In the body of the letter, explain who you are, your background in writing, your idea and why you would be the perfect person to write the article for the editor s publication. Don t discuss money yet. Leave out anything that is not directly relevant to the article at hand. Any attention-getting devices that you use will probably backfire. When it comes to the body of the letter, the shorter, the better.
Editors are busy people who generally loathe loquaciousness.
Get into the letter, explain your idea, then get out. Always include sufficient return postage on a self-addressed envelope. Do your homework know your markets, and don t give up. Editors are fickle, and an article or book that one might reject outright may be just the thing that another is looking for. Target the right publications and right publishers for your idea and your writing style, and keep sending out letters until you get that prized acceptance.