Should a writer maintain an author page?
From: janet.m@[removed].ac.uk
Date: 18 Aug 1993
Dear list,
I am a fiction writer in the UK and have been following the recent notes about electronic submissions and author information sheets. I have put together a small World-Wide Web page as an experiment and would like to know whether it is appropriate to give editors the address. It is at /janets-world/.
My question is general rather than technical: is it yet useful, or premature, for a writer to mention such a page in a query letter or cover letter? I do not want to appear unserious by pointing an editor at a novelty, but I can see the value in having current information available without sending a large packet by post.
I would be grateful for practical views from editors, librarians, or writers who have tried this.
Janet
From: helen.park@[removed].org
Date: 20 Aug 1993
Janet,
I would treat an author page as a supplement, not as the submission itself. A concise postal query, sample pages if requested, and SASE remain the professional route for most editors. However, a simple page with a stable address may be useful when an editor already has reason to look you up.
The main danger is overloading the page with decoration or unfinished material. Keep it plain, keep the address stable, and make sure anything you send by post remains sufficient on its own. In that form I do not think it harms the query. It may even reassure a technically curious editor that you can present yourself clearly in the new medium.
From: thomas.reed@[removed].org
Date: 23 Aug 1993
I agree with Helen. Do not make the page do the work of the letter. Editors still need title, length, category, relevant credits, and a reason to ask for more.
Where the Web may help is after the first contact. If a small press is considering a writer for an electronic edition, an orderly author page can save a little correspondence. I would put the address at the end of the letter, after the ordinary contact information, and not make it the centre of the pitch.
From: janet.m@[removed].ac.uk
Date: 26 Aug 1993
Thank you both. That is exactly the distinction I needed: the page as a card file or notice board, not as a substitute for a proper submission. I will keep the postal query conventional and list the Web address only as additional information.
Janet