You Ask, I Answer: Should I Avoid Sending Queries on Certain Days?
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Keri asks: I’ve been holding off on sending out queries and letters of introduction because of the holidays. I also try not to send queries on the weekend or on weekday afternoons when editors are busiest. I’m starting to wonder if this will make a difference in my acceptance rate.
It’s funny that you ask that, because Carol Tice addressed this in her great Make a Living Writing blog. However, I have a slightly different take.
My M.O. is to send queries and letters of intro when they’re ready, whether that’s on Christmas day or at 3 am on a Sunday. You never know when an editor is going to be busy or working or on vacation, so why drive yourself crazy trying to predict the editor’s schedule?
I think it’s especially fruitless to try to figure out the weekdays and hours that will be less busy for an editor. You’ll read lots of advice not to send queries on Friday afternoon, for example. But again, why hold back due to what you imagine (but don’t know) the editor’s schedule will be like? Part of the magic of e-mail is that if the editor is busy or away when your query lands in her inbox, she can look at it when she does have the time or when she gets back to the office.
Also: Editors sometimes work crazy hours. For example, I had an editor call me on Christmas Eve to discuss a possible assignment. Yes, Christmas Eve! I’ve also had editors e-mail me on weekends and at ten at night.
As another example, I sent out part of a direct mail campaign in mid-December, and received a return postcard requesting my information kit right before Christmas. And two days after Christmas, I got a request for a meeting from another potential copywriting client.
I think that trying to predict when an editor will be most receptive to your e-mail is an exercise in futility. Why delay a response any more than you have to?
Finally, no matter when you send your query or letter of intro, if you don’t get a reply in a few weeks — follow up. That practice covers your butt if your e-mail does happen to get lost during a busy period.
How about you? Do you avoid sending queries during certain times? Have you had more success by timing your e-mails? [lf]
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Jan 13, 2011 Advice, Editors, Marketing, Query letters, You Ask, We Answer
Speaking as one agent, I disagree. I dislike receiving queries over weekends and holidays, especiall Christmas, New Year’s Eve and the like. Even when I approach editor’s, I contact them only during business hours out of respect for the fact that they do have private lives, and even if they can choose to delay reading email, it helps them to recharge their batteries if my “pitch” on behalf of an author is not pinging on their Blackberrys during these down times.
I also avoid approaching editors on Fridays, a day when many work at home editing manuscripts.
For what it’s worth…
Thanks for your input! I guess to each her own…I often hear from editors on weekends and holidays (and not just when I’ve pinged them first, I mean)!
“I’ve also had editors e-mail me on weekends and at ten at night.”
Linda:
The latest (or earliest, depending on how you look at it) I’ve heard from an editor — and it was an nacceptance — was 1:30 a.m.
It does happen?
Steve
I think we have a winner!
I think it depends on the person. While I try to send my queries out between Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’ve gotten responses on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
Thanks for letting us know what works for you!
Linda\Gwynneth:
Witl all due respect to Joelle’s response above (she makes some extremely good points), I know of writers who DO pitch during holidays when other writers are talking a sabbatical of sorts FOR the holiday.
Correct, Gwynneth, it depends on the person.
Steve
I never heard of this. I sent out query letters to a few publications and didn’t think about what day or hour it was. I read the writer’s guidelines and follow them. I wouldn’t have thought of checking my calendar
I might worry about sending a query late on Friday or just before/during a holiday in case it got buried among a load of other stuff and was overlooked by the editor on his/her return. Call me paranoid!
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, as I’m trying to ramp up the number of queries I send out. I figure that most people have a backlog of email to deal with on Monday mornings, so I hate to send queries over the weekend and have them potentially be glossed over. Not that I avoid sending queries over the weekend as a blanket policy, just that generally speaking I don’t do it.
But sometimes it’s hard to sit on something when you just want to get it out of your head and out to the editor, you know?
I’m with you! I’m impatient and just want to get the query off my plate, so I’ll take my chances. And I’m doing okay, so I think it’s working!
I couldn’t agree more. I’ve heard from agents over the holidays, over the weekend, and in the middle of the night. One pattern I’ve noticed: lots of agents seem to take their slush piles home with them on the weekend. I get a lot of responses from unsolicited queries on Monday morning.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Antonia!