Bad Credits Won't Get You Published (Neither Will Good Credits)

[DKT]

This is more of a signpost than anything, but in response to the Scalzi vs. Black Matrix Publishing thing, Rachel and Ann have made some excellent posts about writing credits in cover letters that are worth reading for all of us writers out there.

Rachel's post.

Ann's post.

[eytanz]

Geesh, as someone with no apsirations of ever publishing fiction - that was one strange look at how the sausage is made.

Of course, the rules and assumptions in the venues in which I have published - peer reviewed academic journals/collections - are probably as bizzare looking to an outsider as those of fiction. But in academia, you are writing for your peers - it's likely that anyone reading your work will themselves have a working familiarity with the process of getting published in your field. In the world of short stories, it seems that what I get as a customer, and what a writer has to go through, are really disconnected.

[Swamp]

Reagrding what credits to include in a cover letter, I have been following this advise from Pete Butler, former editor of the Triangulation anthology:

And what's a credit worth listing? The more well-known, the better; for instance, I don't think my Cicada story was necessarily my best work, but it's a big market, so in my actual cover letters it always goes first. I'm looking for concise credibility here. As a general rule of thumb the more a market pays the more prestigious it is, though counter-examples abound.

And what if my credits list consisted entirely of obscure low-to-no-pay markets? Then I ask myself: when I read the for-the-love anthology my story appeared in, did I like the other stories? Or did they make me wince with pain? If it's the former, it's a worthwhile credit; chances are the editor won't have heard of it, but if they have, they'll have hopefully heard good things. But if it's the latter, I will NOT mention it. Seriously. You get judged by the company you keep.

And if this means I have no credits that are worth mentioning, then I should probably omit the bio paragraph in it's entirety. I'm a newbie and the editor knows it. This is hardly the insurmountable obstacle some people seem to think it is, but trying to spin myself as really really awesome even though I've never had a story published just makes me look silly. I'm selling the individual story, not trying to validate myself.

You can read his whole cover letter guide here.

[DKT]

Also worth noting is a comment in Ann's post made by PNH (an editor of Tor books and short stories for Tor.com said):

I find I'm much more encouraged by "Here's a story, hope you like it" than "Here's a story, here are 25 mediocre small-press publications I've managed to eke out sales to over the last eight years thus making it highly unlikely that I am an undiscovered genius, hope you like the story."

[Listener]

Also worth noting is a comment in Ann's post made by PNH (an editor of Tor books and short stories for Tor.com said):

I find I'm much more encouraged by "Here's a story, hope you like it" than "Here's a story, here are 25 mediocre small-press publications I've managed to eke out sales to over the last eight years thus making it highly unlikely that I am an undiscovered genius, hope you like the story."

I would think that, once you've got a lot of credits, you (and by "you" I mean an author who has a lot of publishing credits) would only mention the top three or so in a cover letter (ie: "My writing has previously appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction, Reflection's Edge, and Pseudopod."). Anyone who puts their entire CV into a cover letter hasn't passed Cover Letter Writing 101. IMO.

I'd never thought of the "undiscovered genius" aspect, though it does make a lot of sense.