I'm planning on sending a story to Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and I have a question regarding the submission process.
I have formatted my story in the prescribed manner. The writers' guidelines specifically state that they do not want a cover letter or separate title page--author contact information (name, address, byline if different) is to be included at the top of the first page of the story. All well and good...
But what about my publishing credit? Yes, that's singular as I only have one, but I would like to include it; however, AHMM writers' guidelines say nothing about wanting to see it. They also say that they read every story they receive, so maybe that's why they don't care about publishing credits--perhaps they want to read each story and accept/reject in an unbiased fashion based totally on the quality of the writing (Hmm, what a concept...).
So I ask the Editor, what do I do: Shoehorn my publishing credit beneath my contact information on the first page; or leave it out since they don't ask to see it? I'm leaning toward the latter, for it's rarely good to give a publisher something they don't ask for. However, I would like to include my credit as it's legit and I worked very hard to get it. Any advice appreciated!
I have formatted my story in the prescribed manner. The writers' guidelines specifically state that they do not want a cover letter or separate title page--author contact information (name, address, byline if different) is to be included at the top of the first page of the story. All well and good...
But what about my publishing credit? Yes, that's singular as I only have one, but I would like to include it; however, AHMM writers' guidelines say nothing about wanting to see it. They also say that they read every story they receive, so maybe that's why they don't care about publishing credits--perhaps they want to read each story and accept/reject in an unbiased fashion based totally on the quality of the writing (Hmm, what a concept...).
So I ask the Editor, what do I do: Shoehorn my publishing credit beneath my contact information on the first page; or leave it out since they don't ask to see it? I'm leaning toward the latter, for it's rarely good to give a publisher something they don't ask for. However, I would like to include my credit as it's legit and I worked very hard to get it. Any advice appreciated!
After eight months should I query AHMM or take it as a sign that I've passed on to the next level of the slush pile and be patient?
