How to Write a Cover Letter for a Literary Journal Submission
Why you don’t need to stand out in your cover letter
As the publisher of Fiction Attic Press, which publishes flash fiction, short stories, essays, and novellas-in-flash by new and established writers, I receive a few dozen submissions each month through our submittable portal. In the 17 years since Fiction Attic began, I’ve read thousands of cover letters for journal submissions. Some are good, some are bad, and most are forgettable. It might surprise you to know that the most forgettable cover letters are often the best. That’s because a cover letter for a literary magazine submission should be a bridge to get the reader as quickly as possible to the story. Unlike a query letter, which should drum up excitement about a novel or article you want to submit, a cover letter’s job is to be as brief and invisible as possible.
What Not to Do in Your Cover Letter
Cuteness
A cover letter is never a place to be cute, as in, “I live with my seven gerbils and love Swedish Fish!” That’s great if you’re submitting to a high school writing contest or venue, but for most literary magazines, leave the Swedish fish out of it, unless you know that the editor is a huge fan of Swedish Fish.
