Be sure to take a breath and go over the results of the conversation before you hang up. What I try to do is read back a summary of the important points of our conversation. This may seem like you re wasting an editor s time, but you don t want to get off of the phone and then realize you misunderstood something and have to call back. Summarizing your conversation shows that you are a professional - calling back to clarify could label you a nuisance. So don t worry if calling editors makes you a little jumpy.
Writers everywhere feel the same way.
As a last resort you can always imagine the editor in their underwear - at least you ll hang up smiling. Melanie Bowden is a freelance writer based in San Mateo, California. Her work has appeared in Shape, Writer s Digest, and numerous parenting publications. All rights reserved except those by agreement with our authors. For information on reprints, contact WRC or the content author.