Worried Your Query or Submission Didn't Get There?

Authors often worry that their query or submission did not reach the agent or editor to whom they were submitting, but they are afraid to call and check out of concern that it will annoy the agent or editor and lead to a rejection.

While I don’t think any agent or editor would reject you just for that, there are many ways to help make sure your mail gets to where it’s going or to confirm it got there. Here are a few:

1. Use Delivery Confirmation. The US Postal Service offers different forms of this and one doesn't require a signature. Use this one for submissions of chapters or manuscripts and you can check online to see that your package was delivered. Granted, this likely means to the mailbox or front door and not the actual agent, but at least you know it got to the right location.

2. Use UPS or FedEx Ground, both of which let you track things online. Be sure your agent hasn't posted somewhere that they don't want you to use those services. Some agents don’t want to be sent anything requiring a signature, especially Certified Mail. Not every agency is that large and sometimes everyone (or the one) is out to lunch when the delivery guy or mail carrier shows up. Nothing is more annoying than those "Sorry We Missed You; Your Certified Mail is at the Post Office" slips. Schlepping to the PO and waiting in line to get a sample chapter is an annoying waste of time for any agent. And I think Certified Mail is just a waste of money for a query or submission.

3. If you are doing a lot with the US Mail, you might want to consider a few things:

a. Do you know your actual address? I know, this seems like a bonehead question, but it's for real. Many, many publishers do not know their own addresses, at least the ones the US Postal Service uses. Go to USPS.com and the Find Zip Code page. Put in your street address and zip code. What will come back is the USPS-approved version of your address. Use that one as your address, always, to help ensure mail reaches you.

b. Are you mailing it to the right place? Many of the websites that steal info from agents' sites or guidebooks have outdated information. Many of the guidebooks may also have outdated information. It is a good idea to check addresses directly on the agent's website before mailing anything off. Then run that address through the USPS system also, as the agent may not know his or her correct USPS address.

c. If you are mailing A LOT, it may make sense to sign up for a service like Stamps.com, which checks each address to which you are mailing against the USPS system and corrects it. It also puts the correct USPS bar code on your mail, which results in your mail getting their faster, because the bar codes let it zip through the system.

d. Don't want to do any of that? TYPE YOUR LABELS OR ENVELOPES in all caps, in Arial or Courier typeface. The OCR software at the USPS will read the destination Zip Code more easily and your mail will get their faster.

Coach Andy