catrambo: Ten Things You Can Do To Enhance Your Manuscript's Chances

Cat Rambo (

catrambo) wrote,
@ 2008-07-09 10:36:00

Current mood:	busy
Entry tags:	editorial, fantasy magazine, tips, writing

Ten Things You Can Do To Enhance Your Manuscript's Chances
1. Read and follow the magazine or market's guidelines. Do not send things that are over/under length without querying first. If they say they do not take vampire stories, do not send vampire stories. If they are currently closed, make a note on your calender as to when they open and then submit somewhere else that is open.
2. Look up the current editor(s) and use their name. Do not make assumptions about their gender, for we all know what assumptions lead to. If you say "Dear Editors" or "To Whom it May Concern", the message below the greeting is "I didn't care enough to go do my homework."
3. Make your cover letter brief and to the point, and list only really notable stuff, like major publications or awards. Do NOT involve a synopsis or summation of your writing style, particularly one with words such as "gripping", "enthralling," or "delightful".
4. Get things right. Don't misspell names of editors or magazines. Do not let cut and paste lead you astray and make you mention their market and then supply the wrong name. Double-check your letter. Make sure you got their address correct as well as your own.
5. Check your title. Is it "The" plus a noun? Is that noun an interesting one? Rethink titles like "The Bowl", "The Pudding" or "The Proof". Make the title an interesting one, one that promises a cool and entertaining story.

Tomorrow: Five more things you can do - besides the ULTIMATE SECRET.

(21 comments) - (Post a new comment)

amysisson
2008-07-09 05:56 pm UTC (link)

I was wondering about the "Dear Editors" point. Strange Horizons almost specifically prefers that as opposed to people listing all three names, and I also find that when I look at a magazine's website and there's a managing editor, an editor, an associate editor, etc., I don't always know which one to put down. (It's easy when there's a "Fiction Editor," but that seems to be more rare than not.)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	catrambo 2008-07-09 08:42 pm UTC (link)
	That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that. It seemed to me people were just being lazy. (Reply to this) (Parent)

arielblue
2008-07-09 08:47 pm UTC (link)

I was just going to make a similar comment. Also, sometimes there's an editor-in-chief and a bunch of associate editors, and it seems kind of hubristic to address the letter directly to the editor-in-chief who almost certainly won't be the first reader (if they see the submission at all).

There are some journals whose editorship changes annually (I'm thinking Indiana Review for one), and in this case it's probably better to address it to "Fiction Editor" rather than using last year's person's name. But a little research should help in these cases, :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

tchernabyelo
2008-07-10 09:54 am UTC (link)

I entirely agree with that - I kno wmost magazines use slush readers, I don't necessarily know who they are, and I feel stupid putting "Dear X" at the top of an email that there's a 90% chance will never actually reach X.

As an additional note: there are cultural differences here, too. I'm British, and we tend to the more formal approach until we've established a relationship of sorts (for example, I will now happily put "Dear Cat" and a less formal tone on my cover letetrs when I sub to Fantasy, but only because we've exchanged a number of emails, lj comments, etc - and I will address to Cat, not Sean, because I know she's the one reading the emails).

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	samhenderson 2008-07-09 06:18 pm UTC (link)
	What if I title a story THE ULIMATE SECRET? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	livia_llewellyn 2008-07-09 06:41 pm UTC (link)
	I'm going to title a story THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING BOWL. Because three uninteresting nouns are better than one, right? Right? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	samhenderson 2008-07-09 07:03 pm UTC (link)
	Title it THE UTIMATE SECRET IS IN THE PUDDING BOWL, because four beats all. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	willowfagan 2008-07-09 08:30 pm UTC (link)
	Oh yeah, Mr. Henderson? My story THE ULTIMATE SECRET PROOF IS THE PUDDING IN THE BOWL is totally more enthralling and delightful than your obviously derivative tale. ;) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	jimkeller 2008-07-09 08:13 pm UTC (link)
	I once ran a murder mystery party where I put the proof at the bottom of an enormous bowl of pudding. Everyone who was at my party will think you stole the idea from me. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

davidlevine
2008-07-09 06:31 pm UTC (link)

2. Look up the current editor(s) and use their name. ... If you say "Dear Editors" or "To Whom it May Concern", the message below the greeting is "I didn't care enough to go do my homework."

