International writers and money issues.

bsolah · Dec 23, 2006

I'm a 20-year-old horror writer from Australia whose on a limited income and is currently unpublished. I've been researching markets and such for my short stories, but am limited by my financial situation. As most of my markets are US based, getting hold of the magazines to get a feel for what the likes of CD and co are looking for is hard since I'm not in a position to obtain a credit card. Plus, SAE envelopes are hard to buy without the plastic vampire too.

Any success stories from Australian (or other international writers) who have gotten hold of US short story mags and postage without a credit card?

bsolah · Dec 31, 2006

Unimportant · Dec 31, 2006

Make a friend in the US and do a swap. They mail you a copy of CD and some stamps, you mail them....dunno, a koala bear or something. If you're active in any writing workshops (Critters, etc) you're bound to run into somebody who'd like something Australian in return for some US goodies.

ShapeSphere · Jan 3, 2007

I live in Japan now and lived in China before. You're not limited by lack of funds. During my cyber-searches a lot of magazines provide online stories as a taster of what the print magazine contains. This could give you a feel for what they are looking for. There are also plenty of online mags which pay adequately and display their entire content on the web.

I recall on another writing forum that one person wrote to mags explaining they're interested in writing for them and would love to receive a free copy. (If I can find the link will post it). Opinion will be sharply divided on this and the reactions of an editor will vary enormously.

Is it bold, creative and showing initiative or is it the action of a cheeky freeloader?

veinglory · Jan 3, 2007

A lot of large bookstores, and even public libraries, in Aus get in a wide range of magazines. That could be a start.

bsolah · Jan 4, 2007

I can afford the mags, just can't get a credit card and it's increasingly harder to buy mags and postage without one.

pdr · Jan 4, 2007

Try...

using PayPal. Quite a lot of magazines use PayPal to pay their authors. Quite a few accept payments via PayPal.

Carmy · Jan 4, 2007

I'm in Canada. I buy US stamps by mailing a cheque to the Postmaster at the Spokane Mail Office. They send me back stamps of different denomination to make up the value of the cheque. I mark my cheques "Pay US Funds" and never had a problem.

Check out your library for US magazines. They might even be willing to order copies for you.

veinglory · Jan 4, 2007

An Aussie checque is not going to work in the US. I suggest finding a friend with a credit card and paying them cash to order stuff for you. It's just easier in the long run.

bsolah · Jan 5, 2007

Yeah, I bought one book on a friends credit card, but I don't want to make a habit of it.

Seems I can't get around it and will have to get one. I mean, I can get one but it could get me in trouble.

veinglory · Jan 5, 2007

I would suggest getting a card that allows you to carry a balance and getting your bank to give you the lowest credit limit and shortest payment period they can. That tends to be around $100 and having to clear the payments each month. That limits the trouble you can get into.

I don't know the situation in Aus these days but in the US you can can also Visa or mastercard debit card that just draw on your checking account with no credit available, but are acceptable for online purchasing as a credit card.

Kate Thornton · Jan 5, 2007

The debit card idea is a very good one - it sure keeps me on the financial straight and narrow!

veinglory · Jan 5, 2007

I suspect that Aus is more like NZ, debit cards have been around so long that the banks don't need to use Visa or mastercard, they just issue their own. I am not sure that those can function as credit cards online.

bsolah · Jan 5, 2007

Yeah, one of my mates has a debit card. But my bank doesn't offer them. I'm thinking of changing banks, because of that and some other things

Also, which stamps do I need to buy? It's a self-addressed envelope that will go from the States to Australia.

veinglory · Jan 5, 2007

For the SASE you need to put on US stamps. I believe you can now buy printable ones online. Otherwise you can use international reply coupons but I think their use is getting pretty uncommon. It's a bit of a pain as the user needs to swap them for stamps.

bsolah · Jan 5, 2007

Just normal US stamps? I looked on usps.com and can't find international ones or anything.

veinglory · Jan 5, 2007

Just normal ones. The only rule is stamps should be issued by the country the letter is sent from (not to). It doesn't matter where they're going.

bsolah · Jan 5, 2007

Oh ok, because in Australia we have to buy special stamps for posting internationally.

akaSylvia · Jan 10, 2007

To be honest, I find an email address and query -- not my submission but the response mechanism. Publishers do know the issue with International Reply Coupons falling out of use and are willing to work with you if you are polite.
I try to give lots of options, something like:

I live abroad and unfortunately International Reply Coupons are not easily available here. I am happy to submit via post; however I was wondering if it would be possible to receive a response by email or fax. Obviously I do not require my manuscript to be returned.

I've been very lucky and had publishers respond that they are happy to accept my submission via email. I've been unlucky and been ignored completely. But it's worth a try.

Unimportant · Jan 10, 2007

If you want to provide someone in the US with a SASE that will be mailed from the US to Oz, you need a US airmail stamp or US stamps that add up to the cost of one US airmail stamp: currently US 84 cents.

Most people use the special, US airmail 84 cent stamp, but you could theoretically stick 84 separate penny-stamps on an envelope and that would be sufficient for airmail from the US to Oz.

bsolah · Jan 12, 2007

Thanks Unimportant, that solves that issue.

International writers and money issues.

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