Indie Marketplace

I get a lot of emails. Most of them are spam, a few are from people I actually want to hear from, and the rest are queries. The queries come even though I posted a notice on our website that we're not accepting them. Apparently nothing stops them. I don't generally enjoy being a jerk so I try to answer the queries politely, even though it's just going to be a rejection without considering the content.

Yesterday I received a query that I found very strange. The only way I knew it was a query was because it said "query" in the subject line. The first line of the email started with "Chapter One." It then proceeded into – you guessed it – chapter one. A quick scroll down showed chapters two and three, and, at the very bottom, an email address. And that was it. There was no actual question or information about the rest of the book – so it appears someone sent me the first three chapters of their manuscript, accompanied by their email address. They didn't ask me to publish it, nor did they even give me their name. The person sent me three chapters of something I don't want to read, without addressing me directly; I don't really feel compelled to reply.

I wonder why someone would think it's enough to send three chapters of their novel and nothing else. I mean sending just that, without even prefacing it with some kind of greeting or explanation of what they're doing. Do they really think anyone would have the time or inclination to read such a long email (this thing was thousands of words long) and then email them to ask about it? There was no synopsis, so there was no way to get an idea of the remainder of the story – where it was going. It really confuses me as to why someone would think I would be interested in reading the first three chapters of their novel, and then tracking them down to find out the synopsis of the book, and who they are, etc.

If you are going to send a query to an editor or an agent, here are a few pointers for getting a better reaction from the one I described above:

• Use some kind of greeting.

• Give your name.

• Send a brief summary or synopsis rather than actual chapters from your manuscript.

• State the approximate length of the manuscript.

• Ask if the person is accepting submissions.

Once you have done that, wait for a reply. If one isn't immediately forthcoming, please be patient. The publishing world is notoriously slow. You will hurt your chances if you are a pest!