You are entering a writing contest, and you are asked to provide a cover letter, and a bio. You do your best, and submit something great. Yet, there is a lingering doubt in your mind. Will someone else’s cover letter and bio stand out more? Will they gain an advantage? Am I letting myself down, or being held back, by this section of the submission form? In this article we provide all the information necessary to set your mind at rest, notes on how to interact with literary journals, and templates & examples to give you the best chance of success. This article is part of our Professional Development Series: If you would like anything added to it please reach us at mail@letterreview.com
Cover Letter
Red Flags
The truth is, these materials can be very short. Sometimes we don’t see much of a cover letter at all: Perhaps just a bio. That’s OK, even though it is not best practice. Once we see a professional bio, we are primarily on the lookout for red flags: Signs of aggression, and unprofessional behaviour being the most obvious ones. Below, this article explores what constitutes professional behaviour in the context of a writing contest.
Professionalism
First and foremost, the cover letter provides an opportunity to demonstrate to the organizers of the contest that you take your creative writing practice seriously. That you are a professional. If the contest has a monetary award, this means that you are entering into a financial contract with the organizers, which is a serious thing. The organizers want to know that they can trust you. Strike a professional tone: A tone you might use at a job interview.
Personalize
Say hi to the contest organizers / judges by name at the top of your letter. Make sure to mention the name of the journal you are submitting to. This doesn’t take very long, and demonstrates a familiarity with the organization. This reads as professional, and promising to literary journals. If you like, mention a piece or two that you enjoyed at the journal, and if you have subscribed let them know.
Proofreading
Proofread the cover letter and bio carefully. Spelling or grammar / syntax errors in this section may suggest carelessness. Take the time to get this right. Show your materials to a friend, or editor, and have them provide assurance that all is as it should be. You can even run these materials through AI such as ChatGPT these days.
Friendly
Be friendly and approachable. Everyone wants to work with people who are easy going, and relaxed. Use the cover letter as an opportunity to demonstrate you possess these qualities. Try not to give the impression that you have put all your eggs in one literary basket, so to speak, and that you are sitting at home clicking refresh around the clock.
Gratitude
Be grateful. We live in the instant gratification society. Organizing writing prizes takes time, and is complex. There is often very little money involved at any stage, especially if the prize was free to enter. Most people work at literary magazines for free, or very little pay. It’s a labor of love. Take a moment to acknowledge this in your cover letter. Thank the organizers for the opportunity. Contest judges are people just like you.
Word Count
You can mention the word count, or line count, of your submission. This does make the job of the judge easier (you can also include this figure on the submission document itself).
Special Requests
Look out for special requests from the organization. For instance, we ask writers to let us know where they heard about our prize. Almost everyone provides a response to this, which lets us know entrants are taking the time to read through the requirements of our prize carefully, which is heartening.
Simultaneous Submissions
It’s standard practice in the literary journal world for entrants / submitters to let the publication know if they are also submitting their entry to other publications. This may be unnecessary, but it is still best practice. Some places accept simultaneous submissions, and other do not (they only want you to submit work to them that is not being considered elsewhere). The Letter Review accepts simultaneous submissions.
The most important thing is to withdraw the entry promptly if it is accepted elsewhere (if the publisher only wants unpublished work), or you do not want to proceed with the contest any further. Consider a line like the following: ‘This is a simultaneous submission: I will let you know immediately if it becomes ineligible for your contest.’
Example
The cover letter example below is longer than most that we see. Winners sometimes have very short cover letters: Sometimes just a bio. As above, the most important thing is to avoid red flags: No aggression, no unprofessional behaviour please. The cover letter below is an example of current best practice in the literary world.
Dear The X Review (Sam Jenkins and Francis Magellan),
Hope you are very well. Sincere thanks for organizing this contest, I imagine it takes a lot of time and dedication.
I enjoy reading your publication very much, especially the poetry section. ‘The Hunting Ground’ by Sally Jones moved me because of the vivid imagery in particular.
Please find attached my submission to The X Review Prize for Poetry. It is 72 lines long. My bio is included below.
*insert bio*
I am a subscriber to your publication, and am looking forward to the next issue.
This is a simultaneous submission: I will let you know immediately if it becomes ineligible for your contest.
I heard about your Prize on Instagram from John Bulvers.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, and good wishes for the rest of the judging process.
Best wishes,
Jessica Longthorn
Interacting with Contest Organizers
Promptness
Responding to emails promptly is very important. Even though contests can take a long time to judge, and the entrant may find themselves waiting for many months, once the judges have decided on the winners, due to tight publishing deadlines, things often move very quickly. Responding to emails within 72 hours is an important dimension of professional behaviour.
Courtesy
It is important to remain polite at all times, even during disagreements. We have heard that writers sometimes send abrupt, or even angry, emails to the organizers of contests. This is puzzling, as it appears to operate against the best interests of the entrant. Before sending an email to a publication, write a draft, and let it cool off. Best not to send anything while feeling strong emotion.
Following Up
It is permissable to send a polite follow up email, but remember that the organization probably receives many of these emails a day, and responding to them is both tiring, and time consuming. In publishing, time is money, and literary publishers rarely have spare money. If the follow up email doesn’t need to be sent, don’t send it. Before sending any email, make sure to read all the available information provided by the organization via their publication, submission forms, and email correspondence carefully: It may be viewed as unprofessional to ask a question which has been answered already as part of the submission process.
Bio
What to Include?
Bios should be written in third person, pleasant to read, and give the impression of a professional writer. Probably best not to overdo it. Keep it short. Here’s what you probably should include for a complete and satisfying bio:
- Name.
- Location.
- What you write.
- Publication history.
- Education.
- Optional: Some fun / humanizing details.
Example
Jay Phillips is a writer based primarily in the UK, whose passion is poetry and nonfiction. He completed a degree in creative writing at White Elephant University. He has had poems and nonfiction pieces published in X Review, Y Magazine, and Z Journal. He enjoys cycling with his three daughters, walking the shorefront, and writing about the way humans interact with AI.
Publishable
Make sure that what you do include is ‘publishable’. The bio is often published along with the work, whether online or in print. Publishers want a bio they can copy and paste easily. If the bio is too long, too short, or contains frivolous details, or a tone which does not align with the tone of the publication, then the organizers may be forced to reach out to the writer to edit their bio, which can be time consuming and a hindrance to swift publication. If possible, try to read the bios of other writers who have been published by the organizers, and match the tone & style.
Blind Contests
When a contest is marked blind the judges should not be aware of the biographical details of the writer while judging. In reality, this usually means that the bio and cover letter are read by someone at the organization who is not a judge, or that the ancillary information is read after the judging process is complete. In either case, this accompanying material will be scanned for red flags. Even if a contest is read ‘blind’, if there is unprofessional or hostile material included with the submission, the entrant is unlikely to win. That’s why it’s important to get these materials right, even in the context of a blind contest.
We hope this article has been of use to you, and will help you to navigate the tricky world of submissions. Very best of luck with your submissions in the future! This article is part of our Professional Development Series: If you would like anything added to it please reach us at mail@letterreview.com