The following submission letter, written by an aspiring author aged just 14, arrived at the offices of Spacemen Magazine in 1961 and was accompanied by a copy of 'The Killer,' the polite youngster's latest short story. Unfortunately for him the magazine's editor — Forrest Ackerman — didn't deem the tale worthy of inclusion at that point, and it would be another 33 years before he changed his mind and decided to publish it in issue #202 of another of his magazines: Famous Monsters of Filmland.
By that time however, the story's author, Stephen King, was already rather successful.
Transcript follows. Image kindly supplied by C. Lawrence.
Dear Editor,
I am 14 years of age, and have been writing as far back as I can remember, and submitting manuscripts for the last couple of years. I subscribe to your magizine, and my favorite feature is the Obituary department, although "O. Henry's Comet," for which this story is intended, runs a close second.,
Thanks very much for reading my story. I hope you see your way clear to put it in "O. Henry's Comet."
Sincerely,
(Signed, 'Stephen King')
Stephen King
Rt #1, Pownal
Maine