Lorraine's blog

The following article is reproduced with the kind permission of Writing Magazine

Return to Sender

Expatriate writers have problems not experienced by our stay at home cousins, not least the difficulty of supplying stamped addressed envelopes for replies to our precious submissions.

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Many of you will be familiar with the term International Reply Coupon (IRC). For those of you who aren’t, they are coupons available from foreign post offices which are used in place of stamps on self-addressed envelopes, but they aren’t always readily obtainable. When I lived in Spain, I tried at several post offices to buy some, each time being directed to another branch. At the last post office I saw a pile of used coupons on the clerk’s desk. However, when I asked to buy some, the clerk said they didn’t sell them. Somewhat bemused, I pointed at the pile. “Oh yes,” he said with Spanish logic. “We accept them, but we don’t sell them.”

I now buy sheets of stamps online and use dieter’s scales to calculate the required postage. Funnily enough, it has actually worked out more cost effective than using IRCs. Wherever possible, I say in my cover letter that my manuscript is disposable, so usually only weigh the envelope and a couple of sheets of paper.

Buying Stamps Online
Royal Mail at: http://www.royalmail.com also gives information on how the new letter sizing guidelines affects postage costs.

For details of USA postal charges and to purchase stamps visit: http://www.usps.com/

Canada’s online stamp sales and cost calculator can be found at: http://www.canadapost.ca

Submissions to Agents
It’s easy enough to deal with submissions to magazines and competitions in the above manner, but sending bulky packages to agents can result in hefty postage costs even before you get to the problem of return postage.

Most agencies stipulate no email submissions, but an email enquiry might bring rewards. A writer friend, who lives in Holland, sent an email enquiry to a number of agencies. Half of them responded asking to see his opening chapters and some of those said to send the work by email attachment, even though their website guidelines stated no email submissions.

He saved on outgoing postage, because agents with no interest in the work had been eliminated. Also, he was able to mark his submissions ‘Requested Material’. Better still, he landed a UK agent.

Two Good Databases
The Tool Box
Writers’ Services

Good luck. I hope the only things you have ‘returned to sender’ are acceptance slips.

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