One of the more annoying things I’ve come across throughout the years is when other writers or businesses decide to utilize abbreviations and other forms of “netspeak” in email. Using ALL CAPS or writing things like, “hey, how r u? i see that u review books. can u review mine?” are fairly irritating. I often wonder why a writer would not take the time to write their emails out in a fairly professional manner. Needless to say, I’m not that keen to read a book if they can’t even be bothered to spell out “how r u?”

Emails, if written correctly, can act as mini-marketing tools to help you get that next job, assignment or speaking engagement. Since your potential employer wants to hire you as a writer, spelling and grammatical errors can reflect pretty poorly on you and your work. As a writer, you already have challenges to overcome like writer’s stigmas and what I call every writer’s conundrum, so we need all the help we can get.

Another way to look at emails, is that they often replace the query letter for article and fiction submissions. Those same keywords you use to sell your work can also be used in an email; I like to call them out in my message box by doing something like this:

[Article Submission] Words on the Water for Publication in Work Webzine.

After I write my query, I typically work in a one to two paragraph mini-resume that is tailored to that particular publication. The brief bio helps me remind myself what areas I’m focusing on as a writer, and gives me the opportunity to reassess my goals.

Remember, too, that some professionals don’t have time to be on top of internet trends; some people have no idea what the latest craze is on MySpace or even what icanhazcheezburger may mean. In an age where great communication is everything, emails are really something you can use to make you (and your writing) look good provided you cross your t’s and dot your i’s. Don’t even get me started on the writer’s resumes I’ve seen. That’s a topic for another blog post.

Now if you don’t mind, I’m going offline because I’m no n00b an i am teh r0xx0R!

Er…something like that. *blushes*