Approaching Editors and Agents: When to Use Snail Mail and When to Use Email

In 2009, editors and agents fall into three groups: cyberphiles, cyberphobes, and ambitextuals.

The cyberphiles do everything by computer. They correspond only by email and they expect manuscripts to be sent electronically. If you send Cindy Cyberphile a hard-copy letter or manuscript, she’ll likely toss it into the recycle bin without so much as a look. To cyberphiles, you’re a foolish, annoying anachronism. About 25% of editors and agents are cyberphiles.

The cyberphobes do as little as possible by computer. They correspond largely or entirely by snail mail and they only read hard-copy manuscripts. If you send Simon Cyberphobe an unsolicited email or an electronic file of your manuscript, he’ll ignore it. To Simon, you’re shallow and foolishly tech-obsessed. About 15% of editors and agents are cyberphobes.

Ambitextuals are comfortable with both email and snail mail, and with both electronic files and hard-copy manuscripts. Three out of five editors and agents are ambitextual.

By 2011, we’ll likely be doing everything by computer, and hard-copy letters and paper manuscripts will be rare. Right now, though, we’re still in transition—which means that we writers have to deal with all three types of editors and agents. But, unless you know someone personally, how can you possibly determine which group they belong to?

You can’t–and it’s pointless to try. Instead, do this:

If you want to send an unsolicited pitch letter, or a pitch letter with an attached manuscript, send everything both ways at the same time. At the end of both versions of your letter, add a paragraph that says something like this: Because some editors strongly prefer electronic communication and others strongly prefer snail mail, I’m sending this both ways, so that you can choose the format you prefer. I have never known any editor or agent to object to this strategy—and some deeply appreciate it.

This all but ensures that your pitch (and your manuscript) gets read, because the editor or agent receives your words in the form they require.

There are two common exceptions to this general strategy. First, in approaching an editor of any high-tech or online publication, you should of course only use email and electronic files. Second, in sending your work to a scholarly journal, you’ll be expected to follow the detailed (and sometimes borderline ludicrous) instructions for having your work considered by that journal. (Send four anonymous hard copies, plus two hard copies of a cover page with your byline, to our mailing address; also email one anonymous electronic copy plus a cover page, sent as two separate files, to this email address…)

Otherwise, if you use the simple strategy described above, you’re very likely to get a serious reading.

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