6/21/2023 0 Comments Self addressed stamped envelopeLast October, I finished my application to Western Michigan University’s Master of Fine Arts program. I’ve developed a thick skin over my tender heart and often forget what material is where until I hear from the publisher. ![]() ![]() Not healthy, but after 24 years and an occasional acceptance, I’ve calmed down a great deal. Now I can receive rejection letters 24 hours a day and check for them as often as I like. There were only five days per week I could get a rejection letter and only one time of day I could check. It has been years since I’ve hauled a manuscript to the post office or splurged on certified mail or folded envelope into thirds.Īlthough querying by mail was slow and expensive, it was merciful. It wasn’t long before online submissions were the preferred way for producers and publishers to receive material. Given enough rejection, however, I came to dread the sight of them. Nothing made my heart race like spying one in my mailbox. When unfolded, the envelope retains distinct crease lines, which made it easy to spot in a pile of bills. Hey, you need to be a little delusional to participate in a system with such an overwhelming failure rate. That is unless I splurged on certified mailing because all writers secretly fear they aren’t published because their masterpiece got lost in the mail. The flatter the folds, the less puffy the envelope, the cheaper the postage. Like most writers, I learned folding a self-addressed stamped envelope in thirds made it fit inside a standard envelope, which was cheaper to mail. ![]() That was the game, however, and I wanted to play. This was how I was to receive their response to my work.įew things were as humbling as receiving a “no” in an envelope I'd addressed and paid for myself. One thing every guideline required was a self-addressed stamped envelope. When I started submitting my creative work for publication in 1995, it was a paper-heavy process.Įverything had to be printed and assembled according to each particular publisher’s or producer’s guidelines.
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