My colleague Wilda Williams recently sent the book review department an article in which the editor of Bookslut.com writes about the mail: Jessa Crispin Will Happily Accept Your Cash. It may sound dull to you, but, as one who opens the mail for a book review, it sparked my interest. Although I haven’t gotten any cash yet, I recently passed a box of BBQ sauce to our cookery editor, Ann Burns. We also got a small box of cheerios with a book, which I ate myself.  Heather McCormack told me of one of her days in the bookroom when she shared a bag of homemade cookies with coworkers as they all munched away and wondered just how safe it was to eat food that came in with the mail.

Although Crispin doesn’t seem to think t-shirts, bags, stress balls, or food make for particularly effective publicity campaigns, I appreciate anything that catches my attention. A unique cover or straightforward title will nestle into my memory, and it certainly makes my job easier when I answer “Did you receive this galley I sent three weeks ago?” queries. 

All in all, if part of one’s job is opening hundreds of packages that come in the mail each day, one is pretty lucky if it’s hundreds of books coming in months before they’ll be in bookstores.  Food is just an added bonus–it’s hard work tearing through those jiffy mailers, and a quick burst of sugar energy may spark my mind up, if only for long enough to shelve a book.  

At the risk of being too wordy about the mail, I can’t help adding that just this minute I heard Wilda Williams call, “You forgot your pen!” after receiving a submission for the Christian Fiction column from Bette-Lee Fox, our Romance reviews editor, who responded, ”They sent the pen along with the book.  Enjoy it.  Write yourself Christian Fiction letters.”