Trash Those Receipts

From time to time, I’ll get a submission that requests a “read receipt,” which means the system sends an email to the author telling them I’ve opened their email.

I always deny the read receipt, and I wish authors would stop requesting them. Some presses even go as far as putting a line in their calls specifying no read receipts or email notification programs.

This post is going to be an educational gripe session about something that bugs me more than it probably should. And to be honest, if you came up to me and said, “Why do read receipts bother you, D.L.? They just tell the sender you got their message,” I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a logical reason why I don’t like them.

But from a personal and emotional standpoint, they get under my skin and irk me to no end.

Maybe it’s the implication that since they know I’ve seen their email, they’re waiting for a response and I’d be rude not to send one. But that’s not how slush pools work. Even at Undertaker Books, where you rarely wait more than three days for an initial reply, there are times when I may need to wait a little bit to get a reply out. 

Then there’s the matter of trust. A read receipt suggests that you don’t trust me to take proper care of your submission and want to look over my shoulder. It’s not a great feeling. The author/editor relationship is built on mutual trust, and asking for a read receipt feels like you’re putting up a wall.

Finally, they’re just annoying. When I’m opening a submission, I don’t want to have to make a decision until after I’ve read the story. Starting my consideration with a “no” puts you at a disadvantage from the start, and your story has to overcome that initial negative reaction.

You’re probably looking at this right now and saying, “Seriously? Those are some stupid reasons to not want people to send a read receipt."

But that’s really the point I want to make. Editors are human. As much as I want to be able to put everything aside and judge your submission solely on its merits, annoyances and stupid things can get under my skin and may be the difference between making the long list and getting a rejection. I work hard to try to take out those variables when I’m considering a story, but at the same time, you can help yourself by not encouraging an emotional response to your submission.

It’s stupid, but it’s also human. 

And in the great game of submitting, every advantage you can give yourself helps.