Cover letter

A cover letter is "a letter of introduction" that accompanies another document; in short-fiction submission that document is the story itself, and the letter stays deliberately small. The Masters Review's editor guidance: cover letters are "our first introduction to you, the writer," they "don't need to be long," "DO include a bio," "DON'T summarize your story," and "DO include brief information about the submission. Is this fiction or CNF? How many words?" The Adroit Journal's version: editors "often want to know the word count," include "the category or genre of the piece," and stating "This is a simultaneous submission" is "a matter of professional courtesy."

The distinction to keep: the cover letter rides with a short story to a magazine; the query letter proposes a finished book to an agent, the craft walked through in how to write a query letter. The manuscript behind both is how to format a manuscript.