"No email queries" ???
I am going to ask this of both agents currently fielding questions in here. I've already considered the wisdom of posing this question on a public forum--I know agents read this board, and I'm none too keen on rubbing anyone the wrong way--however, I believe the question is important, particularly in an age when recycling is huge concern.
I am currently compiling my list of agents and agencies to query, since my story is completed and heavily revised/edited. I am coming across a lot of agents lined up on both sides of the fence--either
only accepting email queries or
refusing all email queries. Whuh?
I am wondering if you know of the reasons some agents refuse email queries.
I do have a serious problem with people resistant to technology. Every time I see "Does not accept email queries," I immediately think "If I have to drag this person kicking and screaming into the 21st century, what are they going to be able to do for me?"
The agencies I've seen that specify queries by email only, always state why--they're not killing trees. It's environentally friendly. It cuts down on paper usage. The agencies whose policies reject email queries don't say why. I can't imagine.
This is the way it looks to me: back in the days when paper was the new, big thing, there were a few clinging to the old ways. They rejected paper in all its forms and insisted all correspondence be submitted carved on stone tablets. What is the logic behind insisting on doing things the old, slow, inefficient way?
Huh?
The internet's been up and accessible by the public for what, 20 years? What is the logic behind resisting a technology that is 1)
free [when was the last time you had to put a stamp on an email?], 2)
time efficient ['immediate' beats '3 to 7 business days'], and 3)
environmentally friendly [no dead trees, landfills, or recycling needed].
Oh, and did I mention the internet's been up and accessible by the public for about 20 years?
Are they just trying to keep the US Postal Service going or is there a method to the madness?
That's all for now. I have a load of clothes coming out of the washer and it takes about a half hour to feed each article through the ringer. It's still faster than before, though. Why, just last week, I was beating them on a rock.