Cover Letter Templates (Literary Magazines)

Submitting to literary magazines can take serious time.  For writers with certain disabilities/diseases/neurodivergences, it can take even longer and sap what little energy they have.

One trick for faster submissions is the use of a cover letter template.  A great thing about them is that only the first paragraph and salutation need to have blanks.

Example:

Dear editor (Last name),

Thank you for taking the time to review my short story (title here), which is (word count here) in length.  It is (exclusive or a simultaneous submission).  I really enjoyed (name of piece read in their magazine).

The rest of the letter will stay fairly static between submissions unless you move, change your name, publish somewhere new, or get a new job.  

Example:  

I received my MFA from Middle-Fiddle College in 2014 and am now an adjunct professor.  My work has appeared in Prestigious Magazine, Well-known Literary, and Fairly Impressive Review.  I live in the middle of Middle Earth with my cat, Precious.

Sincerely,

Oblib Baggins

3 One Ring Road

Middle of Middle Earth

GandalfLuvr@Grey.com

Create a clean copy of your template, and save it on your computer.  Some literary magazines request different things in a cover letter, but having this document to work from will save you some time... especially if you submit a lot.