Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: tired
  • Music: Ludo, "Manta Rays."

A few reminders about contacting me.

I try to remain as accessible as possible, because it seems polite, and because I genuinely like hearing what people think. There is, however, only one of me, and that means it's time for a few notes.

1) My response time is generally measured in weeks, not hours. Sometimes it's measured in days, and those are the scary times, because those are the times when I have somehow managed to make my inbox disappear. Fire may have been involved. I try to answer time-sensitive things first, and sometimes I succeed. If you email me three times in three days, going "WHY HAVEN'T YOU ANSWERED ME YET?!" the answer will change from "Because I was busy" to "Because I have started deleting your email for fun."

2) Okay, so everyone is afraid of spammers and having their email address harvested. I get that, I really do. But I don't have a mailing list, I don't automatically subscribe you to my newsletter when I get an actual email address in my hands, and I don't have the magical capability to beam my response to your thoughtful and impassioned email directly into your brain. Honestly, I don't! I know, that was a shocker to me, too. So when you intentionally withhold part of your email address from my "contact us" form in order to keep it safe, you also keep yourself safe from my ever answering you. And if I notice the missing address after composing a thoughtful and impassioned email of my own, you have annoyed me deeply. Which makes me sad, because I hate to be annoyed.

3) Mira Grant and I have our own inboxes. I check them both, since I'm both people, but email submitted through her website goes to a different place. One which I check less often. If you actually have something time-sensitive, it's best to send it through my main website, just for the sake of hearing back before the sun turns cold.

And those are your memos for the morning.
Tags: busy busy busy, cranky blonde is cranky, requesting things, utterly exhausted
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  • 19 comments

ladyqkat

April 21 2011, 16:56:55 UTC 6 years ago

FWIW, any response I get from you for a comment or whatever, tickles me. Knowing how busy you are (from reading this blog) and how many people enjoy your writing, I state what I have to say and then, usually, forget about it.

When/if you do respond (days or weeks later) I have to wrack my brain to remember the context of the comment. Then I giggle with delight because you really do not need to respond to every comment, but you make a superhuman effort to.

I understand your OCD makes you do this. My SO also has OCD (plus and entire alphabet of conditions linked to his PTSD), so I think I understand the compulsion. But you really don't have to respond to me. Just keep writing your books, your blog and your songs. That, to me, is response enough.

seanan_mcguire

April 21 2011, 17:03:53 UTC 6 years ago

I'm a little stressed out right now, since I can't delete T-shirt comments until I get them into the spreadsheet, and I can't get them into the spreadsheet except when I'm at home, so the number of pending comments is nuts. But I'm working on it.

ladyqkat

April 21 2011, 18:20:12 UTC 6 years ago Edited:  April 21 2011, 18:22:00 UTC

You need either a clone or a secretary.

No, I am not volunteering for either. I have enough trouble editing sordak's on-line novells, Titans' Travels, although I would probably be able to deal with your OCD.

ETA: Squeee! An immediate response.