Mailing a manuscript by mail in 2025

 Sent out a manuscript by mail. 

Seemed strange to do that, but that's what the publisher's web page wanted.  

But Lo -- there's a second address for the same publisher from another source. Which one to use?  

I picked one and mailed it out.  

And LO -- today it returned:  

Return to sender. Not deliverable as addressed. Unable to forward.  

So, I guess I'll try mailing it to the other address that I had found.  

And then - the suspense. Will that address be also rejected? Stay tuned.

Today's Writing Report

My friend (Internet friend-- we've only met in person once), Patricia Wrede, says:
"Editors don't make house calls. You gotta send it out."

In honor of her words, today was spent researching possible editors/ publishers to send manuscripts to.
(not so easy these days with so many publishers closed to non-agented writers -- no matter how many awards you've won.)

I now have one longer manuscript in the mail, plus 5 picture books ready for envelopes. With any luck I'll get them stuffed in their envelopes and to the Post Office on Monday. Where they will join the huge pile of manuscripts wending their way to publishers, sent by teachers who spent their summer writing and now have to go back to school. (Me -- I do all this writing stuff on my days off.)

Tomorrow is the very last day children can turn in their Summer Reading lists at the library and claim their prizes. Yes, I work on Saturday this week. On Monday they go back to school, and I get out the ladder and tear down all the Summer Reading decorations.
Off with the ocean and beach scenes!
Up with Fall colors and displays!
wendieO

Manuscript mailed

One thing writers (and other creative people) have to learn is when to stop writing. (creating)
Me- I had a deadline of January 29th to get my manuscript to the organizers of the Vermont College Novel Writing workshop. (held in March) Which meant that I had to count backwards for MY deadline.

Count backwards? Yes.
Guessing how many days it might take the Post Office to get a manuscript packet from Baltimore to Montpelier, VT. If I mail it on this or that day, will it get there in time? Which means the last minute I can revise the thing will be???

Someone once said (and many have repeated it) that creative work isn't ever 'finished.' It's abandoned.
Soooo, I've spent the last week or so re-reading my submission and revising it. Adding to make things more clear. Which means, on the next re-read, I realize that places earlier in the manuscript need tweaking in order to forshadow the change/ additions/ improvements/ revisions that I had made.

Revising the synopsis.
Even rewriting the cover letter.
re-reading the instructions. Do I have everything?
Synopsis -- check
10 to 20 pages for the critique workshop booklet -- check
10 pages plus synopsis for the author/ advisor of the critique workshop -- check
10 pages plus synopsis for the visiting editor -- check
Am I sending more copies than I need to send? (probably)
And on Tuesday, I mailed the thing. (Had to FedEX it because I cut it too close to depend on the Post Office to get it there in time.

Whew! That's done.
(Oh dear, I just thought of something to add to the synopsis.... Too late.)

I'm taking vacation time off for a writing week next week. What piece of writing will I work on then?
-wendieOld

Report from my writing life

What did I do this weekend?

Got two more copies of a manuscript ready to be mailed on Monday. This time I made sure that not only was the manuscript enclosed, but also a synopsis, an outline, a timeline, a long bibliography, and multiple chapter notes.

I was all set to mail it on Saturday afternoon, but when I got to the Mail Stop (store), they had just closed.

On Sunday, after recovering from the rain-induced headache, I polished up another manuscript, discovering to my surprise that it was closer to being ready to send out than I had supposed it was. I should be able to send that one out on Tuesday.

What with getting most of the laundry done and being able to make beef stew for the family, it was a most successful weekend.

Now, for my next miracle, I need to get out in the flower border and dig up the thistle that thinks it belongs there.

-wendieO

The benefits of having an online journal

One of the benefits (handicaps?) of writing in your online journal that you will do something -- is that you feel obligated to do it.

Yesterday I mumbled to myself (see previous post) that I really should get the Leprechaun story back into the mail. Which made me feel guilty enough that I sat down today and did it. I revised it one more time. (It's still not as short as I feel it needs to be.) And by 5:00pm, as the Post Office was closing its doors, I skooted in and mailed it. To three places.

Yes, all three places will take multiple submissions -- I researched that on the 2007 SCBWI list of Children's Book Publishers to make sure. Then I jumped over to Harold Underdown's website to make sure that the editors listed in the Fall list of Publishers were actually still at that publisher. He tracks this on his "Who's Moving Where" page.

The most interesting thing I discovered in this new list of Children's Book Publishers was the change in how to send out manuscripts.
--Several Publishers want picture books simply e-mailed to them.
--Others said we were to send it by mail -- but that they would only respond if they wanted to publish. We would know it had been rejected if they never heard from us again. DO NOT send a SASE. (To which I made a note to self to consider it rejected if I hadn't heard back within 4 to 6 months.)
--And a few publishers requested the traditional type of submission. Please enclose a SASE for our us to send our response back to you.

How do I keep track of what is where?

Next I record what I had done/ who I had sent copies of the manuscript to on both a computer file in the leprechaun folder and on the 4X6 Leprechaun file card in my paper card file. Actually I use two cards. A yellow card is a master card of every manuscript that is out, and where to, and when I should expect a response. In another spot I have separate white cards for each separate manuscript. On these cards I have a record of every place I have sent this ms.

In the front of the file box are the white cards of all the manuscripts that are NOT out in the mail. To remind me to revise them and get them back out, again.

How do you keep track of your submissions?

Oh, and in addition to this frenzied manuscript business, today the 8-year old went to two egg hunts. Actually, one was a "Kiss" hunt where there were a few plastic eggs with prizes and thousands of Hershey kisses to scoop up off the ground. The other was a neighborhood hunt and evening cookout. What can I say. Sometimes I think Marylanders are a little bit crazy. Yes, it was 45 degrees, but cookout it was.

Tomorrow she'll attend another egg hunt (if it doesn't rain or snow) and then decorate real eggs for her indoor Easter Egg hunt Sunday morning. Whew!

-wendieO