Helpful suggestions for submitting a requested partial via email.

Like several of my colleagues at FinePrint, I read manuscripts and partial manuscripts entirely as electronic files. It saves paper and allows for carrying around a tremendous amount of reading material in about four ounces of metal and plastic. I take your manuscripts and turn them into Palm OS-readable .pdb files via Documents-to-Go (version 8.0; with the upgraded versions they've removed this handy feature).

Right now, on my trusty little Palm Tungsten E, my e-reader of choice for the past five years or so, there is list of the following filenames for several requested partials in my eReader Pro program:

• First50pages.pdb
• FirstSixtyPages.pdb
• Partial.pdb
• Prepared for CLindsay.pbd

What do these partials all have in common? (Come on, now. Think hard!)

THAT'S RIGHT! Not one of the file names is even remotely close to the title of the actual manuscript.

Now, let's open one of those bad boys, shall we? What's this? A manuscript that jumps right into an action scene with gripping dialogue and fabulous writing?

"Well," says you, "What's wrong with that? Isn't that what you want to read?"

Theoretically, yes. However, said partial manuscript also contains none of the following very important pieces of information (Y'all ready? There WILL be a test afterward.):

• The title of the book.
• The name of the author
• The phone number of the author
• The email address of the author
• The address of the author
  

So, in the interest of preserving my sanity (and hopefully increasing your chances of not annoying other agents with these surprisingly common mistakes) let me suggest the following tips for preparing a partial manuscript for an electronic submission:

• First, submit in the format that the agent has asked for. Some agents will prefer an electronic submission as a Word doc or an OpenOffice doc; some will prefer PDF files.
• Second, name your file in a way that makes it easy for an agent to identify the manuscript at a glance. A good format for naming your partial is something like one of these (these are all fake titles to follow, lest you think I am mocking anyone who's sent in a partial): STINKYBOYS ADVENTURE_PARTIAL.doc (title; indication that this is a partial); STINKYBOYS_LINDSAY_PARTIAL.doc (first word of title; author last name; indication that this is a partial). See how easy that makes it?
• Third, make absolutely certain that the first page of your partial contains all of your contact information - phone number as well as email address - and the title of the book.
  

These three simple steps will ensure that everyone lives happily ever after and that world peace will indeed take place in our lifetime. Or at the very least, ensure that when an agent gets so excited about your partial that they want to phone or email you RIGHT THAT VERY MINUTE, they actually have the information required to be able to do so. (And then the world peace thing will happen, I swear.)

PS: Don't worry; I'm not going to punish anyone for making those kinds of mistakes. Mistakes are just mistakes, after all. But if I do need to hunt down your contact info, it just might take a little longer for you to hear back from me.