The letter accompanying the manuscript should be brief, business-like,
and to the point. The editor is too busy to concern himself with
anything in connection with the writer or the story except the story
itself.
Don't call upon the editor, or send him a letter of introduction; let
the merit of your story be your only sponsor.
Don't ask the editor to criticize your work; place the manuscript in
the hands of a professional reader if that is what you desire.
Be patient. It is reasonable to expect a decision upon your manuscript
within three months' time, but not sooner.
Don't be offended by the receipt of a printed rejection slip. Personal
letters are not to be expected.
Accept the editor's judgment cheerfully. Nothing is ever gained, and
much is usually lost, by personal pique.
Study the spirit and policy which lie behind each publication. Just as
a merchant offers his wares only in the market where the demand exists,
make sure in your own mind that your story fits the magazine to which
you send it.
Look upon the return of a manuscript as an opportunity for revision and
improvement before sending it out again. Study it, and try yourself to
discover why it did not succeed.
Keep a careful record of the peregrinations of your various manuscripts.
Be timely, remembering that "seasonable" stories should be received by
the magazines four to six months before the season arrives.
The best magazines have a regular rate of payment, so it is needless to
discuss terms in submitting your manuscript.
Never give a story away. If it is worth publishing it is worth being
paid for, and to part with it for nothing injures the literary market
for your fellow-writers as well as for yourself.
There is much difference of opinion regarding the ethics of submitting
the same manuscript to more than one magazine at a time. In this matter
each writer must settle the question for himself. There is no general
custom, but good taste would seem to argue against the practice.
It is seldom wise to submit more than one story at a time to the same
magazine.