Manuscript queries... is a photo preferable or not?

Question

Do book editors get annoyed with queries that go so far as to include a small photo on the same page as the query letter, or does it actually help them remember your query by giving them a face to connect with your name? [Please note, I prefer answers to be worded respectfully.]

Answer 1

An excellent site to sift through for answers to your query questions is Miss Snark's blog (link below.) She's a literary agent and tells it like it is. Like the answerer Persiphone states, follow the guideline instructions to a T and you can't go wrong. I've never heard of an editor or agent wanting a picture at any point in the query process.

Answer 2

Editors have to work at high speed because they are generally deluged with submissions (or have other responsibilities and have limited time, on small publications, to sift through manuscripts). The simpler you make it for them to check your manuscript against their needs (or to check your query letter) and the less you distract them, the better off you are. Photos are not needed for most queries, therefore they are out. Only if there is a specific reason that is more than being remembered (e.g., perhaps if you are submitting an idea for a weight loss article and enclose before and after pictures of yourself — and even then, I'd think two or three times) the effect of including unnecessary pictures, or doing anything else that is unusual, might in fact be that you are remembered to such an extent that even if you submit a first rate idea in the future it will be tossed in the round file.

P.S. For decades I've followed some early advice to submit to specific editors if I have a name, and I've published hundreds of articles in everything from local weeklies to national newspapers and magazines (I've also written for radio and TV). You check out who the appropriate section editor is in writers' guidelines, or in the Writer's Digest, or on the masthead of the publication, and you direct your query to that person (or, if a name isn't given, to that publication). This with respect to the view that was presented by another person who answered your question and whose advice, otherwise, was quite sound.

PPS: Oops! I was the dolt, not the other guy. I answered too quickly and didn't focus sufficiently on your question to let the idea that you were asking about book publishing sink in. Mea culpa! Extenuating excuse: my eyesight is getting a bit weak (at 70) and I do most of my answering as a pre-bedtime fun activity (and partly precisely for purposes of my writing — its a nice way to get an idea of what people are thinking, and to keep doing my writing right up to bedtime). Good night, all — and have fun.

Answer 3

I cannot stress this enough. When sending a query to an agent or small publisher (you wouldnt query an editor) read their submission requirements and send EXACTLY what they ask for - no more no less. Follow instructions to the letter. People get rejected all the time for submitting improperly. Every publisher and agent is different. Some ask you to single space, some ask for Courier New font. Some ask for a summary of no more than one page. Some want the first ten pages of the manuscript. Whatever they ask for send it in the manner they request (e mail or snail mail) in a professional looking presentation. That means no pink stationary and no cutsie stamps. Many authors even say the envelope should be typed and not handwritten. Just send what they ask for. I have never heard of one asking for a photo. C.

Answer 4

No photo. You aren't selling yourself, but your work. The only way I would recommend a photo is if you imprint it on your letterhead. I've never heard of anyone doing it, but I suppose you can work it into your letterhead design and make it look professional. Don't expect it to help you, though. A pretty picture will not help a bad manuscript.

I have put my book covers on my letterhead. That DOES help since it tells the publisher you are not a green writer.

Answer 5

Photo or no photo. Most query letters go in the trash can.

Answer 6

how can i say respectfully that if you put a nude pic of yourself in there i would read it