Today, I received a letter in the mail addressed to Editor, Kid's Imagination Train (www.kidsimaginationtrain.com ). I was hoping for a great submission, but when I opened the letter, I found three pages of poems and a self-addressed stamped envelope.
There was no cover letter.
All submissions, whether through the mail or email, should always have a short cover letter giving the title, genre, word count, and a biography. I'm betting this author is new to submitting and doesn't understand the courtesy of a cover letter.
The poems sent were eleven or twelve-word descriptions. Short and poetic, yes. But not a good fit for our magazine. Our guidelines state that we are looking for poems that tell a story and run about 200 - 300 words. It makes me wonder if the author read the require-ments.
Unfortunately, I will have to pass on this submission. However, since the author included a SASE and her work was neat and properly formatted, I will write to her on how to properly submit and include a copy of our submission guidelines. I will encourage her to follow the rules and to aim for longer poems. I am hoping she won't give up. Every writer deserves a chance to grow and to improve.
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