#queryday

I'm participating in #queryday for those on Twitter today. You'll find me at www.twitter.com/skyladawn

How to Inquire About a Submission

So, of course, the week that I move and have little time to access the internet, I get fifty thousand inquiries (most of which were angry). The boss man's company computer is down as well, so we have some delays all around.

I decided to take some time away from the scary, mostly angry emails to do a quick lesson.

What's the best way to inquire about a submission sitting in slush?

Here are things you SHOULD NOT do:

1. Lecture me. I *know* it's really frickin' annoying that you haven't heard back yet. I know you'd very much like to tell me how much I suck and how awful I am for not giving you my undivided attention. However, if you're going to lecture me for several paragraphs, please consider it does nothing to warm me to your submission.
2. Send an inquiry to every staff member every two weeks. Basically, we don't have time for that. If you don't get the answer you want from me, it won't help to ask everyone else. Every time something regarding my department is sent to another staff member--including my boss--it gets bumped back to me, and I don't like it when someone tries to go over my head.
3. Get angry because it's been two days and you haven't heard from me yet. There are very, very few submissions I automatically know the status of. Most require me to go and look them up. I wish I had time to answer right away, but a lot of the time I have to take care of other things, and star the message for later.
4. Threaten me with whatever. Okay, don't get worried--no one has yet threatened my life. But, "I'll take it elsewhere if you don't reply by midnight tomorrow!" (or the ever popular, "I'll just resubmit if I don't hear back from you!") and "If you don't accept it, I'll never write again!" or whatever doesn't work with me. Want to take it elsewhere? Please do. Makes my job easier. Want to stop writing? That's your choice.

Here are some things you SHOULD do when inquiring:

1. Keep it brief. I don't need your life history, I don't need your marketing plan, and I don't need to know all your publication credits. I need your name, your submission title, the email address you submitted it from (if you used a different one), and the date you sent it. This information makes my job easier. I shouldn't have to search your email for it.
2. Send it to the right address. The right address for inquiries would be: inquiry@mundania.com. I'll likely be the one to answer you, but this address copies to all the relevant parties--it's helpful for our records.
3. Check your spam folder. I have repeatedly received angry emails from people whom I *have* issued a response several months ago. Sometimes, messages end up in spam.
4. Ensure you followed the guidelines in the first place. If I received something with no synopsis, blurb, or any info in the cover letter and the manuscript was attached in the wrong file format, chances are I didn't even issue a rejection because no one bothered reading it. (And yes, I routinely receive submissions that don't follow the guidelines in the slightest).

And now I'm diving back into email. Yay...