Using a Gmail account for correspondence

[AspenHouse Media]

Hi,

Does it come across as unprofessional to have a free Gmail account to use for querying?

Thanks!

[Pat~]

I don't see why it would. I have three 'free' email accounts--2 yahoo, and 1 g-mail. I call it thrifty. :D

[Mumut]

I've been asked to provide a non-gmail email address because the sender considered it safer. Very annoying!

[Matera the Mad]

Some people are very suspicious of anything Google, kind of a Big Brother Phobia Syndrome because of Google's ability to track everything and the great horror of entrusting everything to some great central monopoly. In reality, NO e-mail that is not encrypted and sent through some very secure channel is "safe." The accounts that most people get with their Internet service provider are practically wide open.

I hacked my sister's sbcglobal/yahoo account with a little help from their own Help info and the knowledge that she always used variations on the same password. Don't worry, she approved -- her computer was down and I wanted to delete some spam before her inbox blew up.

If someone wants to get into your e-mail, they will do it. But the odds against it happening randomly are good, simply because there is so much of it. Most likely nobody really wants to read your mail (damn, and you thought you were the center of the universe! LOL).

[kristie911]

The only thing that would be unprofessional about it, really, is if it was something like: sexybabe @gmail or bighooters @gmail...you get the idea. I've used my gmail for queries and no one seemed to mind. But it's my full name @gmail.com.

[Judg]

The advantage of a gmail or hotmail account is that it stays constant when you change Internet providers. That's an important advantage. I have actually seen agents with yahoo accounts, some of them impossible to brush off as amateurs.

[Klazart]

I used a g-mail account to query David Godwin Associates, and they got back to me the next day with a partial request... so that at least seems to be okay.

[dreamsofnever]

Good question, Aspen! I wondered the same thing myself, but as everyone else has already expressed, it's perfectly fine as long as it's something professional. (i.e. yourname@gmail.com)

I get a free email through my website provider, but then I would have to be something like kelly@kellyguentner.com which just sounds stupid. So gmail it is :)

[DonnaDuck]

I agree with what's been said. Keep it professional and it shouldn't be a problem. I have two "fun" Yahoo! accounts but I don't use those for anything professional. I also have another for my Kate Boddie pseudonym that I've submitted work under and also a Gmail account for my Donna Sirianni pseudo-pseudonym that I use professionally. Then there's my SBC Global account which I use for job hunting and some submissions. I honestly don't think they care, so long as it's not GiantWang@Hot4Sluts.com, it shouldn't make a difference.

[inkkognito]

I have a personal Gmail account, plus three that I use for my businesses. The only that I use for my writing is my name @ gmail.com. The only problem I have ever encountered is some responses from editors going into spam. I have no idea what triggers that, but it has happened more than once so I watch the spam folder on that account judiciously.

I love the "labeling" feature on Gmail, which really helps with record-keeping. I also love the fact that it only has text ads, and that they are contextual so I sometimes get ads I would actually choose to click through. Yahoo's ads are beyond annoying, and their spam filter is the pits.

[Yeshanu]

I get a free email through my website provider, but then I would have to be something like kelly@kellyguentner.com which just sounds stupid.

I don't know why this sounds stupid. It seems perfectly fine to me. But gmail or yahoo or hotmail should be fine for an editor. Why would you pay for something when you can get it free, especially when you're just starting out. And the point about changing having to change your email address when you change providers is well made--I don't have a sympatico address any more, but I still have my hotmail account.

[veinglory]

For a writer, probably not. But are you a writer? For a publisher or other full time, client-soliciting professional it might make me wonder.

[Autodidact]

The only thing that would be unprofessional about it, really, is if it was something like: sexybabe @gmail or bighooters @gmail...you get the idea. I've used my gmail for queries and no one seemed to mind. But it's my full name @gmail.com.

