问询信和投稿信Cover Letters and Query Letters.docVIP

科技写作漫谈：投稿信(cover letter)的写作 ? Rites of Submission:Cover Letters and Query Letters by Jacqueline K. Ogburn Covers letters and query letters are a source of great anxiety for writers. Because the submission process seems so mysterious, cover letters are viewed as talismans or lucky charms, the magic object that will open the door leading to publication, fame and fortune. Not quite. A terrific cover letter never sold a bad manuscript, and many lovely books have sold in spite of their cover letters. Query letters are trickier, because they are the proverbial foot in the door. So what is a good cover letter? First it is a courtesy. As an editor, I did find submissions that lacked a cover letter a bit rude, like a phone caller who doesnt bother saying hello or identifying themselves before launching into the conversation. Like any business letter, it should include your name and address. The text should have the title of your manuscript and what type of book -- picture book, easy-to-read, nonfiction, etc. It should be simple and direct and signed. Thats it. A good query letter is a different beast. Simplicity is still a prime virtue, but a query letter is a come-on; it should entice the editor to read more. It should give a taste of your book, a description of what it is, what is special about it, and it should be less than one page long. I hear skeptical questions from the back of the room: but what about marketing information, reading levels, testimonials from my high school English teacher, my experience as a teacher in a special school for the double-jointed? Following one of the basic rules of good writing to show, not tell, I have written a selection of cover letters and a query to identify common approaches and problems. 投稿信(cover letter)中应包括的内容 投稿信有助于稿件被送到合适的编辑(对于多编辑的期刊而言)或可能的评审人手中. 没有投稿信的稿件可能会给编辑造成一些困惑: 如: 这篇稿件是投给哪种刊物的? 何种栏目? 是新稿还是修改稿? 如果是修改稿的话, 是哪位编辑负责的? 如果这篇稿件有多位作者的话, 哪一位是通讯作者? 其联系地址是哪一个? 等等. 为节省编辑的时间, 投稿信要尽量写得简短明了、重点突出, 最好不要超过一页. 其中包括的内容大致有: (1) 所投稿件的栏目