Email Queries: Huh? What the Heck is Being Said?
Sunday, September 25, 2011 
Guest Post by Irene Watson
I recently received this email:
well my book with strategics an publisher is [email address removed] is out this yr so they told me 2 get ahold of u so thts wht I'm doin
I was tempted to write back:
w@= tbh i ttly dnt hv a clu wht u r wan me 2 do wud u pls tilii
but, I didn't. In fact, I didn't even respond.
I had to ask myself whether this "author" actually had her book edited or if it was written in texting or in English. I also had to ask myself if this person in reality wrote something that was marketable, or even sellable. After about a 20-second thought process I felt responding or getting involved in attempting to assist this author would be futile. It may have been a harsh decision and some would say I should have given her a chance. Maybe.
And, maybe I've put authors on a pedestal and have expectations that are sometimes unreasonable. But I doubt that. I'm a firm believer that a well written and well edited query letter is one of the most important aspects of creating interest in the book. It will also prove that the author is qualified to write the book and the presentation is of quality.
But, just writing a query letter is not exactly what this person should have done. The first thing she should have done is searched the site for the guidelines which obviously she didn't do otherwise I wouldn't have received an email like I did.
I get numerous requests for reviews each week via email. I can’t tell you how many requests we get from authors who think somehow their book deserves special attention or authors who simply do not bother to read our guidelines, to take the time to be courteous enough to find out what we do and how best to work with us. Even more so, I find that publicists, although present a good query letter, do not read the guidelines either. As an author, I would hope that after spending $12,000 to $15,000 over a 3 month period for a publicist, she or he would at least be capable of reading guidelines and represent me in an acceptable manner.
Most reviewers, publishers, or other companies associated with the book publishing world are very reasonable. They have submission guidelines for a reason—to answer the author’s questions and to let the author know what is needed to save the author time and trouble. In turn, it also saves the reviewer or publisher time, not having to chase after the author for information or having to answer multiple emails or phone calls.
Bottom line: If you’re an author and you want your book considered for publicity, for review, for publication, or for any other service, take a few minutes to read the guidelines and understand how the company or reviewer functions. Those guidelines were put there to make your life easier. If you were invited to a dinner party that started at 6 o’clock, you wouldn’t show up at 5 o’clock or at 7 o'clock, so why would you fail to follow directions for something far more important—getting attention from the people who can help to make your book a success?
I'd like to know what you think about this topic. Have you sent out query letters that were successful? Do you find it easier to follow guidelines than wonder what you should write or how to approach a specific service provider in the publishing industry?
Reader Comments (5)
Thanks, Irene, for keeping of top of important issues. I must throw in my two cents on queries, both e-mail and traditional. I've been writing for over 35 years, and have noticed with alarm the industry's breathtaking dive from grace with regard to answering queries of any kind from writers of excellent or horrifyingly bad prose. In the seventies when my writing was developing, I received many personal notes from editors of major publishing companies, as well as form rejection letters to both queries and manuscript submissions. Since 2000, I have yet to receive my tenth answer to several hundred e-mail queries to major agents or publishers. Guidelines aside, the question of e-mail queries works both ways. When authors face the systemic rudeness of not even a formally worded auto-reply, one has to wonder whether hard work and consistent improvement of writing skills is worthy of the effort. Nevertheless, I myself do judge a writer's market value by the clarity of his or her communication. It always pays to write carefully, even if self-publishing remains the only reliable way to enter the market and control the future of one's property. Those whose writing is below standard weed themselves out of the competition before the game begins.
You couldn't be more right, Irene. Writing is our "product." A supermarket wouldn't set out bad fruit and expect to draw in customers. A writer can't expect to draw interest from an agent or editor by sending text (email or traditional) that includes spelling errors, poor grammar, or just plain bad phrasing. The agent or editor must assume a query represents a sample of what the writer has to offer. They're going to wonder: Is this person capable of writing well? Will he or she follow directions during the editing process? Is he or she just plain careless about language? Everyone's time is limited. Who would spend their time reading a query that defies comprehension?
I'm a new writer (self published). Though I've submitted only a few queries, each one has been carefully written and proofread multiple times before I sent it. I follow the guidelines as closely as possible. I have nearly always received a courteous reply and occasionally some brief feedback.
I quite agree with you, but I'm going to digress a moment. Spelling and grammar have become so bad lately that frequently I can't differentiate between the spammers and those who mean well but don't know how to write a grammatically correct sentence. How we present ourselves as authors is important and, as they say, you only get one chance to make a "first impression."
I wouldn't have replied either, Irene. I hate to be rude to anyone but time is of the essence and sometimes you just know from the start you won't get anywhere with an author. An author who can't write even one complete sentence to ask for help needs more help than I can give. I shudder to think what will happen if industry standards slip. Already, I can't tell you how many times as an editor I have edited out phrases like LOL out of books.
Keep up the good fight for standards.
Hahahahah! You never fail to either entertain me, instruct me, support me (and fellow authors) or evaluate my place in the universe. As usual thank you for your candor, your intelligence and all of the previous.
Fellow author, Margie McKinnon
PS Did I spell HA correctly?