good news in a SASE?

RLB · Nov 7, 2006

Hello. I am new here and have just sent out my first round of query letters (for a young adult novel) which are no doubt now sitting at the bottom of piles of unsolicited mail on various desks around the Big Apple. Just wondering... does good news (request for a partial or full etc) come back in a SASE or is that sort of thing typically handled by a phone call from an assistant or an email?

aruna · Nov 7, 2006

I've only ever had one request in a SASE - from Folio Management. Then again, I usually query per email.

Pat~ · Nov 7, 2006

I've had good news back in a SASE; but slightly more often in email. That could be just because I do simultaneous submissions much of the time, and email is a faster response if someone wants it.

ORION · Nov 7, 2006

For me only rejections in my SASE (50+). This last year I almost exclusively did email querys and the agent I eventually signed with communicated by phone.

Julie Worth · Nov 8, 2006

Sometimes I get an email request when I submitted by mail, but more often I get them in my SASE. The reason for this may be that agencies (and esp. publishers) do not want to open themselves to non-productive email exchanges with authors (ie, riffraff).

popmuze · Nov 8, 2006

This year I've sent out most of my queries by email and from those I always get an email response (if I get a response at all).

So far I've sent out six queries by regular mail and from those I've had two requests for further material in the SASE (two rejections, two no response).

blackbird · Nov 8, 2006

When I was agent shopping a couple of years ago, I did receive one request for a partial via SASE. That was the only one, however. The others came by email (even the ones I had snail mailed). These were all rejections, oddly enough. The agency I eventually signed with was one I had queried by email, and so of course their response came by email.

Maprilynne · Nov 8, 2006

I used to believe that nothing good ever came by SASE, but the last few months I've recieved a starttling amound of good news via SASE.

So the definitive answer it . . . it depends.

Maprilynne

Kasey Mackenzie · Nov 8, 2006

I've personally only received rejections via snail mail, but I've had a ton of good news (i.e. partial and full requests) via email. So far I've queried more people via email than snail mail, so I don't view that as a definitive answer. I've heard of too many people who HAVE gotten partial and full requests via SASE's to completely discount the possibility it may happen to me. =)

aadams73 · Nov 8, 2006

I received several requests for partials and six fulls in my SASE. So it's not always bad news

Susie · Nov 8, 2006

I've also received some good news in my sase's and also when I thought it was an acceptance in one of the publication's envelope it was a rejection.

C.bronco · Nov 8, 2006

I always feel dejected when a SASE comes back in the mail, but I have received requests for both partials and fulls via SASE. It ain't all bad!

RLB · Nov 8, 2006

Thanks all!
I guess it's good to know that SASEs aren't always harbingers of doom and rejection. Now I will allow myself a few seconds of hope before opening up the probable "We're sorry..."

HorrorWriter · Nov 8, 2006

Hey RLB,
I send all my queries out through snail mail, unless the agent requests otherwise. When I received a request for a partial, it was sent via e-mail. I just queried another agent with a standard query, synopsis, and the first 3 chapters. I only included a #10 envelope for her reply. To my surprise, she mailed back everything I sent her, using her own $4.05, which I will pay back of course.

She edited my work and asked me to resubmit the entire manscript with my corrections in tow, so that we could discuss where this was going to go. So, you really never know! Good luck to you!

good news in a SASE?

RLB

bundled

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

Pat~

Luftmensch Emeritus, A.D.D.

ORION

Sailed away years ago

Julie Worth

What? I have a title?

popmuze

Last of a Dying Breed

blackbird

Maprilynne

Author Waiting in the Wings

Kasey Mackenzie

One Hit Wonder?

aadams73

A Work in Progress

Susie

Thanks, special friend for my avi!

C.bronco

I have plans...

RLB

bundled

HorrorWriter

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.