The Do's and Don'ts of Sending Out Manuscripts

Blogmeister Note: Here's another essay transferred from the former OWN Writer's Blog.

by Laura Ware

I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks sending out a stack of short stories I’ve let sit in my office for various reasons. While concentrating on this task, I’ve given a lot of thought about the process. My thoughts on it are listed below, in the hopes it will help someone else along the way:

DO send out your manuscripts. If you want to sell your writing, it has to get off your desk. No one can consider buying a manuscript they haven’t seen.

DON’T sell yourself short. Go ahead and send your stories out to the top markets. Let them decide if it’s right for them. That’s their job, not yours.

DO include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with all your manuscripts. This is common courtesy, and the only way you will get a reply.

DO make a note somewhere on the envelope of what story this is attached to. Sometimes form rejections don’t include the title of your story and unless you make a note on the SASE, you’ll be scrambling through your records trying to figure out which story they’re talking about.

DON’T send enough postage to get your whole manuscript back. It probably won’t be in a condition to resend (and you should always send a fresh manuscript anyway). Save yourself some money and use a standard business envelope for your SASE.

DO keep track of where your manuscripts are. I use three methods: I make notes in the folder I have my manuscript in, a spreadsheet with the markets, and an online database. If one of these fails, the other two should help me recreate it.

DO make backups. Not only of your manuscripts, but of your records. That’s why I do a triple redundancy.

DO use manuscript format. If you aren’t sure what manuscript format is, do a Google search for the phrase. Don’t make reading your manuscript a chore for an editor.

DO double check guidelines and addresses. Magazines and publishers do change their addresses from time to time, and not keeping up with that will waste your time.

DON’T take any rejection you get personally. The editor is evaluating your manuscript, not your personality or your morals. And you will get rejected a lot in this business. So make up your mind not to freak out about it.

DON’T give up. If you get a rejection from one market, send the manuscript to another. Perseverance is key to succeeding in this business.

DO make sure you have adequate postage on your manuscript when you send it out. Sending something with insufficient postage does not endear you to an editor.

DO be polite and professional in a cover letter. This is a business. Be businesslike.

DON’T be impatient. Check a market’s guidelines for how long they suggest you wait and give them extra time beyond that. Publishing is SLOW. And “yes” almost always takes longer to say than “no.”

DO keep writing. You want to have a lot of stories out there. After all, when you sell everything you’ve written so far, you’ll need new stuff, right?