I would like to add that the discussion that stemmed from Sase and whatever
(I don't know what an Irc is...) was very friendly even if we sort of
screamt at one another, and it might have given the impression it was a
little too forceful,
anny

From: "Gerald England" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>


> I was very surprised that SpoonRivers' request for SASEs
> was greeted with such derision
> and am pleased to note the editor has responded to say (s)he
> will consider email subs from overseas.
>
> In pre-internet days
> the use of IRCs and SAEs was always deemed essential
> when submitting work to magazines.
> Of course IRCs are a rip-off as they cost 60p
> and are redeemable for 47p
> I used to save the IRCs sent to me and re-used them
> when submitting my own work to overseas magazines,
> and I know I'm not the only editor to do that
> since I often got IRCs that were up to four years old.
>
> I think their official life is ten years
> I've only once  had a problem cashing them in for postage
> when an ignorant clerk at my local PO [since closed]
> wouldn't accept them.
> I later telephoned some customer support line
> who subsequently phoned the post office and put him straight.
>
> Yes it IS a hassle but as Roger Collett {I think}
> pointed out email submissions are a hassle for editors.
>
> Do writers think editors spend all day in front of the computer reading
MSS
> online?
>
> Most editors will pour over submitted MSS whilst sitting in a comfortable
> chair with a drink of their choice beside them. To do so with email
> submission you have to print them out first.
> That is OK if you are considering work for a special edition but not for a
> general magazine.
>
> There is a growing trend for the use of disposable MSS now it is so easy
to
> print a new page from a computer rather than retyping {something I always
> hated}
> and so most people just send a single IRC for a reply, and some Americans
> will send a dollar bill or two in lieu of an IRC which most editors find
> acceptable -- not so easy the other way as the smallest note in the UK is
> five pounds.
> And most editors [at least those who are online -- there are still quite a
> lot who are not] are quite OK with the practice of replying to snail-mail
> submissions by email, thereby not requiring SAE or IRC.
>
> But submissions sent to editors without a ready means of reply are
generally
> destined straight for the bin.
> Mind you, it is true that a lot of Americans [not all I know] are pretty
> thick as I've frequently had submissions from people who sent an SASE but,
> of course, put US postage stamps thereon -- whether they thought UK was
the
> 53rd State or that US postage was universally accepted, I never found out
> since their work too found its way into the WPB.
>
> For most general small-press magazines I think snail-mail submission will
> remain the norm. Editors distrust unsolicited email submissions because
> unless it is clearly stated otherwise, they are often multiple
simultaneous
> submissions. Once an initial contact has been made though, many editors
will
> request an electronic copy of accepted material as this avoids typesetting
> errors. A lot of editors WILL consider email submissions when a writer
> contacts them with a query first, rather than just emailing an unsolicited
> submission.
>
> All it really needs is for the writers to understand the reasons behind
the
> requests editors make in their submission guidelines, rather thank making
> rash  assumptions.
>
> yours
> Gerald England
>
>
> Gerald, Christine and Craig England,
> New Hope International. Haiku Talk.
> Reviews, poetry, travel photography & more.
> http://www.nhi.clara.net/index.htm
>