That introductory letter

“A good many young writers make the mistake of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, big enough for the manuscript to come back in. This is too much of a temptation to the editor.”  – Ring Lardner

 

 

Ring Lardner

I’ve always liked Ring Lardner, an old-time sportswriter from the early part of the last century who wrote with satirical humor and the kind of description that always put you on the field, on the court, in the boat, or in the locker room with athletes about whom he was writing.  Friends with F. Scott Fitzgerald and admired by Ernest Hemingway, he also started the column “In The Wake of the News” for the Chicago Tribune and did it so well that it became an established part of that newspaper’s vernacular even to this day. 

I dug out his quote of his after finding an old letter I had received from one of my publishers.  It was in one of the Publisher’s envelopes (always a good sign for a fledgling writer).  Included with their letter of interest in my manuscript was a folded up self-addressed, stamped envelope I had sent to them.  And, like Lardner implies, it was one of those full-size 9x12 models, big enough to hold the entire manuscript (which I had foolishly sent thinking, “Gee, how could they possibly not want my book?”  And yet, there was this telltale envelope showing that I really didn’t have all that much confidence that they were going to keep it.).

So, a quick piece of advice to aspiring writers, whether you’re sending it by old-fashioned mail or electronically.  Always send just a “sample” of your work and not the whole piece.  Cover it with a short, concise, descriptive introductory letter, telling the editors about what you’ve written, why you’ll be a good “fit” for them, and how much you’re looking forward to working as hard as you can to make them glad that they send you back a positive reply – in their envelope, and not yours.

Half the battle is getting them to read more of your work in the first place and nothing does that better than how you introduce yourself to them.

Happy writing!

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