Important info re. emails to John Jarrold...

[Erin99]

Just thought I'd let everyone know that John Jarrold doesn't always get emails, because his spam filter is a little too trigger-happy. He says that if you don't receive a response from him within 24 hours, you should email again. I also have a second email address of his which you can try if none of your emails are getting through, so PM me if you need it. I wouldn't want to post it publicly, else that one will end up spammed, too.

Edit: For any wondering, he says he responds to ALL emails within 24 hours (unless his website home page says he's away), so that includes acknowledgements of receipt for submissions.


Oh, and no, I'm not connected to John in any way. But I can recommend his editing services. He did a wonderful job on my horrendous novel back in 2008.

 

[Boneman]

So I got the 'Thanks for this, and please nudge me intwo weeks if you haven't heard' in December and despite two nudges, two weeks apart, nothing...

 

[Erin99]

Yes, it seems to happen regularly! I shall pass on his email addy.





And I should make something clearer. I DO have John's permission for this - he gave me it yesterday.

 

[Mr Tagomi]

This is good to know. I never heard back from John after sending him my submission, and a number of nudges went unheeded.

But that was about 5 years ago, so I think I'll let sleeping dogs lie.

At least this means he does not hate me, as I had feared! Well, probably not.

 

[devaed]

Hi Leisha, sounds like my submission has fallen victim to his overzealous spam filter too. If it's still okay, just wondering if you could PM me his alternate e-mail... I apparently don't have enough posts to my name here to PM you myself

Cheers, and thanks for posting this info!

 

[MrLines]

Hi Leisha,
I have just sent my third follow-up e-mail to John after sending my sample chapters in back in early June. I fear his spam filter is blocking me too. I am a new member here and fall into the same boat as Devaed in that I can't PM. Could you send me the address? I would be very grateful.
Many thanks and cheers for the post; I was getting quite paranoid that my query must have been dreadful.

 

[Erin99]

PMs sent. Good luck, everyone!

 

[devaed]

Thanks Leisha, much appreciated!

 

[xagarath]

Exact same problem here: no responses to my initial or followup email. Could you PM me that address too? Much appreciated.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Btw, I switched email addresses and had no probs with getting through to John with the second one, so if anyone has multiple accounts, that's worth a try, too.

 

[Erin99]

Blimey! I didn't realise how many folks would PM me for Mr Jarrold's address! I feel like a con or something, withholding it until *I* give the say so! As a result, I'll attach it here in a format that won't be harvested by spambots. Let's hope no forum crash deletes the attachment one day!

Anyway, it's a shame there's no way to stop non-members seeing the the email address, since this is a friendly forum that encourages members to take part (and why not? Everyone's so lovely here! Please join and meet us all!) and it seems weird that randoms are here just to take but not give back. How many people have asked me to PM them, or have emailed or chased me on my website because they don't have enough posts here to PM me?! I'd be happy with that if they then stuck around and contributed or at least got to know how great this place is. I'm not sure if I'm reading this wrong, but I thought the spirit of John's message was that I give his email address to trusted members here who I know, not just anyone, but it seems there's such a demand - and I can't pick and choose who to "reward" the email address to! - and I can't be a gatekeeper forever.

Please, if you're a writer looking for support, someone who understands what you're going through and can offer a shoulder to lean on or offer suggestions - a lot of writers can't talk to their friends and family about their craft, which is frustrating - take a moment to look around the place here. We hold writing challenges each month, we have a critique section, an advice section, author sections (and if you ever get published and are a member, you can see your name there!), and lots more fantastic stuff. It's worth checking out. Just look at how long I've been here to see how special this place is.

This is a forum with a sense of place.

Anywhoo, back to the topic. I don't think you need to mention this post as where you got the alternate email address, but if you feel inclined to do so, just let him know you got the email from the Chrons forum.

Oh, and that's good advice, Springs. I knew someone who did that and it worked, too.


Edit: Oh, and John says to use this alternate email address ONLY IF YOU TRY HIS OTHER ONE, THE ONE LISTED ON HIS WEBSITE, AND IT DOESN'T WORK. You should hear back from him in 24 hours (unless he states on his website that he's away on business), and he says you should send a follow-up message if you don't hear from him after that time.


Edit edit: Any chance of this thread being made a sticky, mods? It seems a useful topic for people, considering how many PMs and emails I've had about it.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Stickied.

 

[D-E-M-Emrys]

This posting is taunting me! And now every time I click onto this forum I see the sticky staring at me!

NNNOOOooo...!

Must write faster....

 

[Erin99]

Thanks, Brian!

D-E-M, yes, I know what you mean. When I can't write, I feel guilty, and when I can write, my word count still doesn't seem to move... and so I feel bad. Writers are masochists.

