Here goes nothing

Well, I've settled on sending a story to Crimewatch, and I've got a cover letter ready and everything. Meanwhile, I'm going to start writing one of those fancy shmancy "literary" stories which plumb the depths of my soul in a very mundane, boring setting. I can't stand reading the stuff, but it might be good for me, you know, widening my writing palate, and all that jazz.

Anyhow, I've been practicing setting up cover letters. Here's the one for the story I'm sending to Crimewatch, "No Comment".

Dear Mr. Cox,

Attached is my short story, “No Comment” (2,555 words). After the murder of an important Clark International executive, journalist Tom Fletcher begins probing the corporation itself for signs of foul play, unwittingly moving into the crosshairs of a murderously ambitious company suit, Edward Molino. Tom must deal with the primal fear and rage at an attempt on his life, and loses the battle, becoming a vengeful killer in the process.

I am a high-school senior at an alternative high school program at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, and yours is the first publication that I have ever approached to print one of my stories. Obviously, this also means that you are the first editor I’m soliciting with this story, and I will wait eight weeks for your response before I approach another magazine. If you are not interested with this story, feel free to dispose of the manuscript, but please notify me by email. If you do choose to publish the story, I can send you an electronic version by email.

Please feel free to contact me via any of the above numbers or addresses with questions or concerns. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Felipe Motta

Encl.: Short story, “No Comment”

I took the basic format from the opening sections of the Novel & Short Story Writers Market 2006, which, I might add, is where I found Crimewatch to begin with.

So there you have it, I've taken my first step into a larger world.