No, that F/U is not my sneaky way of telling you off. It is the short form for follow up. I learned it at my last office job. Mind you, the woman who used it might have had other thoughts.
How many times have you been told or heard:
Follow up
Follow up
Follow up
Seems we are constantly following up on someone or something. Probably because if we don’t it either doesn’t get done or we’ll be screamed at for someone else’s goof-up.
Therefore, it makes sense to F/U with a reviewer – right?
Not so fast.
I don’t mind a friendly checking in, but I have had some authors email me a week after I agreed to read and review. I’ve had some email me every other week. Email me every month – after I explained it would be close to six months or longer.
Guess what – they’ve followed up again, via an auto reflex? Even after I’ve politely told them their book is in the pile and I will let them know.
I do not recall ever agreeing to have a review done within a week or even a month. Never by a due date – given to me during the F/U email, never mentioned in the initial request.
I’ll leave it up to you to decide what happens when a friendly follow-up turns to nagging.