Forgive me but I'm a complete newbie at sending actual queries. (Trying to get out of the content mill treadmill!) When sending a query to a publication via email contact form (or email in general) what should I use as the subject of the email? Should I put "Writer Query" and my article title pitch? Any suggestions would be helpful!
Query email subject?
- Thread starter RedStringSoul
- Start date
Standard subject is simply "Query: Title of Project."
Some agents/publishers have slight variations of this based on their spam and internal filters, but they're all basically the same. Check with your specific target before firing the email off, but if you can't find anything different go with that.
That format also gives you a very simple way to set up filters in your email program to ensure none of your responses get sent to your spam.
Some agents/publishers have slight variations of this based on their spam and internal filters, but they're all basically the same. Check with your specific target before firing the email off, but if you can't find anything different go with that.
That format also gives you a very simple way to set up filters in your email program to ensure none of your responses get sent to your spam.
I've added "Query: Title of Project - My Name" because it makes my emails faster to find in a pinch, and hopefully gets the name recognition going, but most editors aren't picky about subject lines. Including the word "Query" gets the point across.
What WildScribe said.
I get more than 200 e-mails a day, which means things can get buried very quickly and I don't even bother to open e-mails when the subject lines indicate that they've come from a public relations firm or from a sender who is not offering me very specific information.
When you get that volume of e-mail, you become adept at quickly scanning subject lines and deleting the stuff that doesn't give any indication of its contents.
On a related note, if you don't get a response, send it again. These days, media companies are short-staffed and editors are overworked. It's entirely possible that the editor did not see your e-mail or simply skipped over it on a busy day, and that's never personal.
Good luck.
I get more than 200 e-mails a day, which means things can get buried very quickly and I don't even bother to open e-mails when the subject lines indicate that they've come from a public relations firm or from a sender who is not offering me very specific information.
When you get that volume of e-mail, you become adept at quickly scanning subject lines and deleting the stuff that doesn't give any indication of its contents.
On a related note, if you don't get a response, send it again. These days, media companies are short-staffed and editors are overworked. It's entirely possible that the editor did not see your e-mail or simply skipped over it on a busy day, and that's never personal.
Good luck.
While this is an old thread, I wanted to add a point that I think will help when pitching ideas. I once read that because PR people often query magazine editors too, only putting "Query: TITLE" in the subject line may cause an editor to think that it's a PR pitch. So the tip is to say "Writer Query: TITLE" instead so that it's clear it's an article query.
That said, I have used both and gotten replies on both. But it may be worth adding the word "writer" just to be safe.
Thanks!
That said, I have used both and gotten replies on both. But it may be worth adding the word "writer" just to be safe.
Thanks!
Last edited:
Plan,
Would you prefer it be sent again, or instead, a query stating when it was originally sent and asking if you received it? If just sent again, do you want the email to make reference to the first sumission? Regardless, and assuming the writer hasn't heard from you, how long should s/he wait between initial and subseqent contact?
Subject line I have used is:
"Query: TITLE OF BOOK (Children's MG Nonfiction)