Initial Communications Say More Than You Know

Don't delude yourself: first impressions matter. We judge people by those first few seconds, and it is incredibly difficult to change someone's opinion after that judgment has already been made.

"Don't judge a book by its cover." Yet we do it ALL THE TIME.

There are countless examples where first impressions matter. But the one arena that people tend to forget about is digital communications (email and social media). It has become way too easy to send off emails, treating it like a text message with a friend, rather than a business or formal method of communication.

I can rant until I'm blue in the face about social media interactions, but today, I want to focus on email communications and the hidden messages that exist in those lines of email.

I will be taking examples from some of my communications with prospective clients, paraphrasing and hiding the identity of those email writers. But I want to give you some insight into the subtext I gleaned from those emails.

Disclaimer: In no way is this post meant to be a shaming post, but rather to highlight what sort of thoughts might go through my head about the type of client you will be, based on your communications.

It Starts with the Inbox

I have a contact form on my website that places your messages lovingly in my inbox. In fact, I have two of them: one intended for general inquiries and the other for inquiries about services. However, I know from experience that sometimes those contact forms have issues rendering. It's more often than not because someone is blocking the cookies in their browsers. It was for this reason that I used to share an email address directly on my website too, but I don't do that anymore, because of the number of scam emails that I get from scraper bots.

(FYI, removing the email addresses from my website hasn't stopped the scammers, because they get my email address by other means.)

From that initial communication, and from the email address used to reach me, I know exactly where that communication has come from, be it via social media, referral, or my website. I know how you got my details. And it tells me that you took the time to find my contact details.

To me, this is a good sign, because it means that you are actually interested in potentially working with me—or not.

GDPR and Privacy Grumps

So, that communication found in my inbox is something you sparked, giving me the right to respond to you. But I have encountered some who have gotten angry with me because I responded to their email, even though they initiated the contact.

Folks, if I respond to your questions in your email, I'm still GDPR compliant and I'm not breaking any privacy laws, because it's communication you initiated. But for the GDPR and privacy grumps, the conversation abruptly stops right there. I don't want a client who gets pissy with me because I send them an email.

Aggressive Spam Filters... Bah Humbug!

This leads to another type of client I've given up on a few times over the years: the ones with aggressive spam filters.

So, you inquire about the services that I offer. I respond with links to my website, pointing you to relevant information, like my terms and conditions on services. However, I hit send and, within 30 minutes, I get an email saying that my email was deemed as spam by some spam filter.

WTF?

The first time I encountered this, I tried to be accommodating to the aggressive spam filter, but after the fifth email attempt to send the information requested, I just gave up.

If that spam filter is too aggressive, will it block my emails with edited manuscripts too? This is not a worry or a headache that I need to have.

I have no issues with those wanting to protect themselves, trying to avoid viruses and malware—and actual scam emails—but when that protection moves to paranoid levels…

Not happening.

So, bye bye, dear prospective client with an aggressive spam filter. Take that aggressive spam filter somewhere else.

The "I fired my last editor" Email

I haven't had one of these—yet—and I've been in business since 2015, but I see comments about them in my various editor groups.

There could be a legitimate reason why you're now seeking another editor. You could have had creative differences and you didn't agree with much of what they were suggesting. It happens. But if you badmouth another editor, it will leave a sour taste in my mouth.

Don't get me wrong, I grumble all the time about the crazy things I see in manuscripts, but I keep those grumbles to myself. If I talk to others about your manuscript, it's always without your name attached, and it's because I'm seeking advice and insight from others who are more experienced in particular areas than I am.

Saying that, if you have worked with an editor before, it is good to know.

However, being grumpy about all the things that your last editor did wrong tells me that you're a special snowflake who is likely to get grumpy with me because I don't share your vision. Sorry, but that's not the type of client that I want to work with.

Advice if You Really Didn't Like the Previous Editor's Suggestions

For the moment, I'm going to temporarily take off my editor hat and put on my publisher hat.

If you honestly didn't like the edits that your last editor suggested (and they are suggestions), then look at the specifications and requirements that you gave them.

If the editor was following a particular style guide (which they should have been, whether that style guide came from you or was a standard one, like the Chicago Manual of Style), then go back to the style guide and see what was specified for the particular language treatment. And if the treatment wasn't specified, then ask why they made that suggestion. (And remember that it is a suggestion.) If they can't give you a clear and decisive reason, then you know they weren't necessarily the right editor for that project.

If you are rejecting in the order of say 5% to 10% of edits, then you actually had a very good edit. (It's rare for a writer to accept 100% of all editing suggestions.) However, if you are rejecting in the order of 30% or more, then, okay, you had an edit that didn't quite fit your style and vision.

But there is zero need to badmouth that editor to another editor. The previous editor just wasn't a good fit. That's all.

Okay… Time to put the editor hat back on.

The "you're my editor" Message with No Additional Information

There has been the odd occasion when I have gotten an email from a prospective client that made it clear that they wanted me to be their editor (and that they wouldn't work with anyone else). But their email was just demanding information about when the editing would start. No information about the project. And I had never seen their name before, so I had no idea who they were.

It's great to see that they wanted to hire my services, but I'm not the editor for everyone.

Not only do I work in a specific group of genres, but I have a definite skill set which is not suited to every project that a writer might put in front of me. And if I have zero information about your manuscript, I'm unable to determine if your story is something that I would be interested in working on.

