Best Business Practices for Photographers [187]
Via Facsimile: (202) 555-1212
Via Postal Mail
Via Overnight Express
Via E-Mail: [recipient's e-mail address]
By Courier
By Hand
When transmitting your letter via fax or e-mail, there should be a disclaimer or notice on the cover page or within the body of the e-mail, somewhere along the lines of:
NOTICE: This facsimile [or e-mail] contains privileged, confidential, or proprietary information and is intended only for the person or persons named. If you are not that person or a representative of that person, your use, distribution, dissemination, or reproduction of this or any attached documents is prohibited. This notice also hereby requests you notify us immediately by return facsimile or collect-call telephone at (202) 555-1212.
There may be some who would contend that this notice can be easily overturned; however, it is my opinion that there is value in having it, and thus, we use it.
Further, it is important that you actually call, especially for faxes. Unless you are certain that the fax machine is right next to this person's desk, has paper, and won't jam when printing your fax, call to confirm complete receipt of all pages.
When you are writing, it's okay to use jargon, but make sure that the recipient will understand it. If you're not sure, then explain it or use laymen's terms. And make sure you're writing in active tense, not passive.
The word "including" can also be dangerous when not used properly.
In addition to the photographer's fees outlined on the attached contract, client is also responsible for expenses, including assistants' fees, mileage, and meals.
What it should say is:
In addition to the photographer's fees outlined on the attached contract, client is also responsible for expenses, including, but not limited to, assistants' fees, mileage, and meals.
Or:
In addition to the photographer's fees outlined on the attached contract, client is also responsible for expenses, including, for example, assistants' fees, mileage, and meals.
This way, when you have a parking garage expense or you have to buy seamless or a prop, you'll not risk having the expense reimbursement denied.
Also, be consistent with words and terms. For example, don't say "this contract," and then later on say "the agreement."
Throughout this book, I make recommendations for reading that I consider to be useful for a further understanding of the chapter's topics. One online solution, however, is free. It is William Strunk's 1918 classic, The Elements of Style. It can be found at www.bartleby.com/141 as of this writing; however, if the URL changes, a search of the Internet should turn it up, or you can turn the pages of it in paperback form if that's your preference, by picking up a copy from your preferred bookseller. The book contains many rules that you should employ to make your letters clear and concise. Some examples include:
"Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic."
"As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning."
"Use the active voice."
"Put statements in positive form."
"Omit needless words."
"Avoid a succession of loose sentences."
"Express coordinate ideas in similar form."
"Keep related words together."
"In summaries, keep to one tense."
"Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end."
E-Mail: The Current Default Communications Tool
E-mail is often the fastest route to get directly to someone, and it has emerged as the mainstream form of communication, usurping faxes and letters by a long shot. An exceptional book on how to best communicate via e-mail is The Elements of E-Mail Style: Communicate Effectively via Electronic Mail (Addison-Wesley Professional, 1994), by David Angell and Brent Heslop. It is a follow-up to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, and it explains how to properly