Permanent Address

[katiemac]

In about two months, I should (hopefully) be in a place to start shipping out queries and things like that. Problem being, I don't have a "permanent address," per say.

A lot of people here know I'm in college. At the end of May, I won't be at my current (dorm) residence anymore and will be spending the summer at a different address. Come fall, I'll be back at school, but not at the same address I'm living now.

Point being, I don't want to miss any correspondance just because I'm at the wrong address if and when something is delivered. Since some agents and editors conceivably take months to get back to someone, even if I send something out this afternoon a letter might not pop up until December next year. I don't even know what the address is of the place I'll be living at next year yet, but hopefully will by May.

Anyway, has anyone ever encountered a problem like this before? I've considered setting up a P.O. box, but my school address and home address are in two different states, so that wouldn't work out well. And it also (at least in this situation) would not be logical to send letters to my home address and have them shipped to school when I'm there.

Is it possible to send different addresses along with the different dates of when I'll be where along with queries? But that just seems like a lot of extra hassel on behalf of whomever is reading my work.

[pdr]

Editors are so busy and rushed. Don't make things complicated for them. Have you an email address like hotmail that will always be yours wherever you are? Think about using one. Ask the editors to reply to that. Do send disposable scripts too and avoid extra problems with postage.
That being said I know where you're at as I have to move around different countries to find work. I can use email most of the time to send my articles and stories to publishers but when they want to send comp copies and cheques I need an address. What I do is have a Post box in my home town in my home country and a friend who empties it and sends on the urgent stuff. Could your parents do the same for you?

[maestrowork]

Can you get a mailbox? I think with some places like Mailbox Etc. you get a real address (that of the actual store) and the mailbox #. So your address would be:

123 Main Street
#666
Anytown, Anystate 00000

[CindyBidar]

Do you fill out change of address forms when you move? The post office will forward mail for a year. I've even received mail that was forwarded twice, when I moved around a lot.

There are also services you can hire, for about $20 a month, that will allow you to use their address (real street address, no po box) and they just forward all your mail to where you are.

[WVWriterGirl]

Doesn't the post office have temporary forwarding orders? Such as, you can set up a PO box in your college town. When you're home from school, during the summer, you could have your mail forwarded to your "home address" (i.e., parents house, whatever) and then, when you move back to college home, resume the use of the PO and cancel the forward order. If I'm not mistaken, my uncle who lives in Connecticut but has a Florida summer home works it this way.

WVWG

[maestrowork]

I think the temporary forwarding has a time limit. If Katie is going to be home for a few months, I'm not sure if the post office would forward her mail for so long... but it doesn't hurt to ask.

[Tish Davidson]

Can you use the postal address of your parents or a family member or friend with whom you are in regular contact and simply ask them to call/e-mail you if something comes or to forward it to wherever you are at the moment?

[SRHowen]

mailboxes are us or sme such--many places have mail boxes you can rent or even a local post office that can forward your mail.

Shawn

[Jamesaritchie]

I've had two sons go through college, and the post office forwarded their mail during the summer, then changed it back to the college address once school started. They simply had to fill out a change of address form each time.

[Writing Again]

When I was a kid Travel was my middle name: My mother was my main address and I always kept in contact with her.

[mdin]

I had this same issue.

Get a local PO box at Mail Boxes Etc (aka the UPS Store now). Use it for all your submissions. The week before you leave for home, go to the UPS store and set up mail forwarding. They will forward everything that arrives in your box to a new address. You'll have to pay for it, but it's not that expensive, especially if you're using the box just for your submissions. When you get back into town, cancel the mail forwarding and keep the same box. The good thing about those addresses is they look like real ones and not PO Boxes, and as far as the publishers are concerned, you haven't moved at all the entire time.