First Impressions Matter: Writing Great Cover Letters

So You Want to Be A Writer…

Hello and welcome to the first day of your new and improved (or maybe just new) writing career!

You’ve signed up for WordHustler, you’ve maybe even cruised around our markets pages, but now you need something that will catch an editor/agent/publisher’s eye. You need a way to market yourself and your project in one simple, effective page. You need…a cover letter. Or a query letter. What’s the difference, you may ask?

You’ve come to the right place. Some markets request samples of work along with your letter, but some request only a query letter. For all intents and purposes, they are basically the same. But just to clarify:

Cover Letter: n. A letter sent with other documents to explain more fully or provide more information.

Query Letter: n. A letter from an author or agent to an editor that briefly describes a manuscript and asks whether the editor is interested in evaluating the manuscript.

So what we’ve learned is that a cover letter is used when you are attaching supplementary material, such as the first chapter of your manuscript, whereas a query letter is a letter that explains your manuscript idea and asks if the recipient would like to review part or all of the manuscript.

Okay, now you know what you need. You just need to write it. You want to electrify whoever opens your letter. You need something that will make your work stand out from the rest, succinctly selling both your project and yourself.

A note about form: there are lots of different opinions about which is the “right” way to compose letters. WordHustler’s examples are not only way letters can be constructed. There are many websites, books, and articles about the art of writing cover and query articles. Some of the advice is good, some is…let’s just say, not so much. It’s easy enough to find a blank template and hastily fill your info in. But it’s best not to blindly copy a pre-constructed model, since what you’re selling is essentially YOURSELF, and you’re an individual.

Take our examples as just that: examples. Then put some time and some heart into writing a letter that really represents your greatest asset: your creativity.

There are three basic types of letters you’ll want to compose using WordHustler’s LetterComposer:

1. COVER LETTER: these are sent along with your writing when entering writing contests or sending complete or sample manuscripts to markets.

2. REPRESENTATION QUERY LETTER: a letter sent to agents and publishers, sometimes with a manuscript or non-fiction book proposal, sometimes without, to grab their attention about your project and yourself. The goal of a good query letter is to entice the reader to represent you, publish you, or both.

3. ARTICLE QUERY LETTER: this letter is sent to publications in order to pitch them an idea for an article. This is sometimes sent with the completed manuscript, sometimes not. The main goal of this letter is to entice the magazine editor into realizing they NEED your article in their publication.

This article focuses on cover letters.

Below is an example of a cover letter submitted to a short story contest with the short story attached. Observe:

February 21, 2008

Dear Ms. Braverman:

Please consider my short story, “Red Jell-O Ninja.” It’s a story about a young martial artist who loses her will to main and decides to fake her own death using a copious amount of, that’s right, you guessed it, Jell-O.

I am currently a writer living in Phoenix. My previous projects include writing for University of Arizona’s Theater Department, as well as winning the Grassmoor High School writing award. I have also published articles for the Sun Devil Times (U of A’s newspaper) as well as various online publications.

Thanks for taking a look at “Red Jell-O Ninja.”

Yours Truly,

Good job, Pam. This is a nice, clear cover letter. Some tips for writing a letter like this:

Cover Letter Tips:

1. The best cover letters are short, simple, and to the point. Aim to make it no longer than one page (the same goes for query letters). The first paragraph should state the name of your project and a brief logline or one-sentence summary. Pam the Pirate’s letter summarizes her story nicely: “It’s a story about a young martial artist who loses her will to maim and decides to fake her own death using a copious amount of…that’s right, you guessed it: Jell-O.”

2. The second paragraph should include a bit of background on yourself and your writing history. For example, Pam the Pirate’s cover letter mentions that she lives in Phoenix, has written for the University of Arizona Theater Department and has published articles in a local newspaper as well as various online publications. The key here is brief, succinct published accomplishments. If you haven’t been published yet, don’t fret. Not only are you still a writer, you may even get some mileage out of being honest and even funny about your status. 

3. Compose a short sign-off sentence. Pam says, “Thanks for taking a look at ‘Red Jell-O Ninja.’” It’s also a nice idea to thank them for their time, since editors usually have very little of it.

Read “Knock Their Socks Off: Writing Great Query Letters PART I” for more letter-writing goodness!