, if I was having difficulty with a particular chapter or scene, I could write another chapter and return at a later point to the problematic area with renewed inspiration. For many authors I've known, it can be easier to write out-of-order when the energy strikes than to force a writer to compose a manuscript in linear fashion. A calendar not only helps an author render a vivid story, but can be a useful tool in tracking the progress and consistency of the plot.
The initial version of the calendar was bare bones an outline of the main scenes that comprised the novel. From there I began writing individual scenes, building on them and incorporating the crucial details, many of which were discovered through research. Those descriptions that make a scene real might be as ordinary as the weather on Halloween or the once-in-a-lifetime occurrence of the Millennium, experiences any reader could relate to.
Details should engage the reader and connect them to the characters, setting, and narrative. This editor taught me a great lesson that for fiction to truly come alive requires authentic details. For many authors, those details can often be found within the framework of a calendar.
