I'm not sure where I got the idea but I thought that if I included return postage and envelope with my story submission that I would receive my manuscript back after the judging.
All I got in the envelope was a sort of certificate. Is that all I'm supposed to receive?
Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :
That's all I've received. Of course, for all markets, I arrange it so that the manuscript is disposed of. It's less costly that way. I think getting the manuscript back harkens from the days of typewriters.
[edited to correct spelling...]
[This message has been edited by ChrisOwens (edited December 15, 2008).]
Posted by extrinsic (Member # 8019) on :
I've gotten my manuscripts back. I put on the title page that I do want them back.
Ms. Labaqui has had an increased workload of late. Author Services is a division of Galaxy Press. Galaxy Press has started a new line and rollout is ongoing. Golden Age Science Fiction is probably taking up a lot of her time that she previously dedicated to the blog and more careful attention to returning manuscripts, like looking at SASE postage and quessing whether the intent was to dispose of or return manuscripts. I suspect she might even be under direction to not return contest manuscripts anymore unless explicitly stated on the title page and then to save them for last.
Posted by luapc (Member # 2878) on :
I've always included a full size envelope, addressed with postage, and always received my manuscripts back. It's probably like extrinsic suggested, and just a fluke.
Another thing to consider is that they always get busier in this quarter, with the holidays and end of year stuff. It's not uncommon for things to be slower this quarter. Add to that the increased work load extrinsic pointed out, and it's understandable.
Just be glad that it's not like it used to be. It used to be that nobody, not Finalists, Semifinalists, HMs, or rejects, found out until the last couple of weeks of December at the earliest for this quarter, and most not until the middle of January. You can thank the Blog and Kathy's quick reading for that.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
The tradition is that you send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your submission to ensure you got both a reply and the manuscript back. In nearly all cases, I want the manuscript-slash-printout back, if only to inspect it for indications it was read. (A big coffee cup stain on an inside page is a good indication they got at least that far.)
Last time I looked---some time ago---Writers of the Future spelled out that they wouldn't return manuscripts after submission. Bad form, I always thought.
Posted by luapc (Member # 2878) on :
Robert, I'm not sure where you heard or read that WOTF doesn't return manuscripts, but it must have been some time ago. The rules on their site
are the same ones I've seen there for over four years, and item 6 of the contest rules states:
6. Manuscripts will be returned after judging only if the author has provided return postage on a self addressed envelope. If the author does not wish return of the manuscript, a #10 (business size) self-addressed, stamped envelope (or valid email address) must be included with the entry in order to receive judging results.
If postage and an addressed envelope is included, there's no reason it shouldn't be returned other than because of some mistake, which we as humans all make from time to time. So my guess is that it was just a mistake of some kind.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I'll have to check my notes and files, which are slightly inaccessible at the present time. (I'll dig around before I post again.) Either I misremembered (likely), or they did change their rules at some point.
Posted by luapc (Member # 2878) on :
Robert, sorry if I made it sound like I was questioning your post. You could well be right, as web sites don't always get updated regularly, but I've never had a manuscript not get returned by them. I'm sure if you know of something WOTF has posted on the issue, it would be of interest to all of us.
Posted by Zero (Member # 3619) on :
What if I've gotten absolutely nothing back?
Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :
When I've included the right-sized SASE and enough postage, I've gotten the whole thing back. I use whatever is just larger than 8.5x11" tyvek mailers (including two thin sheets of cardboard on the outbound trip just to keep from the MS getting crushed, sometimes these even make it home with the MS.) The one I include in the envelope for my judging results is the same as the one I mail the MS in, I fold it in half and place it on top of the MS.
I've never had a problem getting everything back.
Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
quote:What if I've gotten absolutely nothing back?
I have heard of more than one occasion where scripts get misplaced. One author said his was found a couple of years later, they judged it and he received a quarterfinalist. Just be patient, they may still be mailing them back. you could always send Joni an email. She's good at responding.
Posted by arriki (Member # 3079) on :
How do I send Joni and email and, since the evelope with postage came back albeit without the mss, what do I say?
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I did misremember---I checked my files and found the printouts. It was the first page, the one with the addresses on, that they kept---I got the rest of it back.
So if anybody apologizes, it should be me. I apologize.
Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :
I'm impressed you keep such extensive files...
Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :
arriki,
Try the following email address: contests@authorservicesinc.com
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Essentially my work up till I got a computer occupies a four-drawer file cabinet directly behind me as I write this. (My post-computer work, essentially the last ten years, is more spread out.) I had to move two boxes and a pile of magazines to get at the lower drawer that had those printouts.
As for the work itself...well, I know it's no good, but I can't bear to part with it.