I remember when I first became proficient enough to do all kinds of fun things with my email…adding a signature line, making a stationary background. It brought me back to the days when my friends used to dot the letter “i” with little hearts. I was always too chicken to do that because I didn’t have a cool purple pen. I stumbled along with my regulation blue Bic pen and secretly cheered my friends on when the teacher upbraided them for not writing in blue ink. A closet renegade…that’s me.
So when Word gave me all those options, I went nuts. I used to change my stationary background on my emails hourly. So many choices. Twinkling stars! Glowy moons! Little blue hearts! Stripes! Wavy lines! Ohhh, Nirvana.
And then I grew up and knew that this type of thing was fun for friends, but it seemed to send the wrong message when emailing my daughter’s inept, brain-dead English teacher who’d rather show Bowling For Columbine rather than teach her composition. How can one rip someone a new orifice with little dancing faeries tripping across the page?
So when I get a query letter with little rosy flowers splashed across the page, I think this author needs additional time to grow up.
I can’t recommend this enough: separate your personal and professional emails. Your professional email should be your name with a nice, boring plain white background. A sig line isn’t a bad idea because that’s where you’d put your contact info and website. Cutesy-pie makes most of us with black-hearts and no souls gag.
One of the things I was told as a new writer was ‘don’t send out cover letters on fancy stationary’.
It only makes sense to apply the same rule to email.
Couldn’t agree more. The last time I put a heart over an i was 8th grade. And I regretted it later. I don’t even add the ubiquitous smiley face “:)” on anything. Ever. Oops, I just did it. Well, just this once.
In the days when everyone sent submissions by snail mail, I always knew that those emblazoned with cute thatched cottages and the author’s name with ‘writer’ after it would be unpublishable. And even if they weren’t, I wouldn’t on principle.
I’m confused. Because you’re talking about e-mail and not paper stationery, does ‘stationAry background’ mean ‘standing background’?
Yes, Frank. You can add all kinds of funky backgrounds to your Word stationary.
I’d have to go back and look, but I’m pretty sure one of my most recent agent rejection notices came on said e-mail with a stationary background. Heh…not sure if they were trying to lighten the blow or what.
I think what Frank is trying point out discreetly is the wrong form of “stationery” was used in this article and some of the comments.
I use Word email, and the settings they have for backgrounds are called “stationary.” You’re picking nits here. I think everyone understands what I’m talking about.