Why Snail Mail Queries Might Be A Thing Of The Past: Hint...Get a computer!

I find it interesting that I am writing this post to people who will never see it due to their lack of technology. Therefore, I am calling on all of you readers to, wait for it...

• Print off this post.
• Put it in an envelope
• Mail it to your friend who will likely never get published

Although I know most agencies still accept snail mail submissions, when I get one, I always know that this person is likely not going to have a project that I am going to want to see. Why? Because they have not gotten online to read the submission guidelines. In fact, my wife and I often play the game of "guess what the submission is" based on the package/envelope the author used and a handwriting analysis. Sure enough, time and time again, the project is not right.

But here is the real reason why you need to get your author friends into the current century. The world has gone digital!

I know? Shocking isn't it!.

But here is the thing. Let's say you are going to have a great project. Publishers don't have on staff people to typeset you stories for you. They aren't paying some young intern to type your story into their computers.

Along the same lines, your revisions will come to you digitally, either in a MSWord Document or a PDF file. You won't get a pencil revision and then you sit down at your electric typewriter and re-do it, just to mail it off again.

I guess what I always find amazing are the number of authors out there who clearly do have a computer to type their manuscripts and their query letters, but still A) send it via snail mail; and B) have no email to respond.

So please, I beg of you! Help your friend out of the dark ages and show them the light of the Internet, and yes, something beyond that manual typewriter they are using. Let's see if we can get them some help to be at least closer to being published.