Emails I get
I receive about 400 emails a day. This is not unusual for a
publisher and for many other freelancers. This come through several lists- my
own personal one, Bridge House Publishing, CafeLit, The Red Telephone and the Lancashire
Authors Association. A lot comes through about books we’re working on as a publisher
and from other publishers about my own work. Then there are the items of personal
interest. Some emails are important, some urgent, come urgent and important,
some urgent but not important and some just interesting. Some can be ignored –
for now at least. And there will be a handful of scams and other junk. Good use
of the spam filters control the latter well.
Coping with them
I have a system for dealing with them that means that important
ones can take up to 48 hours to receive a reply. I start looking though my
inbox a little after lunch and for the first thirty minutes I’ll look at everything
in detail. I may buy books, look at properties for sale, read interesting
articles or book events. Thereafter, until about four o’clock, I’ll only deal with
the important and urgent ones. These are usually ones from writers I’m working with
and where they need a quick response. I’m particularly careful to process any that involve book orders,
contracts or invoices. As I reach this deadline I’ll quickly look to see if
there is anything urgent and important that is outstanding.
Etiquette
I’m afraid I experience rudeness if an email doesn’t start
with a greeting. Does it cost anything to start with “Dear ….” Or “Hi”?. “Hello”
is less good. I’m not too keen either on an email that starts with just my
name. It seem patronising. Of course it’s fine not to have a salutation if you are
replying to an email. As important as the salutation is the sign off. Your name
is enough, though you can also add something like “kind regards”.
Proper subject lines
Yes, it’s tempting and quite useful to reply to an email in
order to start a new subject. This ensures that you have the email address
correct. But please alter the subject line to what you’re currently discussing.
How much correspondence to include each time
It’s useful to include all of the correspondence s far- it’s
handy for both parties to be able to scroll down and remind themselves about
what has already been said. However, this is less useful if you have changed the
topic. Think very carefully about what to include.
NEVER SHOUT IN EMAILS
USING BLOC CAPITALS IS THE EQUIVELNT OF SHOUTING IN PUBLIC.
NO MATTER HOW DIFFICULT THE SUBJECT THIS IS COUNTER-PRODUCTVE.
Be succinct and get to the point
This doesn’t have to be unfriendly. In fact I make a point
of providing a friendly acknowledgement to emails to which I don’t need to provide
an answer.
Be as careful as with a letter
Don’t send email after email on the same topic. Don’t give
in to afterthought after afterthought. Plan your email as you would a snailmail
letter. Use bullet points or numbers if you are dealing with several issues.
Read it through three times before you send it. And never send an email if your
brain if fogged by alcohol. If you’re dealing with a tricky subject, maybe leave
it twenty-four hours before you send it.
Be patient
I’ll usually reply to you within 48 hours. More quickly if
it is really urgent or you’re just lucky with timing. But don’t expect me to be
attached to my emails 24/7 – otherwise no work will never get done. And some of
the work may in fact provide the answer you’re looking for.
Look elsewhere for the information
I have to bite my tongue sometimes when I’m asked questions
that are already answered on an imprint’s web site, on this blog or in our monthly
newsletters. So, sometimes my answers may be short and will provide a link to
an appropriate web page or article.
Folders, folders, folders
I keep a lot of my emails – carefully organised into
folders. I also spend some time each day putting the sent emails into folders.
Okay, so occasionally I misfile. Thank goodness there is a good reach facility
on the service I use.
