"Book Idea in an E-Mail Box" by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg:

     "Some businesses have even sprung up to help fledgling writers reach acquisition editors online. PublishersAndAgents maintains an e-mail address database of 1,200 editors...The service will send the pitches to an average of 300 to 400 editors at a time...
     "Erica Manfred used the service hoping to interest a major house in "The Doctor's Guide to Weight Loss Surgery...The service sent hundreds of e-mail queries and the timing was ripe...Three houses made formal offers; Bertelsmann's Bantam imprint published the book in August 2003...Ms. Manfred's e-mail had essentially triggered an auction...
    "Gini Graham Scott, who ownsPublishersAndAgents.net,
says she has sent out queries on behalf of 200 clients.  She
pays particular attention to what goes in the e-mail's subject line.  The phrase "fireman's wife" was what got Ms. Farren's pitch noticed.  'Get that wrong and people won't open your query,' says Ms. Scott."