Yesterday I sent one email to our contract review specialist to check on the status of a contract. In due course she replied to me. (Tally: 2 emails)
I forward her email to our contracts management coordinator (1 email); to the heads of the company to keep them in the loop (2 emails)
I update the client (1 email); and the editor (1 email)
One quick question: 7 emails.
Add in "update the checklist" and that one little email took about three minutes. Now multiply by one hundred. Each day. Every day.
That is the warp and weft of this business. There are days all I do is make sure everyone has all the same information and answer questions about status.
I don't think this is unique to publishing.
I offer this up only so you can see the illustration of why I'm so crazed on the subject of not sending me email replying to form rejections etc.
12 comments:
Amen, sister.
Definitely not unique to publishing--there are days when I have to delete emails just to read the new ones coming in. So I appreciate not to take up unnecessary space in agents' inboxes!
So in the old days how did it work? Did you (or agents) have to make that many phone calls per contract update?
Because I don't want to send another dreaded email I will ask my question here.
In the last three days I have been asked for several exclusives. Im not providing them because other agents have recieved the MS before the request.
Is it resonable of me to ask agents to review sample pages before I mail a hard copy out. After paying to send three fulls out already Im starting to fill the cash crunch.
Thanks for your time.
Definitely not unique to publishing. It's come to a point where everybody around me just cc:'s everyone else and their mother on every single e-mail just to keep each person in the loop. I'm pretty sure this actually wastes more time in the long run, but its obvious this whole e-mail thing is completely out of control.
Love hearing about the warp and weft. :)
You make sure everyone is informed? And you work in publishing? Next you're going to try and sell me a bridge, right? ;)
I get what you're saying. Time is money. And what is vital for you as an agent, equals time. Aha.
Good grief!
That is crazy! Still, given the choice, I'd rather play the e-mail multiplication game than telephone tag any day! (Of course, as a writer, I'd rather write emails than speak on the phone anyway.)
What's the big deal? It's your job. You could have sent 10 more e-mails rather than type out another blog entry. All jobs have some aspects that suck.
Sycophants like Fatawan are ruining this blog.
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