Cover Letters
How do I write a cover letter?
Your favourite publisher is open for submissions. Great! You have a manuscript ready to send. You have been through it yourself countless times and had it professionally edited, giving it a final spell check just to pick up any last-minute errors.
But the publisher wants you to write a cover letter. What do you say? How do you do it?
Below are the most common things that a publisher will want in a cover letter. However, every publisher is a little different. Make sure you read their submissions guidelines thoroughly so that you're sure on what they would like you to include. The last thing you want to do is waste their time by giving them a cover letter that includes things they don't want. That will put them offside before they've even looked at your manuscript.
Most publishers will ask for the following details:
•Your name. It's important to put your legal name on the cover letter. If you're writing under a pseudonym, you can mention that further down.
•What your story is about. This should be a brief paragraph. Don't include several huge paragraphs. You need to be able to tell the kernel of your story within a few lines.
•Target audience. Keep age groups tight and relevant – e.g. not ages 4 to 10. That’s too broad. Hopefully, you've already researched the correct age group for your story. If not, spend some time doing that before you submit.
•Key sales points/elevator pitch. Publishers want to know why they should take on your book. What is it that you think readers will find appealing? What has your market research shown you about why your book will sell? Write the key sales points succinctly. Bullet points are fine. Again, don't include massive paragraphs with huge amounts of information. The submissions editor won't have time to read all that.
•Authority to write if relevant. For example, if you're writing from the point of view of a speech pathologist, it will be assumed that you have experience with speech pathology, so include that in the cover letter. Reading lots of picture books with kids is not considered an authority to write for children. However, if you teach young children, that's a good thing to mention if you've written a story for that age group.
•What unique space does your book have? This means what position your book will take in the marketplace. This is where market comparison and relevance come into play. You want a space that has both similarity to other stories but also carves a unique niche for your story.
• Keep to a maximum of one page. This is essential. A submissions editor is likely to be in a hurry and won't have time to read several pages just to understand your story. Keep all your paragraphs brief and to the point. The publisher doesn't need to know every step of the journey that led to writing it.
https://bookwhispersconsultancy.com.au/home/cover-letter-and-pitch-help