Proper Channels

This may sound a bit obvious, but when you send a query, please send it to the correct address as specified by a publisher’s submissions guidelines.

If a submissions address is listed for a publisher, whether it’s a physical address or an e-mail address, that’s the best address to which you can direct a submission. It’s what it’s there for.

I’m noticing a surprisingly common perception that goes something like, “If I send this to the editor at home, or send it to their personal e-mail address, I’ll cut corners and get in the back door and get my query noticed. That’ll get me off the slush pile and in ahead of everyone who sends to the ‘submissions’ address; it’s like cutting to the front of the line.” This is absolutely false, in this editor’s experience, and I strongly discourage it. Please, don’t even consider it.

Proper channels exist for a reason: to be followed. Every editor, agent, or publisher has a process in place, and it’s not a random thing — it’s the process or system that works best for them. Stepping outside those lines just makes their job harder, and in some cases can severely limit your chances.

If someone has work mail and home mail separate, it’s because they don’t want to see work mail while they’re at home. Sending it there isn’t going to get it answered any faster, it’ll just be an imposition on their personal time.

Speaking for my own experience: I work at home, so I don’t have office mail and home mail separate. My personal and professional e-mail all filters into the same mailbox. Searching out my “personal” email and directing a query to it, or sending me a Dragon Moon Press query through this blog, will not get your mail seen any faster than sending it to the proper address. I see mail directed to all my addresses with equal frequency and reliability.

So why does it matter?

Sending professional mail to a stranger’s personal, home address is an inappropriate intrusion on their personal space. If the professional address is posted and the personal address isn’t, that extra effort you took to track them down will show, and will make you look a little desperate and stalkery. That’s not the first impression you want to give. Even if I communicate with someone on a personal, friendly level first, if I then invite them to submit a query, I still ask them to submit to the submissions address so that the mail can be tagged and processed correctly.

Sending professional mail to a stranger’s personal, home address will reduce your message’s chances of being read. I expect my personal mail to be from people I know personally; everything else is usually spam, and is usually treated as such.

Incoming mail is tagged differently, based on where it’s incoming from. Submissions that get to me in the correct manner are tagged with a little green label in my inbox. It makes them stand out from the rest of the mail and I instantly know, before even reading the subject line, what they probably are. That label helps me to handle submissions more efficiently and alerts me to do all the things that I need to do to process them. Without it, I might still see them, but even if I do, they’ll be harder to find again. They’re more likely to fall through the cracks.

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that publishing, while it can feel informal and blur the lines at times, is a business. Publishers, editors, and agents are professionals. Correspond with the same professionalism you would display to any other business contact, and you’ll be more likely to receive prompt, professional attention in return.

Tagged as: publishing, slush, submissions