Think of a cover letter as a sort of invoice for your story. Roaring in with bluster and braggadacio will be rightly seen as overcompensation for a fragile ego, while groveling humility generally comes across as passive-aggressive manipulation. Don't demand that an editor comment on your work, unless you're paying a reading fee and buying that sort of personal attention. At all costs and under all circumstances avoid the use of emoticons, and do whatever you must to write in complete sentences that each end in a period. Emoticons tend to convey the impression that you're incapable of imparting meaning in prose, which you'll admit is quite a handicap in a prose author.
First impressions are lasting impressions.
Be polite and professional, and you will get the same in response. Even if your story isn't accepted for publication, you will have established contact and can expect to be accorded more attention the next time you submit work to that editor. Some say that the secret to getting published is who you know. This contest has always had the goal of showcasing fresh and innovative stories, permitting amateur and aspiring SM-erotica authors an opportunity to find publication on our pages. Your entry must be your own work.