The Meaning and Importance of an SASE

The letters SASE spoken of from many publishing companies stands for Self Addressed Stamped Enevlope. When submitting a manuscript to a publishing company, they suggest you should include an SASE so that you can get their response of your work sent back to you. There are not a lot of writers who do this. Some feel it's too confusing and some simply don't include a SASE.

Preparing a SASE is simply putting your name on an enevlope (that's big enough for your manuscript to get back to you) that has your name and address as the recipient. You then go to the post office and pay for postage that will cover the amount of the package that is to be returned to you.

If you are just getting your feet wet in the writing field let me give you a few tips. A lot of advanced writers who have been doing this for a while understand but for those who are just learning the ins and outs of having a book published, I will give you my advice.

It is always smart to include an SASE. Yes it will cost you a dollar or two to include it but it's worth it. Editors and publishers will give their advice on the manuscript. They will not email or call you. They will respond in the order the manuscript was received. If you do not want any advice back on your manuscript then don't include an SASE. But if you are someone who would like to know what the professionals thoughts were, it's smart to include an SASE. This way, when you send it to the next person, you can fix the mistakes you made.

The down side of this is that you will have to spend a dollar or two every time you send a manuscript to a publishing company. You thought writing the book was hard.

Not all publishing companies request that you send a SASE but be prepared to include one. This is popular in Traditional Publishing Houses. POD-Self Publishing Houses do not require this. Some companies only deal with others online so there is no need to send anything through the mail. This option has become more popular with publishing companies who are looking to get things done faster but keep in mind, some companies still request for your info through the mail.

So my advice to anyone is to pay the extra dollar or two to get your work back to you. It will pay off in the long run!

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Signing Off,

Dominique