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Topic: correct salutation?
| Author | Message |
| jojo17 | Posted – 1/4/2008 4:17:34 PM | show profile why so formal? i agree with prdiva that we are all adults and there is no need for such outdated formalities. i am a senior ed and if someone sends me a dear ms smith email i will assume they are 16. i am all for being polite, but i think using formalities portrays youth and a lack of self respect. however, i also think that it is a matter of judging the language of the particular publication and running with that... |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 1/4/2008 4:51:34 PM | show profile dribble, being lower on the totem pole maybe wasn't the right choice of words. But do you see where I was going with that? I simply mean that you're not colleagues - you're in a position of wanting to convey information in a way that is respectful and not pushy. And when I was on the editorial side of things, I heard quite a few editors/writers say that they resented being called by their first names by little "young snots" from PR agencies who should know better than to be on a first-name basis with them. And those were their words. Granted, it was mostly 40+ folks who said that- I didn't really care. But I took that lesson and have since always used the formal salutation. I don't think it conveys youth at all, but simply respect. I don't know when good manners became considered a sign of youth or naivete. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 1/4/2008 6:16:54 PM | show profile I have no problem with that. Mostly, though, I think it's just a reflection of a person's personality. --dribble, being lower on the totem pole maybe wasn't the right choice of words. But do you see where I was going with that? I simply mean that you're not colleagues - you're in a position of wanting to convey information in a way that is respectful and not pushy. And when I was on the editorial side of things, I heard quite a few editors/writers say that they resented being called by their first names by little "young snots" from PR agencies who should know better than to be on a first-name basis with them. And those were their words. Granted, it was mostly 40+ folks who said that- I didn't really care. But I took that lesson and have since always used the formal salutation. I don't think it conveys youth at all, but simply respect. I don't know when good manners became considered a sign of youth or naivete.-- |
| pleiades | Posted – 1/4/2008 6:33:32 PM | show profile I go through hundreds of submissions each month. I'm fine with "Dear Ms. Jane Smith," "Dear Jane Smith," "Dear Ms. Smith" or "Dear Jane." Two things I care about: That the writer knows my name and that she spells it correctly. But honestly, I don't have time to spend more than a second on that first line. My goal is to get to the meat of the pitch as quickly as possible, determine if it's good or not and move on. In the last query I sent I went with "Dear Ms. Jane Smith." And if Jane Smith (an agent) does read the query she will quickly realize that it's not an automated form letter because of how specific I was in noting other clients she represents, why she would be a good fit, etc., etc. Personally, I think it's the pitch - not the salutation - that matters. |
