Does your address send the wrong message?
by Andy Scheer
Marie recently sent me a query for a novel. Her name was displayed in my email folder. And it appeared next to the email address at the top of the query.
As I read the query, I envisioned how she would handle the male POV character she described, considering he was a soldier during wartime.
Then I read the closing paragraphs — and discovered the person who’d written me was a retired police officer named Richard who lived with his wife, Marie.
I had to recast my impression of everything I’d read. Especially my view of the author’s professionalism.
How hard is it to get your own free email account
through Yahoo! or G-mail?
How hard is it to get your own free email account through Yahoo! or G-mail? Yes, my wife and I share several email accounts — but not the ones I use professionally.
Meanwhile I’ve added to my list of writing pet peeves. One is a dramatic scene that, without warning, turns out to be only a dream. My new pet peeve is wannabe writers who identify themselves one way with their email account—then pull a switcheroo.
Please, remember what you learned in kindergarten: Put your name — your own name — on the top of your paper.
