tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post1294051241862727617..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Cover Me--I'm Going InLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-51181151671674852912021-03-10T06:59:49.590-05:002021-03-10T06:59:49.590-05:00Oh, in case anyone is offended, I don't want t...Oh, in case anyone is offended, I don't want to be disrespectful by using the name Barbina Goffmanova (in fact, my imagination got the better of me). She is, of course, none other than our very own Barb Goffman. I really appreciate her work and have a tremendous amount of respect for her. If you could only see my story with her track changes you would see why it is a humbling experience for me. I'm still hovering above the nest.Anne van Doornhttp://www.annevandoorn.benoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-89382120443701775232021-03-08T05:02:45.415-05:002021-03-08T05:02:45.415-05:00Thank you, John. Yeah, my submission led to a sign...Thank you, John. Yeah, my submission led to a signed contract. And I'd also like to mention, Josh gave me some really good feedback on how to restructure my stories (originally written in Dutch--I'm from the Netherlands) and reduce the word count, in order to increase the chance of them being bought. I'm still a fledgling, but with a few friendly nudges I'm taking off. Oh, and I wouldn't have achieve this withouth my wonderful copy-editor, too. She's a fine Russian lady by the name of Barbina Goffmanova. I'm afraid she's not between what I type right now and your computer screen, so, if you stumble across my errors, please, bear with me! I need more nudges, while my wings are growing stronger!Anne van Doornhttp://www.annevandoorn.benoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-20530809956217750662021-03-07T04:40:55.265-05:002021-03-07T04:40:55.265-05:00LOL! (No joke, even though I type these cover lett...LOL! (No joke, even though I type these cover letters new each time, I always check the name of the story I'm sending out! Hey, I spelled "Editor" as "Edito;" one time!)Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-26134888552159579792021-03-06T19:54:58.525-05:002021-03-06T19:54:58.525-05:00Hope it'll come soon for you, Jeff. Stay safe...Hope it'll come soon for you, Jeff. Stay safe.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-35715515834389433662021-03-06T19:53:50.630-05:002021-03-06T19:53:50.630-05:00Jeff, if the format you're using works, keep u...Jeff, if the format you're using works, keep using it! (Just remember to change the name of the story and publication every time.)John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62137733597702492842021-03-06T19:46:56.888-05:002021-03-06T19:46:56.888-05:00Vaccine status will be updated as soon as I have o...Vaccine status will be updated as soon as I have one!Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-59293814863750936762021-03-06T19:38:19.515-05:002021-03-06T19:38:19.515-05:00Thanks for the as always informative essay, John! ...Thanks for the as always informative essay, John! I admit I use the terms "Query Letter" and "Cover Letter" pretty interchangeably; thanks for setting me straight! I've sent out a version of the same cover letter for ten years now, so I'll say there is nothing wrong with a form cover letter as long as you adapt it to each individual submission.Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-2104896013734784422021-03-06T19:28:23.329-05:002021-03-06T19:28:23.329-05:00Elizabeth -- I expect you'll probably be fine,...Elizabeth -- I expect you'll probably be fine, with that cover letter you sent. As I said, my so-called "rules" are mostly what **I** have found to be effective, and that doesn't mean they're always right. But I do encourage you to include publication credits in your letter next time. Good luck, by the way!<br /><br />My wife and I also received the Pfizer vaccine. I hope both you and your hubby will soon be fully vaccinated and fully protected. Now if we can just get enough folks vaccinated and keep the variants (and the incredibly stupid politicians and anti-mask folks) under control for awhile, maybe things'll improve everywhere.<br /><br />Keep sending in those stories!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-16470481141844261792021-03-06T17:43:23.928-05:002021-03-06T17:43:23.928-05:00Thank you, John. Apparently I messed up again, alt...Thank you, John. Apparently I messed up again, although I haven't yet received a rejection notice. I sent off a story last week to a literary magazine with a letter beginning, "Dear Editors: I enclose my 3,400-word historical crime story, _________, for your consideration," and stating the time frame & locations involved since it's a historical mystery. But guess what, I forgot to include any of my publication history & I actually do have some.<br /><br />I got my first Pfizer Covid vaccine injection yesterday & go back in three weeks for the second installment. My husband is only 61 so he isn't eligible to get the vaccine from the county, as I was. I still need to make an appointment for him with the VA health system.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00239163766419735693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-28373544759040300722021-03-06T17:27:20.714-05:002021-03-06T17:27:20.714-05:00Yes, congrats on the EQMM sale, Anne! Glad to hea...Yes, congrats on the EQMM sale, Anne! Glad to hear about that.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-40965543784972630592021-03-06T17:26:19.657-05:002021-03-06T17:26:19.657-05:00Good for you, Josh. One-stop shopping.Good for you, Josh. One-stop shopping.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-60639831820160724032021-03-06T17:11:08.707-05:002021-03-06T17:11:08.707-05:00PS: Anne van Doorn was too humble to mention that ...PS: Anne van Doorn was too humble to mention that EQMM bought his (yes, his) story (probably mostly because of the excellent cover letter). Congratulations on the sale, Anne — and you’re welcome!joshpachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123432071405643210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-63246237956717474512021-03-06T17:08:05.645-05:002021-03-06T17:08:05.645-05:00Yay on the vaccine, John! I was notified today tha...Yay on the vaccine, John! I was notified today that I can get the one-dose J&J shot first thing Monday morning. No cover letter required....joshpachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123432071405643210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-8564652653884452582021-03-06T15:52:04.014-05:002021-03-06T15:52:04.014-05:00Thanks, Melodie. As I said to O'Neil, this is...Thanks, Melodie. As I said to O'Neil, this is old hat to most of us--more of a reminder than anything. Hope you get those vaccinations soon, up there!!