Dear Geist,
I’m trying to apply for fellowships (internships) for some magazines to get my foot in the door. I’m a relatively new journalist with a few years’ experience at a lower-level magazine, with some decent bylines from other mid- to high-level publications (Politico, ThinkProgress, Fusion). Still, I have
how to write my cover letter for these applications! Do you know where I can find some examples of cover letters? What tone should I use? What opening paragraph would I even use? Help!

Dear Exasperated,
The fine folks at pubinterns.wordpress have researched and compiled a smart list of tips for aspiring publishing interns
, with input from successful applicants and practical suggestions on length of letter, tone, content and so on. Do read the whole works. You can find lots more by searching “cover letter publishing intern”; the advice is pretty consistent.
In writing a letter of application, or any brief, persuasive text, it’s useful to imagine yourself as the audience: in this case the publisher, who is compiling a shortlist of candidates from a pile of applications. All of the applicants swear that this is their dream job and they have the perfect skills and experience to do it. Who stands out? For
is doing and for whom we do it; whose cover letter is simple, direct, professional and idiosyncratic; who clearly reads widely (not just claims to do so)—an applicant who, in other words, has thought about our needs and who tells us exactly how she/he/they will be an asset to our operation.
One more thing: we congratulate you for recognizing that this kind of short, focussed writing is some of the hardest writing you will ever do, and for taking the trouble to do it right!
—The Editors