Dear Sirs: A Cover Letter No-No

Published: Thu, 10/09/14

"During the five or so years I worked at Fringe Magazine I was the only dude on staff. Fringe was created by an immensely talented band of women who were tired of, among other things, the attention heaped on the writings of so many white male writers (particularly the dead ones).

"Fringe's first theme issue was Feminism.

"So when a literary journal is staffed almost exclusively by women, and is particularly interested in matters related to gender, addressing a submission to 'Dear Sirs' is like shooting yourself right in the ol' onions.

"But that's what many, many dozens of writers did during my tenure there. I don't have hard evidence to back up the following assertion, but I'm fairly confident in saying that we accepted 0% of them.

"I don't want to overstate their importance; rare are the instances when a writer is rejected solely on the basis of his or her cover letter. But! Not rare are the instances when a writer's cover letter will color the reading he or she receives. If you piss off an editor before that editor even opens your submission, you're immediately playing from behind.

"It's a pretty simple lesson, but an important one: Know your masthead."

Read more of "Dear Sirs: A Cover Letter No-No" by WBN cofounder David Duhr over on our blog

Have cover letter questions of your own? Ask away in the comment section below the post.

Thanks for reading, dear sirs!
Justine

Justine Tal Goldberg
Owner, WriteByNight