Snail Mail vs Email

[leim]

If an agent's guidelines state they accept both Email or Snail Mail queries is there a preferred method? Obviously no one can speak for every agent, but I was just wondering if there was a general consensus of which is best.

I like sending email queries since they are quick and save on both paper and stamps...I am a starving artist you know. But I also feel like I put a little more effort into a snail mail query and to me it just looks nicer.

Either one better?

Thanks

[Marina Snow]

From what I have read online and heard from agents at conferences, the preference seems to be email but each person is different. I would go with saving paper if their website does not state one over the other, but does indicate that they accept email queries. Email is easier for them to read and deal with.

But one agent at a conference said that she likes email because she can, "hit delete, delete, delete, delete...." and go about her day faster. I queried her by mail because her website said she accepts proposals. I received a nice rejection letter. So apparently, she doesn't mind either form of query.

[Danthia]

Everyone is different. I'd suggest seeing if they have a blog or anything where they might say they have a preference. If not, then do what you prefer.

[JamieB]

Every request for a submission I've ever gotten has been from an email query. I've gotten nothing but rejections or no response from snail mail. I'm trying not to get superstitious about it. :)

[dragonkid]

Every request for a submission I've ever gotten has been from an email query. I've gotten nothing but rejections or no response from snail mail. I'm trying not to get superstitious about it. :)

This is my situation exactly. I’ve had pretty good luck with e-mail queries, but have never received anything more than a personal rejection when querying through snail mail. It’s kind of strange, when you think about it…

[spinspin]

Sometimes you can tell the agent's true preference by looking at their QueryTracker statistics. For example, Agent Richard Henshaw replies to his equeries VERY quickly, but his snail queries take weeks.

Personally, I am a fan of paper! It is partly because I include a one page "publicity hits" description for my well published book. (And doing that electronically wouldn't work). But also, my query letter is beautifully formatted and very professional looking, and I feel it really loses something in email format.

But I'm probably bucking the tide!

S

[Arquebus]

I have eight agents reading now. Of that number 3 are from snail queries. I have probably queried about 120 agents, and of that number maybe 20-25 were snails. So in my own experience, snails have produced a better rate of return (though they are more expensive and time consuming, obviously). Following what Marina said above, agents can just hit "delete delete delete" all day long. I have a feeling they pay less attention to email -- just as we all, I think, pay more attention to our mailboxes than our inboxes. Then again, I think agents who demand snails skew older, as opposed to those who demand equeries, who skew younger. It might depend on your genre, too.