OK, now I get the “no attachments” thing

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I’ve always assumed the reason agents automatically reject e-queries that arrive with attachments is the threat of viruses.

But look at what writers send to Wylie-Merrick.

Writers send us e-mail attachments with nothing else in the body of the e-mail message.

Writers send us e-mail attachments with a note in the body of the message telling us that the query is in the attachment. We have never quite understood this one.

Writers send us e-mail attachments that include pictures of themselves, their children, their pets, and sometimes their illustrations.

Here’s the thing. Any agent who’s any good has no shortage of prospective writers he/she could sign. Why bother with people who can’t even send an email without creating unnecessary work for the agent?

Let alone emailing photos of the kids.

I’d delete them unread, too.

2 thoughts on “OK, now I get the “no attachments” thing”

  1. “Writers send us e-mail attachments with a note in the body of the message telling us that the query is in the attachment. We have never quite understood this one.”

    Well, gee. I send attachments at work all the time, with little or nothing in the body of the email. Why? To preserve formatting (in a Word document) for one. Which is the main reason I’d prefer to include sample pages or a brief synopsis as an attachment as well, rather than in the body. Format is part of a professional presentation.

    If the email is composed in Outlook and opened in Outlook, I can be fairly sure that the font and formatting, etc., will be as it should, but what guarantee do I have that the recipient will be using Outlook?

    Now granted, the formatting of the query itself is not as important as the content. And the same could be said for the synopsis, chapter outline, or sample pages. BUT(!), nearly all agents indicate a preference (if not a “standard”) for formatting on materials sent via snail mail, so attachments make sense to me.

    ‘Course, despite my teeth grinding, I ALWAYS try to send them what they ask for and nothing else. Hey, I read Miss Snark too!

    John

  2. Yes, John, I suppose that is the reason people do it!

    I sent myself a copy of my query when I first composed it, just to make sure nothing weird would happen.

    But really, there are no guarantees . . .

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