Postage when querying or submitting overseas

When submitting your work overseas, you might need that country's stamps for your reply card. 

If you are traveling abroad, pick up the current postal rates and a good selection of stamps from their local post office. You can also ask friends or relatives in foreign countries to mail you a supply. 

U.S. stamps can be purchased on line at http://www.usps.gov  For British stamps go to http://www.royalmail.com  Canadian stamps are at http://www.canadapost.ca  Many other countries' postal services can be found on line.

You can ask your local post office for "International Reply Coupons", but this means the editorial staff has to redeem the coupon for postage - another bridge in the way of their replying to you.

The business side of writing

· Keep track of your queries, submissions and acceptances. Some writers use computerized spread sheets.

· If your work is published and you haven't received payment within a reasonable space of time, send a statement to the publication.

· Tax declarations - sorry, I can't help you with that. We don't have income tax in the Bahamas! Check your writer's handbooks.

SUBMISSIONS

Multiple/simultaneous submissions

There are various schools of thought on this. I've often thought about this method and several years ago (before the glorious advent of the World Wide Web) laboriously wrote down the names and addresses of a large selection of U.S. newspapers to send multiple submissions to.

Now we have the internet, you only have to collect email addresses of publications (along with the editor's name, of course). However, there's a chance they might regard your simultaneous email submission as "spam".

If you have a piece that isn't like your "dearest child" (in other words, if you never actually see it in print, it won't be the end of the world), you could try spinning it out to several publications at one time (if they allow simultaneous submissions). Mention in your cover letter though that this is a simultaneous submission.

When sending your work to a country with different counties or states, I suggest you don't send it to more than one publication in each state or county. You can mention in your cover letter that although it is a simultaneous submission, it's only being sent to one publication (theirs) in that particular county or state.

If you can afford to purchase Editor and Publisher International Yearbook 2000 : The Encyclopedia of the Newspaper Industry (Editor and Publisher International Yearbook, 2000)
this three volume "bible" of the newspaper industry would be a great addition to your bookshelves, as it lists newspapers throughout the world. It costs $200 for the print version and $895 for the CD-ROM. However, second hand copies are also available on line - or your local library might have a copy.

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