Pique Post is a snail mail club delivering fictional sample pages and query letters to readers, writers, and editors every month… with a twist: You edit and mail them back!

Whether you’re an editor, writer, or publishing professional, Pique Post is designed to demystify and democratize the editing and querying processes, allowing you each month to:

• Read 1,000 words of a Pique Post–exclusive story (different genre each issue) and its query letter
• Edit the story directly on the page, using industry-standard proofreading marks
• Share and compare your unique edits with other members’ on socials and Discord
• Write your own story with prompts and literary devices inspired by the contents
• Connect with fellow editors, writers, and readers alike in a private Discord community

Subscribe to keep your editing skills fresh—and your mailbox fresher!

FAQ

What comes in each issue of Pique Post?

• Sample pages: ~1,000 words of a standalone story (in a different genre each month), written by a human exclusively for this mail club
• Query letter: ~250 words pitching the would-be full book to a faux literary agent or publisher, written by the aforementioned human
• Letter from the creator: A note from the issue’s creator, including writing prompts inspired by the story
• Bookmark and stickers: A few pieces of swag featuring relevant literary devices, quick tips, and other editorial resources
• Self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE): A smaller envelope, in which you can mail us back your handwritten edits
• Contributor card: A shoutout to that issue’s writers, artists, and sponsors; links to connect with them; and a how-to for becoming a contributor or sponsor yourself
• Proofreading marks key (in your first issue): A chart of the most common and popular proofreaders’ marks, to aid in your editing exercise
• Portfolio opportunities: Showcase your sample edits to potential clients in your portfolio (with attribution to the club issue and its author)!

What countries does Pique Post ship to?

Unfortunately because of shipping costs and regulations, we are unable to ship at this time outside of the United States.

How long does shipping take?

Letters ship out on the 15th of every month, in standard A7 envelopes, without tracking (to keep costs down). Subscribers should receive their letters within 1–5 business days.

What is the cutoff date for subscribing each month?

The cutoff date is the 10th of each month. If you subscribe after the 10th, you will automatically be set up for the following month.

When will I be charged for the subscription?

You will be charged on the 15th of every month, which is the same day your letter will be mailed to you.

How soon do I need to mail back my edits to be featured on socials and the Discord community?

We will plan to feature a series of returned handwritten edits at the start of each month; so please get your edits in the mail as soon as possible or by the 25th to be considered.

Can I order Pique Post as a gift for someone else?

Yes! At checkout, just put in your name and info for billing, but their name and info for shipping. If you have any issues, reach out to riley@piquepublishing.com.

Is Pique Post kid-friendly?

We are aiming for Pique Post to be appropriate for teenagers and older, so think high school and up. Of course, what’s deemed appropriate can differ from person to person, so please use your own judgment, as well.

Can I submit my writing sample for a future Pique Post issue?

Stay tuned!

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. You can cancel your subscription in the customer portal at any time. If you cancel between the 10th and 15th of a given month (cutoff and mailing dates), understand that your cancellation will go into effect for the following issue; so you’ll still be charged on the 15th of that month and receive that issue as your final issue. Please email us with questions about this as it might get confusing per subscription cycle.

Terms of Service

Payment

• Subscription to Pique Post constitutes an agreement to be billed monthly by Pique Publishing until Subscriber cancels. Subscriber accepts that cancellation is possible at any time through the Member Portal, but if Subscriber cancels after a given month’s cutoff date (the 10th) , they acknowledge they will still be charged for and mailed that month’s issue, with cancellation going into effect starting the following issue. In other words, as an example, to cancel and not receive a January 15 issue of Pique Post, Subscriber would have to cancel before January 10, or they will still be charged for and mailed that month’s issue.
• Subscriber understands that the nature of snail mail requires the participation of domestic mail carriers, and that these carriers cannot guarantee 100% delivery rates or tracking numbers. If Subscriber does not receive an expected issue, it is their responsibility to inform Pique Post at riley@piquepublishing.com.

No business or editorial relationship formed

• Subscription to Pique Post, a snail mail club, does not constitute a business relationship between the Subscriber and any organizing parties, including but not limited to Pique Publishing, Riley O’Connell Editorial, and any contributing authors or designers (hereby “Pique Post Producers”).
• Subscription to Pique Post does not give Subscriber any editorial claim to the contents contained within, including but not limited to the stories and query letters (hereby “Pique Post Components”), or any derivatives of them, in any form now known or to be invented. Pique Post Components are the intellectual property of the respective authors, and Subscribers and non-Subscribers are not permitted to reproduce any elements or derivatives of them, in whole or in part.
• Subscription to Pique Post permits Subscriber to hand-edit and mail back to a Pique Post PO Box their unique sample edit of the Pique Post Components. Author has no responsibility to accept or respond to Subscriber’s suggested edits, and any perceived acceptance or incorporation of Subscriber’s edits in future publications or derivatives, from Pique Publishing or any other publisher, does not constitute a claim of copyright or intellectual property infringement from Subscriber. Pique Post Producers have no responsibility to engage in an editorial relationship with any Subscriber.

Generative AI usage

• Pique Post Producers attest that no generative AI has gone into the ideation, creation, or execution of this project, including but not limited to the sample pages, query letters, mail design and artwork, and other assets sent to Subscriber.
• Subscriber agrees that sample edits on Pique Post Components, will originate solely from the human Subscriber, and agrees not to solicit or incorporate feedback from artificial intelligence tools.
• Subscriber agrees not to submit Pique Post Components to any artificial intelligence tool, machine learning model, or automated tool for the purpose of generating, supplementing, or informing feedback, or training, fine-tuning, or otherwise developing an AI model. This restriction applies regardless of whether the Pique Post Components have been published or made publicly available. No license to use Pique Post Components for AI training purposes is granted.

Social media usage

• Subscription to Pique Post permits Subscriber to hand-edit and mail back to Pique Post their unique sample edit of the Pique Post Components. Subscriber acknowledges and accepts that sending Pique Publishing and Riley O’Connell Editorial their sample edit, by mail, email, social media, or other method, permits but does not require Pique Post Producers to share the edits to social media and web platforms, including but not limited to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and their websites.
• Subscriber may share the contents of the snail mail club to their own social media, and are encouraged to tag @piquepost.

Portfolio usage

• Subscription to Pique Post permits Subscriber to include their edits of the enclosed Pique Post Components in their own professional portfolio, to showcase their editing style to potential clients. Inclusion in a portfolio must clearly and visually differentiate between the original work and the Subscriber’s edit suggestions (e.g., with a colorful pen or digital track changes shown), and must give clear attribution to Pique Post as original publishing source and the author as the original author, and state that no formal editorial relationship exists between Subscriber and author. An example follows:
  • This [story, query letter] is the original work of [author] in [month, year], made available to me as a subscriber of the snail mail club, Pique Post. I am not [author’s] editor.