Can I just rant here for a minute?
What is with authors and illustrators who either do not have an e-mail address, do not send it with their submission, or they never check their e-mail?
Or–and this one is very frustrating–they have a great website (that seems to be updated fairly regularly) with complete contact info–e-mails, phone numbers, fax number, P.O. Box. But none of them work! E-mails bounce back repeatedly or receive no reply, phone and fax disconnected, and no response to snail mail.
For weeks now, I’ve been trying to track someone down. I have a contract for them. I have a marketing plan. I have money I want to give them. And I can’t reach them. This is nuts!
And guess what?! I stopped trying. I threw their whole folder in the rejection pile this morning. (Of course, they won’t know they’re rejected because I can’t get a message to them.)
So, if you want to be a published author/illustrator/whatever, here are a few basic communication tips:
1. Get an e-mail address and check it daily.
2. Put multiple avenues of contact on every communication to an editor/publisher.
3. If you use a P.O. Box*, check it at least weekly.
4. If you have a website, be sure to include CURRENT contact information.*
Words of Caution:
- Don’t post your e-mail address. Spammers love this. Do it with a link.
- Don’t post your home address. Use a P.O. Box.
- Don’t post your home phone. If you have an e-mail address (and you check it) and a P.O. Box, that should be adequate.
I had a request from Covenant end up in my spam box- luckily, I check it every once in a while, but it really could have gotten lost. Some writers have a separate email for their submissions. This is a good idea that I’m going to use in the future.
That is a great idea. There are several free accounts available — hotmail, yahoo, etc. If you’re worried about a “free” account having a negative impact on a pubisher, don’t be. It’s a non-issue.
If you’re only using this account for submissions, you can keep your spam filter low enough that nothing goes into the trash.
And we all know that publishers are not impressed with an email address like “lulubelle@hotmail.com” or “nextnycbestseller@yahoo.com”, right? Use your full name or first initial and last name. If you have to throw a number on the end, that’s fine.