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-26221284391092633972021-03-06T15:50:01.835-05:002021-03-06T15:50:01.835-05:00Hey Liz. Yep, glad to get that second shot. As f...Hey Liz. Yep, glad to get that second shot. As for including the word count, I always put it at the top right of the first page of my manuscript, so I don't put it in the cover letter unless the publication asks for it there in their guidelines. But it sure can't hurt to do it anyway . . .<br /><br />Whatever works, right?John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-61127831880956365582021-03-06T15:38:34.636-05:002021-03-06T15:38:34.636-05:00Great points, and I envy you your latest achieveme...Great points, and I envy you your latest achievement. If only.Melodie Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870938103759179132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-18787119158052343522021-03-06T15:11:14.736-05:002021-03-06T15:11:14.736-05:00John, LOL at your greatest recent accomplishment. ...John, LOL at your greatest recent accomplishment. Vaccination—priceless! Re cover letters, the only thing I do that you didn't mention is include the word count, eg I'm submitting my 4,550-word story, "The Vanishing Morgue," for your consideration.Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-36878868743139434682021-03-06T10:56:40.720-05:002021-03-06T10:56:40.720-05:00Thanks, O'Neil. I am of course preaching to t...Thanks, O'Neil. I am of course preaching to the choir, with this post, but I truly have heard a lot of questions and misinformation about cover letters over the past several months.<br /><br />Keep up the great writing!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-29078817992216869692021-03-06T10:53:30.352-05:002021-03-06T10:53:30.352-05:00Good thought, Michael. I would suspect that you, ...Good thought, Michael. I would suspect that you, an editor of both a magazine and anthologies, HAVE seen just about every kind of cover letter and every kind of cover-letter mistake.<br /><br />And you're right: many guidelines, yours included, contain specifics regarding the content of the subject line of a submission email. At the very least, doing it correctly tells the editor you've read the guidelines and can follow instructions. <br /><br />Even if the guidelines don't have anything to say about this, I always try to include the word SUBMISSION in there, for the reasons you mentioned. <br /><br />Many thanks!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-47598313761331849842021-03-06T10:32:59.473-05:002021-03-06T10:32:59.473-05:00For the past five months I've been receiving s...For the past five months I've been receiving submissions for a magazine and three different anthologies, so I've seen nearly every possible variation of "good" and "bad" cover letters.<br /><br />One thing you've not covered, John, that applies to emailed submissions and not snail-mailed submissions is the text in the subject line.<br /><br />Some editors give specific instructions in their guidelines. For example, the editor asks for Author's Last Name-Story Title-Length, which translates to: Bracken-"My Best Story Ever"-3,400 words<br /><br />But many editors don't, so here's what my subject line usually looks like:<br /><br />SUBMISSION: "My Best Story Ever"<br /><br />If the submission is to an editor that I know works on multiple projects at the same time, I add a bit of specificity:<br /><br />Groovy Gumshoes SUBMISSION: "My Best Story Ever"<br /><br />BCMM SUBMISSION: "My Best Story Ever"<br /><br />And so on.<br /><br />This makes it easy for the editor to see at a glance that your email is a submission and not one of the dozens of other types of email she might receive on a given day.Michael Brackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01072019804281421944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-18821870888666875212021-03-06T09:44:31.199-05:002021-03-06T09:44:31.199-05:00Hey Eve! One thing in that closing cover-letter i...Hey Eve! One thing in that closing cover-letter is true: this post really was a modified (and GREATly shortened) version of an article I sold to Byline Magazine more than twenty years ago. In that piece I really did say things like "remind the editor that you've enclosed an SASE," and "keep a copy of your cover letter," etc. As Janice said, electronic submissions have changed everything, and mostly for the better.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-14700103491493144252021-03-06T09:36:35.761-05:002021-03-06T09:36:35.761-05:00Thank you, Janice. I can remember, and you might ...Thank you, Janice. I can remember, and you might too, when we had to write and mail in a "request for guidelines" before we were even able to send a submission to a magazine. On top of that, we had to buy paper, envelopes, printer ribbons, etc., and then go stand in line at the post office and pay to mail it off. Good grief.<br /><br />I heard someone say the only problem with the fact that it's now so easy to submit a story to a publication is that it's now so easy to submit a story to a publication. In other words, it's so easy everybody's doing it, and the volume of submissions is higher. Probably right.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-24209449405216622642021-03-06T09:34:00.595-05:002021-03-06T09:34:00.595-05:00Words of wisdom; and a great cover letter to boot!...Words of wisdom; and a great cover letter to boot! Thanks, John.Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-37230168432125521912021-03-06T09:27:58.250-05:002021-03-06T09:27:58.250-05:00Anne, I'm not surprised the JoshMan was able t...Anne, I'm not surprised the JoshMan was able to help out, there--he's sold a boatload of stories to EQMM. As for my second Covid shot, we had to wait a bit until our age-group became eligible but then were able to hop in right away. My wife and I got our second vaccinations two weeks ago today. Hope you're able to get yours soon!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-35222211477109723812021-03-06T09:23:22.567-05:002021-03-06T09:23:22.567-05:00Leigh, Mom's blessing ought to be enough to ge...Leigh, Mom's blessing ought to be enough to get you accepted, right? How could she be wrong??<br /><br />As for your recent submission, since violating #8 implies that you didn't mention a prior meeting but you HAD a prior meeting, I think that forgives violating #7. This is making my head hurt . . .<br /><br />Hey, nothing wrong with name dropping--though you might now want to stay away from my name and RT's. As for those two editors, I too sometimes made it past the first gatekeeper only to get sent home by the second one. This is indeed an inexact science! If you figure it out, let me know.<br />John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.com