Comments on: WRITERS LIFEGUARD: No Reply is the New “No Thanks”

By: jules older

jules older — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:32:25 +0000

Good question, Jamie. I’m an editor as well as writer. Here’s what’s in it for me.

1. A quick, clean ending. No follow-ups, no “I just want to make sure you got my query” emails.

2. The satisfaction of doing unto writers as I want my editors to do unto me.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:58:14 +0000

Ironically, this paradigm shift seems to be a case of “back to the future.” An old fashioned sense of respect served up faster and more efficiently with digital technology.

But I have to ask as Devil’s Advocate, what’s in it for the editor?

By: Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg

Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:33:39 +0000

I really enjoyed this article.

The lesson should be applied across the board.

We should all take the time to set up a hotkey to make a relevant reply easy and accomplishable in under five seconds…

Thanks.

By: jules older

jules older — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:46:45 +0000

Sadly, Tom & MB, almost every response I’ve had to this has reflected the same experience. Bring on that paradigm shift!

jules

By: MB

MB — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:47:10 +0000

Enjoyed this piece, thank you! I think not only for writers but in general it is true to say that “no reply is the new no thanks.” Just ask anyone who’s held a party recently what percentage of RSVPs they got (it’s not always a “no thanks,” sometimes many more show up than RSVP’d). It’s great that e-mail has made it much easier to communicate with all kinds of people, but now overflowing in-boxes seem to have led people to shut off, even if (as you say) a quick canned response takes no more than 30 seconds. And so we wait by our in-boxes, hoping in vain for an acknowledgment.

By: Tom Bentley

Tom Bentley — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:18:15 +0000

Jules, I have often lamented to my sweetheart (after several months of not hearing back from editors on queries) the exact same notions you propose here: how hard is it to craft a three-sentence “Thanks, but not for us” note in response to a pitch? Indeed, it can even be an autoresponder, easily set up.

It’s true that publishing has taken many hits of late, layoffs have strangled staffs and survivors are stressed, but still, that’s not too much to ask. It has gotten so that it’s a minor miracle of sorts to get a personal reply; it’s almost like a prize.

Thanks for a nice piece.