What do you mean, nakedsexybabywbighooters? signed, hornydog@hotmail.com

[inkkognito]

Actually, I suppose the appropriateness of the address might depend on the publications you are writing for. Some markets might appreciate something like bighooters @gmail.com

Just sayin'!!

[Haggis]

This may explain the trouble I seem to be having with studlychihuahua@yahoo.com.

[maestrowork]

This may explain the trouble I seem to be having with studlychihuahua@yahoo.com.

Drop the "studly."

You're welcome.

[inkkognito]

This may explain the trouble I seem to be having with studlychihuahua@yahoo.com.
Try it to query "Dog Fancy" for their annual Breeders Special Issue.

[DoctorShade]

My email address is Jasonshade@gmail.com

I didn't want everyone to know my full name when they saw my email address so I used my first name and my internet name. Is this unproffessional?

[inkkognito]

I don't think it's unprofessional. They wouldn't even know off the cuff that it's not your real name until they start corresponding with you.

[DoctorShade]

Is "Shade" even a real last name, lol

[HeronW]

having a full or partial non-gimmicky email in gmail or any free email shouldn't be a problem. For any email correspondence, keep copies on elsewhere in case your email service loses or deletes your files.

[CatMuse33]

One thing I've noticed recently is that my gmail accounts sends anything sent from an AOL account into spam. (Just a good thing for someone to know...)

I haven't had anyone blink at my gmail account when I give it out. My full name@gmail.com.

I stopped using my Yahoo account (true story!) because I got tired of people going "ya-hooooo" after I gave them the address. It gets old. LOL

That and the spam filter sucks, so now I use that for websites that require an e-mail address to register, etc. LOL

Dawn

[WolfgangNibori]

I think Gmail's respectable enough, really. It's what I use and so far I've not any trouble gathering rejections through it! lol

[benbradley]

My email address is Jasonshade@gmail.com

I didn't want everyone to know my full name when they saw my email address so I used my first name and my internet name. Is this unproffessional?
No, Mr. Shade, that address isn't unprofessional, not at all...
One thing I've noticed recently is that my gmail accounts sends anything sent from an AOL account into spam. (Just a good thing for someone to know...)

I haven't had anyone blink at my gmail account when I give it out. My full name@gmail.com.

I stopped using my Yahoo account (true story!) because I got tired of people going "ya-hooooo" after I gave them the address. It gets old. LOL

That and the spam filter sucks, so now I use that for websites that require an e-mail address to register, etc. LOL

Dawn
I remember years ago, a woman I knew only through an email list posted that "I never read any email from a hotmail.com address, I always delete it, because I'm a prude."

[JoNightshade]

I don't know about the field of writing, but if we're talking about computer geeks, Google is worlds above yahoo and hotmail. I, my husband, and all of our geeky friends had gmail accounts when it was in beta and you could only get it by "invite." :)

It's funny how we view users of various email clients, too. Yahoo and hotmail users are okay, maybe a little behind the times. Gmail users are cool. AOL... dude. You must be a little old lady or something. :)

[Mac H.]

There is one BIG downside to gmail, that affects some professionals and not others ... the fact that gmail doesn't allow some attachments.

I often need to email executables (etc) for my professional work and it is a pain that gmail simply doesn't accept it .. even if it has been zipped.

Sure, I can get around it, but it is one more thing that is a nuisance ...

It may not affect writers much, but it is a pain for others.

Mac

[benbradley]

There is one BIG downside to gmail, that affects some professionals and not others ... the fact that gmail doesn't allow some attachments.

I often need to email executables (etc) for my professional work and it is a pain that gmail simply doesn't accept it .. even if it has been zipped.

Sure, I can get around it, but it is one more thing that is a nuisance ...

It may not affect writers much, but it is a pain for others.

Mac
This sounds like an AOL-type Cyber-Mommy's-Gonna-Protect-You feature. I thought better of Gmail.

Does gmail accept ENCRYPTED files? I recall the zip file format has an encryption option, which isn't neccesarily "strong", but there's PGP, which is strong enough to worry the government...