More freelancing tips from the Diapers to Deadlines archives…

So you’ve read The Renegade Writer–or are just sick of waiting for your SASEs to show back up in the mail–and have decided to give e-mail submissions a shot? Good for you! Make no mistake, e-mail can be a convenient and quick way to pitch ideas and essays, hammer out assignment details or introduce yourself to an editor. But sometimes, the ease and informal feel of e-mail can lead to some less-than-professional behavior. Though you can’t make an editor love your ideas, the least you can do is make sure he won’t be able to find fault with your presentation. So, in keeping with April’s Best Foot Forward theme, we’ve decided to give a few tips for making a good impression on any editor’s inbox:

Be Adequately Formal:

Miss Manners I’m not. You should see some of the e-mail exchanges between Toni and I–sometimes consisting of nothing more than a one-word reply, uncapitalized, with no punctuation. But Toni and I are friends, and our relationship has moved past proper and is now decidedly colloquial.

Contrast that to the pitches I get every so often from PR representatives and expert sources that contain no greeting, no capitalization, and no closing. If those pitches raise the eyebrows of even a Casual Cathy like myself, I can only imagine what a similarly-laid-back query might do to the eyebrows of an editor who values propriety–not to mention punctuation.

You don’t have to copy a business letter’s style–in fact, a return-address block on an e-mail might look a little strange–but at a minimum, any e-mail contacts with someone you’re not on a familiar basis with yet should contain a greeting; proper capitalization, punctuation, and grammar; and a closing. Whenever I can reasonably ascertain an editor’s gender, I use the rather formal "Dear Ms (or Mr.) Smith". I know that some, to be on the completely safe side, prefer to write "Dear John Smith", but to me, that looks stilted and awkward: if I absolutely can’t find out whether Terry, Chris or Pat are male or female, I just go with Dear Firstname (PS: One way to figure out an editor’s gender is by asking writer acquaintances for a tip. For closings, "Best" seems to be a standard in magazine journalism; but "best wishes," "sincerely", or "regards" will do as well. Save XOXO (hugs and kisses), TTFN (ta-ta for now), and CYA (See ya) for your grandmother or best friend.

And while we’re on the topic of cutesy acronyms, please keep in mind that not everyone in the world knows what KWIM, BRB, or ROFLMAOPIMP stand for. Leave them out of work-related correspondence unless you know they’ll go over well. Same goes for smileys–yes, even if your e-mail program lets you do fun variations like the Throwing Up Smiley or Drinking Beer Smiley. Moving on…

Address Success:

Okay, so you really love Scooby Doo. I get it. But an e-mail address like velmalovesshaggy29304@hotmail.com isn’t going to "wow" your editors. It looks unprofessional, and let’s face it–it probably says more about you than they need to know. If you have your own URL, some variation on yourname@yourname.com is great. As for whether free mail hosts are acceptable, I think they’re OK as long as the address looks professional: I’ve had a Yahoo account for years, and have found it more reliable than the various @meaganfrancis.com accounts I’ve had through hosting companies, so I’ve stuck with it. But I’m meaganfrancis@yahoo.com, not ilovemycutiepatootie@yahoo.com. See the difference?

Signing Off:

It’s a great idea to create a signature line containing your contact info (phone number, e-mail address, mailing address, and website URL if you have one–more on that later this month) so that if an editor wants to give you a quick call to discuss an idea or wants to pop a contract in the mail, he or she won’t have to go digging around to find your contact info. The easier you can make an editor’s job, the better your relationship will be.

Don’t Abuse It.

Keep in mind that in many offices, opening unsolicited attachments is strictly verboten. Don’t send ‘em unless you have a working relationship with the editor, and even then, you may want to ask him or her first if attachments are OK. And if you get a request from an editor to send future pitches via snail mail, don’t take it personally–a lot of editors still prefer to work with hard copies. You can decide for yourself whether you want to continue to pursue the editor, but whatever you do, don’t continue to flood his or her inbox with unwelcome e-mailed pitches after being specifically asked not to. There’s a line between being assertive and ambitious–and just plain annoying.

One last thing–don’t expect anyone to drop everything they’re doing to reply to your message. Yes, the lightning-fast speed at which you can carry out conversations via e-mail might make you impatient with those editors who take their time responding. But remember–just because somebody theoretically could answer an e-mail within thirty seconds doesn’t mean they’re obligated to. Wait a while–I usually give it anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on my relationship with the editor–before following up on an unanswered e-mail, and don’t act put out if your e-mail gets missed. Spam folders, itchy delete fingers and slammed inboxes can make the job of keeping up with e-mail difficult, and you’ll make a much better impression with a light, casual check-in than an obnoxious "Didja get my e-mail? Huh? Huh? Didja?"

Using e-mail has made my writing career 100 times easier–and it can do the same for you. Just use common sense and follow the guidelines above and you’ll make a great electronic impression.

Do you have any funny–or embarrassing–stories of e-mail gaffes? Share ‘em here!