 

[devaed]

Following on from what Leisha has said, just a quick note for anyone (like me, originally) who only found this topic via Google - it's very much worth checking out the rest of the Chrons.

To be honest I signed up 18 months ago to ask a couple of questions about something else, and then never really investigated the site properly. Having now taken the time to look around over the past couple of weeks, I can genuinely say that if you just come for John's e-mail address and then disappear again - it'll be your loss! There's a wealth of information here (for example, check out the 100+ pages of "Questions to John Jarrold" - it's an interesting, insightful, helpful Q&A with a guy who clearly knows his stuff).

But beyond that, from what I've seen, the community is incredibly supportive of each other - and if you can find any rare corner of the internet where that's the case, it's worth a second look. I haven't really posted much here yet, but my intention is certainly to do so.

Leisha - don't know if it helps, but at least one of the people who hassled you for John's e-mail is planning to stick around.

 

[devaed]

Oh, and on topic for anyone else reading this, a couple of additions:

1) I previously tried to email John's default address from two different Gmail accounts and one Hotmail account with no luck. That's not to say you shouldn't try from a different address (in fact it's still probably better to try that first anyway), but it won't work for everyone.

2) If you're emailing John's alternate address, it might be an idea to give him a few days to respond - I'm not sure he necessarily checks that one every single day. I got my confirmation e-mail a few days after I sent my query. So, no need to panic if you haven't heard anything within 24 hours.

 

[Erin99]

Following on from what Leisha has said, just a quick note for anyone (like me, originally) who only found this topic via Google - it's very much worth checking out the rest of the Chrons.

To be honest I signed up 18 months ago to ask a couple of questions about something else, and then never really investigated the site properly. Having now taken the time to look around over the past couple of weeks, I can genuinely say that if you just come for John's e-mail address and then disappear again - it'll be your loss! There's a wealth of information here (for example, check out the 100+ pages of "Questions to John Jarrold" - it's an interesting, insightful, helpful Q&A with a guy who clearly knows his stuff).

But beyond that, from what I've seen, the community is incredibly supportive of each other - and if you can find any rare corner of the internet where that's the case, it's worth a second look. I haven't really posted much here yet, but my intention is certainly to do so.

Leisha - don't know if it helps, but at least one of the people who hassled you for John's e-mail is planning to stick around.

Hello, devaed! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Thank you for sticking around (if that doesn't sound bad). You will make many friends here, I'm sure.

I feel sad for those who don't take the time to look around. This huge forum might be daunting at first, but you soon get the hang of it. This place has supported me every time I needed it, and I even found my soulmate here since this is a place of like-minded individuals. Like you, I first found this site through a link on Google about sff agents in the UK. I bookmarked the link and left. Years later, I found an awesome forum with a lovely bunch of people in it, and I stuck around - I'd never known so many friendly people. You can imagine how shocked I was to stumble upon a thread about UK sff agents in the publishing section.


Oh, and thanks for the additional info. Very helpful!

 

[devaed]

My pleasure Leisha!

 

[lauren$77]

Hi Leisha, I've just recently sent my ms to John for editing! Not expecting to get published but figure its a learning curve and all! Thanks for recommending him - I think his rates are reasonable considering his broad expanse of knowledge. Out of interest did you get the type of feedback you were hoping for?

 

[Erin99]

Hello, Lauren - lovely to meet you, and welcome to the Chrons!

I can only speak for myself, and this was in 2008, mind you, but yes, I was very happy with what I received. Encouragement while being completely honest - he doesn't hold back punches - and an eye for what is weak. He also gives some generic industry advice, most of which a discerning writer already knows if they've searched the internet a lot for writing tips, mixed in with advice from himself and his decades in publishing. He also ended with more encouragement, which was a nice way to end.

I'll be honest and say that at first I thought there wasn't much there - most pages were examples of my writing - but you really need to take the time to digest his words and study his highlighted sentences; you'll learn how to improve your own work if you learn what he's telling you rather than just have someone go through your novel and fix it for you. Quality, not quantity, is the best way to sum JJ's service. Being more honest, I'll say that I also needed his expertise back in 2008, because I very much doubted myself and had not had an outside perspective on my writing. Sure, I'd read lots of how-tos online and on agents' blogs and sites, but that wouldn't necessarily make someone great at writing. John gave me the confidence to grow and believe in myself (though I would have carried on writing anyway, since I can't stop!).

And with all his publishing credits, who wouldn't trust him?



Alternatively, if you're looking for someone to thoroughly go through your work and critique it, going to a deeper level with regards structure, sentence construction and flow, etc., you can do no wrong with our very own Teresa Edgerton. I've heard impressive things about her work. If one were rich, hiring John and then Teresa would be ideal!


Oh, and good luck with the critique! I wish you every success.