When to Use a Cover Letter on a Manuscript Submission

Cover letters often seem like a waste of time to freelance writers. You've written a query letter for the editor you are targeting and he or she has requested your manuscript. You've written the manuscript, so why would you want to write something else? The fact is, however, that cover letters can be a necessary addition to your manuscript. Not only does it prepare the editor for the enclosed manuscript, but it also reminds the editor that he or she requested it. Remember that editors work with dozens of authors, and your name might not immediately ring a bell.

Typically, a cover letter is a one- to five-paragraph letter describing the contents of the manuscript submission and any other pertinent information that the editor needs to know. In the following circumstances, you should always use a cover letter on a manuscript submission:

1. When you have received a request or an assignment. As mentioned above, editors often find it difficult to keep track of the manuscripts they request and assign. If you are not submitting your manuscript "on spec", but have a genuine request or assignment, always use a cover letter to remind the editor of that fact. It should state something along the lines of, "As per your request, I have enclosed my..."

2. To indicate additional enclosures. If you are submitting your manuscript with photographs, fillers, sidebars, illustrations or resources, a cover letter helps to prepare editors for those enclosures. This is especially true if the manuscript and the other enclosures are typed on the same type of paper; it helps the editor to know when the manuscript has ended and the closures begin. You can either include a list of the enclosures in the body of the cover letter (i.e. "Enclosed are the manuscript, three photographs and a list of additional resources...") or you can provide a list at the end of your cover letter.

3. To provide information about experts. If you have quoted experts in your manuscript, or even if you have only referred to their expertise, you can use your cover letter to explain their credentials and/or relevance to the manuscript itself.