Additionally, ASAP is peremptory. It says that your needs are more urgent than the other needs I have to attend to right now. You can try to *persuade* me you should get priority, but unless you’re my boss you’re in no position to assert priority. I take longer to respond and am less helpful when e-mails include this term.

I also participate in a couple of online discussion boards on technical topics, and I’m surprised by the number of posts, generally from new users, that pose a question and ask for a response “ASAP.” Think about this. Nobody gets paid to share expertise and experience on these forums, so by definition they are low on anyone’s priority list. People who do write do so out of generosity and helpfulness. If you are depending on people’s generosity and helpfulness, state what you need clearly. But don’t presume to order them around.

I will be self publishing my next book and have saved this for future reference and passed the link on to friends who are also looking at self-publishing options.

Thanks for sharing this. I often refer to your book ‘The Six-Figure Freelancer’for inspiration to keep myself motivated to write–especially when prospecting. In fact, Chapter 4: The Twin Fears is bit dog-eared.

Kathryn