Today an editor emailed me with a simple question. At the end of the email, she included her phone number and said I could call her if I preferred the phone to email.
While my instinct was to email her so I wouldn't bug her with a call, my freelance writing mentor Linda suggested that I call instead. That way, the editor would hear my voice, and our relationship would form quicker. (I ended up getting her voicemail. But hey - she still got to hear my voice)
Linda's tip: be friendly, but keep the call under 5 minutes.
2 comments:
This is a tried and true rule no matter what you're doing -- but, oh boy, for introverts and extroverts alike it is so hard to do!
Your key word here is relationship and building rapport is critical. People like to do work with other people they like -- and you will never, ever know someone by their email message better than their voice, tone, or spoken words.
Anne Witkavitch
I've been told the more you talk with editors, the less nerve-wracking it is. I guess it's just like anything else: You get used to it and it becomes part of your daily work. In the meantime I'll just deal with the butterflies :)
I completely agree, it's worth the scaryness for them to get to know me that much more.
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