Your Cover Letter
If your targeted publisher accepts complete manuscripts without the formality of a Query Letter, then you will want to adapt your Cover Letter to include information about you, as an author. Mention previous publications and expertise. (Include these things only if this is your Cover Letter in this case is your First Contact with the Publisher or Agent). Do not repeat this information if you already sent a Query Letter.
The first paragraph should be very close to what you would write for a jacket blurb. Unlike the Synopsis, do not give away the ending. In this blurb, you don’t want to talk about yourself, you want to sell your book.
A synopsis has a specific form.
It is written in the present tense no matter what tense your novel uses. It should follow a single viewpoint character, even if the novel involves more than one viewpoint character. A synopsis is written in third person, again, the novel may be done in first person. Sticking to these guidelines will reassure the editor or agent that you are being professional.
This is a list of things to write and file for your submission packets.
Having these items will save you a lot of time during your submission process.
Publishers are being bought and sold and auctioned and given up during bankruptcies. The publication you might discover as a potential market for your short story or article may not actually be there by the time you are writing your cover letter or query. Or, it may be there, but run by a whole new group of editors.