Ah, the dreaded query…
You either hate them or don’t really care about them. I have yet to meet anyone who actually loves writing a query letter, but have met plenty of writers who want to vent about them.
In essence, a query or cover letter is a one page or less letter saying, “here is what I wrote, please read it.”
For most written works, a query is closer to the one page size. However, when it comes to writing one for a short poem or a story with less than 200 words, like for a children’s magazine, one page is way too long. If the document is less than 200 words, there is no need for a long letter detailing your writing career that will take the editor three times as long to read as what you are submitting.
Keep it short and to the point.
What do you need in a query or cover letter for a short work?
- The Title
- Word Count
- Classification – What it is: poem, short story, nonfiction, recipe, etc.
- Your contact information – not to be given in the body of the letter, but at the top or bottom (like under the signature)
- Optional: any credentials for why you are a good source, like if you are submitting a nonfiction work.
- Also optional: If you’ve been published with them before
That is it.
As an example, I’m going to use the query/cover letter that I included with my submission for my first published work, “Camping In,” to Boys’ Quest Magazine.
(In case it isn’t obvious, I’m faking the addresses for this example)
Recipient’s Address
1234 Submit Your Book
Publisher’s city, state, zip
Dear _______,
I am submitting for your consideration Camping In, my 38 word poem. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me with any of the options below.
Sincerely yours,
______
Put email, address, and possibly phone number here
BOOM!
That is it. My poem was only 38 words long, there was no need to write a novel about my life for someone who reads hundreds of submissions a week. On the Highlights High Five submission page, they give you a limit to how many words can be in the cover letter for that very reason. If Camping In had been a short story instead of a poem, I might have added to the sentence a small summary of it.
Example: I am submitting for your consideration Camping In, my ___ word short story about two friends building an indoor tent on a rainy night.
Again, short, quick, and to the point. Clean!