I get that you might be just randomly emailing from your phone (and yes, I can tell if that initial email came from a phone), but sending me messages with a single line of "I have a book that needs editing," isn't productive. If anything, it tells me you're not ready for editing.

Here's why.

When someone asks you about what it is you write, you need to be able to give others a simple description of your project. Imagine that you have just joined a new writing group and you're in those initial introductions. What do you say?

For myself, something like the following comes out of my mouth:

"Hi. My name is Judy, and I write sci-fi, fantasy, and thrillers. I also write non-fiction with a focus on helping writers to avoid the dangers on the internet… and to share my knowledge and experience on being a writer. In my day job, I'm a developmental editor and story coach, fascinated with how stories are constructed."

Okay, I might not say that exactly, but just from that brief exchange, you know if we have something in common.

Even if you don't know exactly which genre (or subgenre) your manuscript might fall in, a brief description of what that manuscript is about can go a long way to telling me if there is even a chance that I might be able to help you edit that manuscript.

Genre Mismatch

There have been situations where an inquiry for services didn't go much past the initial email, simply because the genre or story premise were not right for me. I wasn't the right editor for the project.

I've had requests from writers of regency romance and those who write Christian fiction. Neither of these are genres I work with. I don't read them, and I don't write them. I know what the tropes are, but that's about as far as it goes.

When there is a genre mismatch, I often refer those clients to other editors, providing them with contact details. The rest is up to them.

But sometimes, the genre mismatch is not obvious during the initial inquiry, requiring a bit more of an exchange.

Some years back, I had an email exchange with a prospective client looking for a developmental editor for a literary romantic suspense novel that was 70,000 words. She was querying her novel, but it was constantly being rejected. She wanted another pair of eyes to help her identify why.

Without even looking at her manuscript, I could identify one potential problem: the word counts for the given genre were too low. However, from the information provided about the story (which was all of two paragraphs in that initial email), I knew the writer was fixated on the literary aspects of the story. While I could help her with the genre aspects of her novel, I wasn't the right editor for her.

Over the years, I have had communications with those who wanted editing on nonfiction (topics that didn't interest me), others who wanted proofreading only, and inquiries from those who were working on school assignments, needing quotes from editors for those assignments.

Those initial communications are vital, as they dictate how I'm to respond.

Advice for the Initial Email

Every editor wants different information before quoting on a project. Most editors will follow up your initial inquiry with questions of their own, narrowing things down, and each editor has their own process for this. However, in that initial inquiry, here are a few suggestions on what to include as a minimum.

Genre:

This need not be super specific, but if I was to find your book in a bookstore, what section do I go to?

Age category:

Are you writing a children's book, young adult, or adult? Trust me, a crime story written for children is an entirely different beast to something written for adults.

1-2 sentences describing your story or project (optional, but ideal):

This is not vital to include, because an editor will either ask pinpointed questions regarding this, or they'll get it from the materials you send them, but it is handy to know if the topic is something that might be a trigger for an editor. For example, not all editors are comfortable with working on stories that contain violence against children or women. Or if the novel deals with the death of a loved one, the editor might not be in the right headspace to edit that work because of their own personal reasons.

As a side note, for me, no topic is taboo. I have zero issues with the dark sides of society. If your story gives me the heeby-geebies, you will make me smile because of it. That said, I do have no-go treatments of certain topics. For example, I'm not comfortable with stories that suggest it's okay to have extramarital affairs without consequences.

Word counts:

Am I looking at a short story, a novella, or a full-length novel? Those word counts, when combined with the genre, can tell me a lot about your style of writing.

Any areas of concern within your manuscript (optional, but handy):

If there is anything in particular that you would like feedback on, mention it.

Most editors will approach a manuscript as a whole project, looking at consistency across the entire manuscript, but if there is a particularly sticky section that you want examined, they can give that section extra attention—but only if they know you want that particular section to have extra love.

If there is something within your writing style that you want particular feedback on, tell the editor that too. You're paying for feedback on your writing. Get the attention where you feel you need it.

Production plans (optional, but handy):

Are you looking at self-publication or traditional roads? Do you have any deadlines you're working towards?

This information will be important for scheduling work. Some editors fill up their editorial calendars months in advance. They might not be able to slot you in when you need the work done.

Remember to be polite and professional. Those initial communications will tell the editor what type of client you will likely be to work with, so make sure you give the editor a good first impression.

Interested in Working with Me?

I strongly believe that we start reading a story because of the plot, but we keep reading because of the character. And if a story keeps a reader engaged, then they will be willing to overlook the odd punctuation or grammatical error. But if a story fails to deliver (and fails to pull the reader in), then those punctuation and grammatical errors are all they will see.

The best writing is not grammatically correct, but rather is strong within the narrative and voice. And this is where I excel.

My specialty is action-based stories, particularly in sci-fi, fantasy, and crime thrillers. I adore the stories that are filled with grit, making some people squeamish. When I'm editing a story, I focus on pacing, the plot, characterizations, and those aspects of a story that pull a reader in. I examine narrative show, dialogue, and the transitions between chapters and scenes. While I will assess punctuation and grammar, my focus is on the reader experience and the reader engagement.

If you would like to find out more about working with me (either as an editor or a writing coach), just drop me a line.