Free Advice, Worth Twice as Much

Here’s a bit of free advice for new writers that’s worth considerably more than you paid for it. Sending unsolicited books (especially snailmail packages) with a scrap of a note saying “forgive the intrusion” means you are aware that you are being intrusive.

And adding “any response will do, even if negative” pretty much ensures the recipient will know you a) don’t have a clue and b) didn’t care enough about what you were doing to get one.

(or, worse: were given a clue and decided that YOU could do things differently, for Special Reasons)

There is a protocol for getting advance quotes for your book. Sending it out scattershot, without prior contact, is not it.

Unnamed author, you just wasted postage (~$3) plus the cost of the book, when a simple email ahead of time asking if I’d have been interested would have gotten you much better PR, even if it didn’t get you a quote.

(and since this isn’t the kind of book I read, it really WAS a waste)

I suspect – based on a quick lookup of this author – that my advice is wasted on them, as they seem to have no internet presence, and two books on Amazon.com with the same cover but different titles and no author bio.  That indicates a desire to NOT have a clue, in this day and age.  But maybe someone else can glean something useful from it…

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Scroll to Top