Home » Writing & Publishing » Historical Writing » No, this is NOT the VA Hosptial - Page 2

No, this is NOT the VA Hosptial - Page 2

© Julia Buitrago

I'll stop it right there for now. You're probably starting to get the picture that the secretary deals with most of the nonsense in the office, and you'd be right. Why is this important to you as a writer? Well, like it or not, if you mail, ship, e-mail, call, or fax anything to a publisher, it will go to this overworked secretary first. This includes query letters, manuscripts, or questions. If this woman gets annoyed at you, your chance of being published by this company has virtually gone down the tubes.

So, how do you get past the secretary's desk? Here's some helpful hints:

When writing a query letter, try to address it to a specific person. Many publishers have web sites, so you can discover the managing, supervising, or senior editor's name. By putting a name on the envelope, your letter has doubled its chances of getting to the correct location.

When sending an e-mail, simplicity is best. The secretary doesn't care how interesting your life story might be. If you're trying to pitch an idea via e-mail, specify that in your first paragraph and in the subject line. Catchy phrases like "Have I Got An Offer For You!" will probably cause your e-mail to be deleted unread as junk mail.

Don't send a complete manuscript unless you have been asked to send one. You'll save yourself a great deal of money and help the secretary's bad back. Most companies that I know will slap a "Return to Sender" sticker on the package and send it back unopened. A thirty-four cent letter will get you MUCH farther than a twenty dollar package.

Please don't send manuscripts COD. That just puts the secretary in a bad mood.

Don't call with questions that 1) you can find the answer yourself, 2) are ridiculously silly, or 3) are so general or so specific that the secretary will spend quite a bit of time trying to answer your question. An example of #1 would be "What type of books do you publish?" (The answer is listed right on our web page.) A very popular example of #2 would be "Do you publish books there?" (Err...that's why we call our office a publishing company.) A question that is too general (#3) would be "How would I get a book published?" (Textbook, poetry, fiction, historical book, comic book. . . there's quite a range out there.) A question that is too specific (#3) would be "I'm writing a book that uses a lot of quotes. Should I start the sentence with "Mr. Smith said" or should I end the sentence with "said Mr. Smith"? (Or calling a publisher for spelling assistance. I can hear you laughing, but trust me, it does happen.)

The copyright of the article No, this is NOT the VA Hosptial - Page 2 in Historical Writing is owned by Julia Buitrago. Permission to republish No, this is NOT the VA Hosptial - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.