From now on, we’re going to be answering reader’s letters at D2D. If you’ve got a question that has to do with the craft or business of writing or freelancing while raising a family, please sent it to us at info at diaperstodeadlines.com and we’ll do our best to answer it!
Our first question comes from a writer mom who’s befuddled by books she’s read that say that e-mail queries lead to immediate responses. She asks:
I keep reading about these e-mailed pitches that get accepted “immediately.” Well, after 4 weeks I haven’t heard a peep about mine. Do I assume the editors didn’t like them? Follow-up on them? It’s
frustrating to read about how great e-mail is for pitches and then not get a response, leaving me to wonder if I know what the heck I’m doing.Thanks,
Lonely Inbox
Dear Lonely:
I am a fan of the e-mailed query. Though it does frequently take a while to hear anything back–and sometimes, you never hear anything back at all–it is far preferable to the responses I got during my short-lived period of only sending snail mailed queries (read: a handful of form rejections and no response at all to the vast majority of my queries, despite my care to always include a self-addressed stamped envelope.)
Do e-mailed queries guarantee immediate responses? Absolutely not. But in most cases, an e-mailed query is superior in several ways: first, the message is far more likely to get to the editor you’re targeting, rather than a slush pile on an intern’s desk. Second, if the editor likes your idea, he or she CAN respond immediately. This doesn’t always, or even usually happen. More often, he or she has to think about it, figure out if he has space for it, or pass it around to colleagues. But IF the editor is in an assigning mood and your query comes across at JUST the right moment, the opportunity is there for near-instant gratification. Third, if the editor DOESN’T like your idea, you are far more likely to get a prompt response with a rejection, and you can use that opportunity to pitch again quickly. Because of the ease of e-mail, you may even find that editors are more willing to give personalized feedback in their rejections.
But along with all this possibility comes an increased sense of frustration when you don’t hear anything back right away–or at all. You send off a query before lunch, and during lunch you wonder if they’re reading it. Maybe due to the magical speed of the Internet, you’ll have an acceptance in your inbox by the time you finish your sandwich!
Then the response doesn’t come, and it doesn’t come, and it doesn’t come. You think, “All they would have to do is hit reply, type “no”, and click “send”–how hard is that?” For some editors, the answer seems to be “impossibly difficult”. There are some editors I have categorized as “non-responders”; they never get back to you unless they want to assign something no matter how many times you follow up. Other editors need a few nudges. For the most part, editors are just like the rest of us–busy people who get lots of e-mail and sometimes lose track of it. Sometimes e-mail doesn’t get where it’s supposed to go–the editor may truly not have gotten it. For this reason, I do recommend following up on a regular schedule (I follow up at between 2 and 3 weeks after a query goes out–no sense leaving it languishing in Cyberspace forever).
I don’t know what has become of Lonely’s waiting queries. She may have been unlucky enough to stumble across a few non-responding editors at once. Following up is a good idea; it certainly can’t hurt. But people whose e-mailed queries are consistently ignored, even after follow ups, may want to ask themselves a few questions:
- Does my query’s subject line make it clear what I’m offering? Editors may mistake a writer’s query for a PR pitch and delete it. Or maybe there’s something about your header that’s getting your message picked up by spam filters. Or maybe you aren’t descriptive enough and the query’s not getting opened. I usually put “QUERY:” followed by a catchy title, in the subject line.
- Are my queries targeted to the publication? Do they indicate to the editor that I know how to do research, that I am capable of fleshing out ideas, that I can organize a paragraph, that I have a lively writing style? Remember, you’re selling more than this one idea–you’re selling yourself. If the editor can’t assign your idea but the query catches his or her eye because of excellent writing or a unique understanding of the subject matter, you are much more likely to get an encouraging response. Note: Not all assignments come from fully-fleshed-out queries, but when it’s your first time approaching an editor–particularly if you’re a new writer without a lot of clips–think of your query as an opportunity to wow them by demonstrating what a great writer and reporter you are. (For more help with crafting queries that sell, pick up a copy of the just-released Query Letters That Rock, by the Renegade Writer duo Linda Formicelli and Diana Burrell!)
- Am I targeting the right editor? Make sure he or she assigns for the article type or department you’re querying. And if you never hear boo from an editor, it’s OK to take your pitch to another editor at the same publication.
- Is this pitch the right season? Magazines have varying lead times. Some nationals are making assigments for December 2007…or beyond.
Don’t give up! The other nice thing about e-mail? It’s free. There’s no need to ponder whether those SASEs are personally funding the mail room departments of all those national mags you so diligently pitched. If you don’t hear from an editor after a few weeks, follow up. If you still don’t hear, you can follow up again or move on. Re-tool your idea to make it perfect for a new publication, and get it out there again. And remember–the best way to keep from obsessing about the fate of the queries you’ve got out is to be querying all the time. There will come a time when you can’t even remember how many you’ve got out at once–and that’s when you get those surprise responses in your inbox. Lonely, I hope I answered your question. Please, ask more–that goes for all of you.
Readers: how “instant” are the responses you get to your e-mailed queries? Have you found any tricks or tips for getting more, or faster acceptances? Please weigh in in the comments!
Happy writing!
–Meagan
