The first impression you make on any agent or editor is made through your writing — your query letter, proposal, or manuscript. The accoutrements that go with your writing, such as envelopes and packing materials, also contribute to that first impression. There are some critical steps you must take to make your on-paper image the best it can be.

Contact Information

Include your name, address, telephone number (with area code), and email address on every piece of correspondence with an agent or editor. This is about as basic as it gets in publishing, but you'd be astonished to learn how many aspiring authors forget this essential ingredient. When an agent or editor likes your work and wants to see more, he wants to be able to contact you easily; he certainly doesn't want to have to call Directory Assistance to get your phone number, or to get the area code for your city.

If you're prone to forget things, and many of us are in these busy days, make a checklist for each query or proposal you send out that includes things like the stamp on the SASE and your contact information. This will force you to take the time to double-check your material, and you'll avoid errors made in haste.

Occasionally, a writer will enclose a stamped envelope with the agency's or publisher's return address, but omit to put his own address on the envelope. Since agents and editors usually separate material into piles as they read, chances are this writer never will receive a response to his query or proposal — and he'll probably complain about the lack of response to others, never knowing what the problem was. The moral: Before you seal your package, double-check everything, including your SASE, to make sure all the relevant information is included.

Clean Copy

Remember the continual admonishments from your junior-high English teacher that neatness counts? Agents and editors subscribe to that philosophy, too, and you would do well to become a devout follower. Handwritten pages, pages with weird margins, or pages riddled with typos, crossed-out words, or spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes can do more to harm your image as a professional writer than almost anything else.

Handwritten pages are a big no-no, whether you're writing a query letter, a cover letter, or a sample chapter. Even if your handwriting is neat and legible, it still is more difficult to read than a page of typescript. The only time a handwritten note is appropriate is when it's a very short note attached to typed material — one or two sentences at most. In the query and proposal stages, the only time your handwriting should appear on your pages is on the signature line of your query or cover letter.

Manuscript formats are standardized because they're easy to read, and that's important to agents and editors who spend so much of their time reading. No matter what genre you're writing in, your manuscript pages always should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins. Each new chapter should begin on a fresh page, with a three- or four-inch top margin.

Finally, proofreading is an important element in polishing your professional image. If you aren't confident that you'll spot mistakes in your copy, ask someone else to check it for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. If your word-processing program has a spell-check feature, use it regularly, but be aware of the limitations of such programs. Invest in a good dictionary and a good stylebook to supplement your resources.

Don't trust your proofreading entirely to the spell-check function on your computer. Few, if any, of these programs can recognize incorrect usage of correctly spelled words: They won't alert you to “effect” when you should use “affect,” for example. Always keep a good dictionary and a good style guide close at hand and use them when proofing your work.

Shipping and Handling

Most proposals will fit in padded 9″ × 12″ or 10″ × 14″ mailers. If you're sending your entire manuscript, use a sturdy box. You won't usually need additional packing materials, such as bubble-wrap or foam nuggets, but if you do use them, use them sparingly. The same rule applies to taping your package. You want your package to be secure, but you also want the recipient to be able to open it without a blowtorch.

In most instances, you don't need to insure your proposal or send it via registered mail. The main exception is when you include photo slides with your proposal, but even then it's unnecessary if you keep copies of the slides. Most agents and editors find it annoying when they have to sign for your package, and you don't want them annoyed when they read your material.

If you want an acknowledgment that your proposal has been received, use priority mail, UPS, or FedEx; these services provide tracking and delivery information without unduly disturbing the recipient. Another option is to include a self-addressed, stamped postcard that states your proposal was received by so-and-so on such-and-such a date and the estimated reporting time is so many weeks.

If you have an agent, he may request several copies of your proposal for his marketing efforts. You can use a large rubber band or binder clip to separate your copies, or you can place a blank sheet of colored paper between each of your copies. Either way makes it easier for the agent to quickly grab a copy of your proposal to send to an interested editor.