How do I write a cover letter?

A new writer told me they keep getting close to sending out poems to magazines, and then they get stuck on the cover letter. This is understandable, but easy to overcome! Some quick tips on how to writer a cover letter for submitting to poetry magazines and competitions.

1) Keep it short. Editors receive 100s, if not 1000s of submissions. They’re scanning the cover letter and skipping to the poems. No need to be detailed.

2) Name the editor / prize judge. Start your letter ‘Dear [insert name]. It’s worth showing you’ve checked who the editor is, and you can easily find it on the website. Sometimes I also write, ‘and [magazine name] team, to acknowledge anyone sifting or coordinating.

3) Then some boilerplate sentences. I tend to say, ‘Thanks in advance for reading my submission. I enclose [#] poems for your consideration.’

4) Check the guidelines. Some of them ask you to list the number of poems, and/or the titles in the cover letter. Check the guidance and follow it.

5) A short bio. If you’re brand new to this, it can be a couple of lines, ‘I am an emerging writer living in Cardiff. I write about sunflowers and capitalism, and admire the work of Amelia Loulli.’ OR you can just skip it. Lots of places don’t need a bio. If you’ve got a couple of things published already, great, say that. ‘I am an emerging writer living in Cardiff. My poems have appeared in Magma and Queerlings.’ You can add things like ‘I am working towards my first pamphlet’. You can also include social media handles if you’re active on there. But you don’t need to. Honestly, try not to stress about it. The poems are the key thing. DO NOT write several paragraphs. I write about 50 words, and that’s the most anyone needs.

6) Include any payments reference numbers if it’s a competition, often a paypal receipt number.

7) Don’t overthink it. Once you do a lot of these, you’ll barely think about it. Cut and paste from previous ones. I keep a running list of bios in a word doc that I can adjust as needed. It can feel like a big thing, but I promise you it isn’t. Practice and it will just become part of the process.

8) Good luck!