Letter about an announcement

Dear Sir/Madam,

I read the announcement placed by your organization in Publishers Weekly concerning the booksellers’ show your company will be putting on this summer. My name is 000 000000, and I am the director of a new publishing firm ArtShield Publications. Our company offers a wide variety of high-quality texts that we now make available to organizations and the public at large at a reasonable price. Your show represents a good opportunity for publishers and buyers to meet and display what they have to offer. ArtShield Publications is eagerly awaiting this event, so please consider this letter an announcement of the firm’s intent to participate and a request for a publisher’s stall for displaying my books. The company is also requesting permission for a representative to perform some live airbrushing on T-shirts as means of aiding the promotion of our newest title, T-Shirt Art. This person has had a lot of experience in this area, and is able to perform such a task with professionalism. This task will also be in conjunction with the promotion of another new title, How to Make Money in the Sign Painting Business.

ArtShield Publications will be starting its public relations campaign in approximately May 2008, and this will involve the placement of advertisements in Publishers Weekly as well as the promotion of some art trade papers. As a result, it is hoped that the books we sell will be well publicized by the time the show comes in August. In the event that your company requires information concerning the publishers that will be included in its show, I have enclosed a biography and photo of myself as founder of ArtShield Publications. Please provide information concerning the costs for booth space at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your time.

Yours truly,
Full Name

This document had several strengths and weaknesses. One of the major strengths is the specific nature of the content found in the letter. A solid introduction is given at the beginning of the letter. The writer goes on to make it clear precisely what is being required of the institution to which he/she writes. Clear indication is made of the research done by the writer on the organization to which he/she writes the request. Therefore, professionalism and thoroughness comes forth in the writing. The writer is also conscientious, and offers reasons why the event is beneficial to the community, and along these lines, shows how the inclusion of his/her company may enhance the event (Thill & Bovee, 2003).
However, the letter also contained several weaknesses, which were mainly attributable to the informal tone used by the writer. The introduction, though solid, lacked one key detail: the name of the person drafting the correspondence. The use of the second person is a bit too frequent, and it detracts from the formal nature of the letter. Using “your company’s advertisement” in place of “your ad” would have been an improvement. Yet, perhaps the most damaging error is the overuse of informal phrases, such as “count me in folks,” “hot off the presses,” and “being a publisher is mighty expensive!” Not only is that language in appropriate, but it offers too much private detail that beg for sympathy rather than consideration (Thill & Bovee, 2003).

Other areas that include too much detail are the reference to the writer’s previous work as a sign painter and airbrush artist. It would have been sufficient just inform the reader that he/she has had considerable experience in that area. There was also no need for a post script (P.S.) as the letter had not yet been signed and should have been drafted to include all information. At the end, thanking the reader for taking time to consider the letter and including are courtesies that could have been included (Thill & Bovee, 2003).

Reference

• Thill, J. V. & C. L. Bovee. (2003). Business communication today. New York: Prentice Hall.