World record

One thing you get used to pretty quickly when you're trying to flog your comedy wares to tv people is that a lot of them aren't exactly lightning quick with their responses. That's because their inboxes are pretty busy places and a week or two wait for even an acknowledgement is commonplace.

I think the record's just been beaten though. I've just had a reply from a certain producer to an email I sent 4 months ago. I was certain she'd blown me out and so I'd forgotten about her, but no, she thanked me for sending the stuff and invited me to send in material for her show. No "sorry for taking so long in getting back to you" or nothing. Her email was worded like a reply to an email she received a day ago. You might think it was an oversight but she's taken two months to reply before.

I dunno, maybe I'm griping about nothing, but just a simple, courteous "thanks, I'll get back to you" acknowledgement takes about 3 seconds to type, and keeps us struggling writers happy for a bit, you know? Am I asking too much? Am I being arrogant? Am I in a bad mood because the cat's been sick all over the Sky+ box?

Probably.

I know what you mean, Perry. Even a basic email receipt thing would be nice!

I've sent a sketch show pilot to various prod co's this week and a couple of them have replied so far with "We've got a backlog".

And your 4 month wait certainly sounds worth it. Well done.

Quote: Winterlight @ April 9 2008, 11:15 AM BST

I've sent a sketch show pilot to various prod co's this week and a couple of them have replied so far with "We've got a backlog".

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That reply's fine. As long as I know they received the email I'm a happy bunny. It's the ominous silences that bug me.

I just pulled the exact reverse of this and sent Screenplay Productions my sitcom pilot four months after Jan's email asking to see it.

We got an email from a region of the BBC that shall remain nameless saying that they really liked our script and would like to talk about it more... and that was 2 and a half years after we'd sent it. We'd sent it to the Beeb by post, and apparently it'd been chucked around in the internal mail, stuck on the desks of people who didn't give a shit and generally left ignored and unopened until someone new and slightly curious came along. Oh, and we never even sent it to that region in the first place.

They probably just know that they're the ones with all the power and feel all the grovelling should be done by you, not them?

Quote: Perry Nium @ April 9 2008, 10:39 AM BST

I've just had a reply from a certain producer to an email I sent 4 months ago.

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4 months is quite a long time, though, considering you emailed direct to a producer and not just to a prod co.

However, maybe they are that busy. I wouldn't know.

Perry, I can't imagine just how many emails these companies must receive. I should think it's hundreds a day.
Maybe that particular producer was too busy pricing up a new TV prog to even bother looking at emails whereby he/she didn't recognise the sender.
Good luck with it anyway. You seem to have had a lot of your work accepted.

Quote: bushbaby @ April 9 2008, 1:49 PM BST

Perry, I can't imagine just how many emails these companies must receive. I should think it's hundreds a day.

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More like hundreds a week.

Surely emails are the number one way of communicating in business and should be treated with respect.

Lack of email respect and etiquette annoys the hell out of me. Simply not replying is incredibly rude.