I'm not entirely sure if this is the right forum for this question.

I have a couple of short stories that I want to submit to magazines overseas. This means that I will need to send International Reply Coupons for the return postage. The question is, do I send enough to cover the return of the entire MS (about 250g in weight), or do I just send enough for a letter?

The problem is that, according to the man at my local Post Office, each branch only stocks 10 coupons at most. If I want enough for 500g (2 MSS), I will have to traipse around at least 3 Post Office branches to collect them all. The Post Office website is no help, because I don't seem to be able to order these online in the way I can stamps (the website doesn't even mention them).

Has anyone else used these things? It's an arrangement that is about 100 years old, and it is showing its age in this era of electronic fund transfers. I can think of at least 2 better ways of achieving the same objective.


Alex

Alex, if I were you I'd just send enough for a letter, saying you're happy for them to bin the ms, so they don't think you weren't concentrating! They're quite used to that, I'm sure, and if you cost your time, it must be cheaper than traipsing round post offices! It does all sound rather primitive, doesn't it.

Good luck with them, anyway.

Emma

Hi Emma,

Primitive is the right word. I was expecting to be able to buy a single coupon, specify the weight it needed to cover, and have the teller stamp it with that information. That's the first option I'd suggest for improving the system, if anyone ever asked me. The second option would simply be for all countries' postal systems to accept foreign stamps, provided that they were only used to mail items back to their country of origin (and were enough to cover the item's weight). The third option would be some form of electronic credit, with a software-generated authentication code that I could quote in my covering letter (you know, like the electronic vouchers that so many online retailers have devised).

But then, I'm a software consultant, not a postal service manager. I tend to want systems to be easy to use, rather than maximising the amount of paperwork they require.

(A further twist is that the IRCs are only valid till 31st December 2006. This is printed on the back of them, and is not tied to the date when I bought them. One of the publications I'm targeting says it has a 3-9 month turnaround time. It's April now - less than 9 months till the end of the year.)

Alex

Hi Alex

I've had this problem- I needed a reply from France but the Postmaster wasn't even sure he had any coupons in his safe and suggested I put 50p in my envelope, to cover the cost!

I agree, give them permission to destroy the manuscript if not interested. Why don't you suggest they reply by email? This was how the agent in France rejected me.

Sammy

Thanks for the suggestion, Sammy. It's an obvious one, I agree, and one I once used when I submitted a novel to an agent in Ireland. I never heard from him again, though.

In fact, one of the publications I'm targeting explicitly says on its website not to do that, as they will simply ignore it. What they will do in that case is sit on a rejected MS for 6 months in case I phone them to enquire, and then bin it.

It's amazing how technology-averse much of the publishing industry is. But then, when I used to read Writers' News, I kept seeing letters from people who decried even the use of word processors. In fact, one even decried typewriters, preferring to write in hand using a fountain pen. (Although I suspect that might just have been some wag's attempt at satire.)

Alex

I know Miss Snark on her blog says don't send IRCs, because she has to do queuing to post them and she won't. She says send US stamps, though I don't know how you're supposed to do that. Even New Yorkers must have their insular blind spots.

Emma

I guess, these days, you could probably order stamps from many countries online, to be delivered by post(!) However, you'd have to order a lot to make that a cost-effective option. And you'd have to make sure you had enough markets in that country to make large numbers of stamps cost-effective to buy in the first place.

Still, it's nice of her to warn us non-Americans of her mindset. It saves us wasting our time sending material (which, being from non-Americans, might also not fit in with her cultural expectations).

I'm guessing she also doesn't accept email submissions? Not that I'm really interested. I learned a while ago that some prospective customers go in the "too much trouble" box.


Alex

From what I remember (and her blog is great, well worth a nose among the archives, and absolutely essential reading I'd have thought if you're submitting directly to the US), she accepts email enquiries i.e. letter, and 3 or 4 pages just to prove you can write, and will then ask for a 'partial' by snail mail. The system all seems to be much more codified over there.

Emma

I'm not planning on approaching anyone in the States with a novel. These are only short stories, and don't warrant too much to-ing and fro-ing. Both magazines say on their websites that they don't accept email submissions.

One of them has already replied to an email enquiry to say it's okay to send just one IRC to cover a return letter, if that's all I need back.


Alex

Oh good. It's nice when the blank wall turns out to have a perfectly sensible, human face!

Emma

Won't they consider an email submission? The Americans are a bit more up to date with technology than we are, and the two or three stories (and my book) that are published over there all accepted work by email after an initial query.

Apologies if this has already been covered.

JB