Adams has some e-mail reservations, too. But, overall, Adams is glad he publishes his e-mail address. Feedback is almost immediate, adds Bentley. In comparison, postal letters can take several weeks to migrate from newspaper to syndicate to creator. And Hoest, like other creators, has an ongoing dialog with some e-mailers.
Some newspapers pull e-mail addresses from syndicated features.
And some editors eager to know what readers are thinking would rather see e-mail messages go to the paper than to syndicated creators. But there are other editors happy to let creators deal with messages. For creators who don't print an e-mail address, lack of time to answer lots of messages is a big reason. The Washington Post Writers Group reports that all five of its comic creators publish their e-mail addresses or will soon do so. No WPWG editorial cartoons have them, but three of 19 columns do.