It would be helpful if the Fantasy submissions page (http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?page_id=2) listed the editors' names as part of the submissions guidelines rather than in the sidebar. I missed them completely the first couple of times.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	catrambo 2008-07-09 08:43 pm UTC (link)
	Good point, I'll look at changing that. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ruralwriter 2008-07-09 07:19 pm UTC (link)
	I cringed, but I went with "Dear Editor" on a contest submission once because the announcements did not specifically identify the editor/s (and/or contest coordinator/s) for the contest. I almost included my guess at the editor's name, but I thought "Dear Editor" might perhaps be better than being wrong.... Sincerely, Lowly Writer (Reply to this)

silviamg
2008-07-09 08:25 pm UTC (link)

I prefer to use the generic dear editor or editors as it is a respectful greeting. Maybe it's my cultural upbringing but I would never write to someone I don't know and say something like "Dear Jane Smith" because it feels too personal. I guess I might be tempted to use "Dear Ms.Smith" but that still seems a bit personal to me if I haven't sold to the publication. But maybe I'm the minority here.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	silviamg 2008-07-09 08:28 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, I have to say I've been trying to get rid of this phobia and have been sending more stuff out lately with the editor's name but I'm still not 100 per cent there. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

jeffsoesbe
2008-07-09 08:53 pm UTC (link)

Thanks for the post. Good, common sense, all five of those.

I'm finally learning the "have a good title" thing, which now that I realize it is such a "well, duh" I'm ashamed to have been using blah titles for so long...

Out of curiousity, I assume this means that if you received a cover letter that started as follows, you'd be fine with that?

"Sean Wallace and Cat Rambo
Co-Editors
Fantasy Magazine

Dear Sean Wallace & Cat Rambo, "

(etc)

(I'm always torn on the formal "Dear Ms/Mr" versus the less formal "Dear (full name)", for exactly the reason you state above).

Thanks!

- yeff

ETA: I had put some things in angle brackets, which were interpreted as HTML. Oops.

Edited at 2008-07-09 08:53 pm UTC

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	catrambo 2008-07-09 09:07 pm UTC (link)
	I'm good with "Sean Wallace and Cat Rambo", "Editors Wallace and Rambo", "Mr. Wallace and Ms. Rambo" - whatever. Basically those say to me that you did look at the masthead to find out who the editors were and that means you're more likely to have a story that might fit the magazine. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	jeffsoesbe 2008-07-10 12:00 am UTC (link)
	Great! The "basic Fantasy Magazine cover letter" is set, then. I just have to put it to use, and make sure to replace my marks for [INSERT TITLE], [INSERT LENGTH], etc, with the proper values. Because otherwise that would be really embarassing... - yeff (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Mrs. or Ms. quantumage 2008-08-01 07:50 pm UTC (link)
	Using the full name seems awkward to me sometimes, especially if there are multiple editors (it can get pretty long). However, I sometimes worry that if I use Ms. and the editor is married, she will see that as an error (as in, I should have used Mrs.). But then, I am probably being way too paranoid at that point, eh? (Reply to this) (Parent)

southernweirdo
2008-07-09 09:36 pm UTC (link)

Ooh....ooh...(raising hand)...

I think I know the ULTIMATE SECRET. Is it to not get so wrapped up in cover letters that you forget to write a good story? ;)

Seriously, the "cut and paste" thing can't be stressed enough. I once got a submission from a writer with impressive credentials, degrees, a few publication credits, etc., but at the end of it, the individual stated "self-addressed stamped envelope enclosed" and "SASE" below the signature....and this was in an electronic submission! I had to email her back explaining I couldn't find the SASE in her email. I couldn't resist :)

Thanks for the posting this. I look forward to tomorrow's post.

(Reply to this)

	andrewkaye 2008-07-09 10:37 pm UTC (link)
	Excellent advice. My personal submission pet peeve is mass mailings. Especially when the submitter doesn't bother to hide the fact that it's a mass mailing. (Reply to this)

	ex_benpayne119 2008-07-10 08:59 am UTC (link)
	I don't really care if anyone knows my name (in fact I often get submissions addressed to "dog" or variations), but agree with the others... I would add that if the publication doesn't accept simultaneous submissions, don't send them a big bundle... and if they don't accept multiple subs, don't cc all the other editors in the same email :-) (Reply to this)

(21 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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