Versus Entitlement.
As I've written before, in my mind there is a fine line between expecting to get a reply when you send an MS to a publishing house or an agent -- and being worth a reply.
I was reading the latest SCBWI bulletin tonight. There was an open letter in it from the President and also from the Executive Director of SCBWI deploring the fact that the houses and agents are gravitating to not sending out replies. That no response constitutes a rejection.
It's a rather rude thing, not to reply to someone's correspondence. The thing here is -- if the correspondence was unsolicited, does that still make it rude?
In the marketplace, if a company sends you a 'gift' of knives or labels or some such in hopes that you will buy them... the law states you don't have to. They are unsolicited. And therefore, can be deemed gifts. You can keep them if you so desire.
Seems to me to be the same thing with an unsolicited MS. If I've sent one off, and believe me - I HAVE - I really can't expect an answer. I WANT ONE -- but I can't expect one. I am not entitled to have the publishing houses and agents reply.
In today's market, with cost-cutting and staff-cutting, the load is great on these businesses. But that doesn't mean that they have to do the expedient thing. They can hold themselves above that and respond.
I would.
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