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I'm still trying to imagine how I'll feel when (if) I ever receive an acceptance from an agent and have to start worrying about a contract. Of course, this means I'll have to finish my novel, perfect it, revise it, rewrite it, re-perfect it, and figure out how to write a query without sounding like a nitwit.

Whoa. We are a weird bunch, aren't we? I couldn't imagine making such demands... "never say or do anything to damage the book"? HUH??

Everything would be so much easier if we all (writers, editors, agents) remembered we're dealing with real live human beings, no matter how impersonal this business gets. Oy. :-)

"Another wanted to include a provision that if he was unavailable for 30 days, I could sign contracts for him. I explained I could not do that, and would not do it. I think he thought I was irresponsible shirker, but it doesn't matter-he's toast."

Oh, my god. Don't just walk; run away screaming.

Watch out for a clause in a contract that states you have to remain "their client" for a year before being able to part ways (fire them). If things go wrong, you're stuck for a year with someone that isn't working for you or your work.

Good agents don't worry about such constrainments. THEY don't want to represent you if you're unhappy with them.

Many thanks for this post. When you said authors were a pain in the ass (P.I.T.A., as in something you might buy at Jack 'N The Box) I wondered if I was a PITA for signing the contracts and delivering the MSS. It now appears the bar has been raised a lot higher than that. Whew! Thank goodness.

Another one wanted to include something in the contract that the agent would never say or do anything to damage the book.

I was once asked to sign a clause somewhat like this in a book contract.

There must be some industry, somewhere, for which this is standard. (But book publishing isn't it, and I didn't sign.)

"Watch out for a clause in a contract that states you have to remain "their client" for a year before being able to part ways (fire them). If things go wrong, you're stuck for a year with someone that isn't working for you or your work."

-----------------------

I am represented by a very legitimate agency that has this clause, which most of the lit mavens advise against. Not only does it have this clause but another stating that the contract renews for two more years at the end of the first--unless either party opts out.

I did not run from this. I consulted my non-literay lawyer significant other who said--contrary to the advice of the lit types--that this will mean they can't drop you on a whim.

I now have a contract with a major imprint. It came more than a year after I signed the contract. My agent kept plugging away during times when it seemed like I might never get a deal. I wonder if he would have dropped me if there was the recommended 30-day and your out clause in our contract.

Before I signed this contract, I did ask about the one-year clause. My agent-to-be said they want their clients to be happy and would never force someone to stick around against his will. That was good enough for me. Why would they want to force an unhappy client to remain tied to them? I wonder if someone else could document cases where authors were held against there will. Sometimes you have to make decisions on the basis of trust.

In my case, it worked out.

If you are offered a contract with this clause from a respected agency with documented sales to the big publishers, you should think long and hard about "running" on the basis of this clause alone.

As someone who works in a humungous university press, my advice is to get an agent now, before they come to you with anything. If your press is anything like mine, you have a bit of time to do this, and an agent can radically change the boilerplate contract terms--to your benefit, of course. The agent might also want to shop your project to other presses. As tempting as this is, don't do it. It will gain you ill will at the original UP, since they approached you and not the other way around.

Yep, this blog is rude enough to have French!


Haste yee back ;-o

Damn lady! That was pretty good! Perhaps you're readying your pen for life after the lit agency. Maybe the next Maureen Dowd...

Connie Willis' The Doomsday Book is set in both 1348 and 2056, but it's usually put in sci-fi because it involves time travel. It does have great historical fiction parts, however. Also, the sequel, To Say Nothing of the Dog, is set in the late Victorian Era and about 2060, so it's both sci-fi and historical as well as humor. However, I think it's always classed as sci-fi because that's what Willis is known for.
So what's my point? Just that I agree with the Great and Mighty Snark: it's best to simplify and just call the book one thing to get readers' attention (and, no doubt, agents' attention, too).

Some years ago, members of RWA struggled with how to classify submissions to one of their most popular contests--one devoted to sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal books.

The question that caused the most discussion was how to classify a novel in which a woman traveled to the future. The contest in question had separate categories for futuristics and time travel. The writer didn't know which category to use for her novel.

After several lengthy discussions the membership agreed on a definition that is now used universally within RWA. To be classified as time travel, the protagonist MUST be able to return to his/her own time. If the protagonist is stuck in the future, it is a futuristic.

I'm sure other organizations have different definitions, but this one seems to work for RWA.

Dear Ms. Snark:

Greetings to you and KY. I just wanted to drop you a note to say THANK YOU!!! I have an agent, and a publisher, so I'm not soliciting you. (I also do not look like George Clooney and believe I am not your type.) A few days ago you responded with a rant to "passion writing." THANK YOU! I have been having a really hard time with people who think writing isn't a business at all, that I'm not REALLY working, "how hard can edits be?" etc. It was a relief and refreshing as he** to have somebody put forth the opposite opinion. Yes, writing is an art. But selling what you write is a business, and da**ed hard work!

Miss Snark, you always make me laugh...

but I was just wondering... wouldn't "je ne sais quoi" be the more appropriate phrase?

sorry, pardon my French!

FYI: The correct spelling is "je ne sais quoi."

Cheers!

people get wrapped up in pedantic word-play in regard to describing their own works because they think their own works are unique and stand alone.

like, chill! you're not that special, dude.

How about: I have adopted an agent?

I think I started this while vennting my spleen on the post about a writer turning down an offer recommended by an agent. It's a couple posts back. Sorry about that.

"Represent" is a more appropriate word for the type of contract between an agent and a writer.

"Landed" sounds like you've dragged a giant marlin into a boat.

"Retained" suggests a lawyer who is paid to keep your worthless rear out of court.

"Found" isn't bad, but does give the impression of woebegone agents wandering around the countryside, shivering & drenched.

How about "signed with"?

"Adopting" is something Angelina Jolie does. I'm imagining a writer holding the hand of a little tiny agent person.

I personally have a happy agent dance all ready so I don't even have to bother with words. I'll just start dancing and people will know what I mean...

Perhaps legit agents dislike the word "hire" because they want to distinguish themselves from the bottom-feeding, fee-charging agents who collect a fee from the writer upfront. Since the writer is paying that "agent" (and I use the term loosely) directly, then the writer could say to be hiring that agent. However, since legitimate agents collect a commission on the books they sell, and that check is written by the publisher, not the writer, then they are a sales rep for the book, but not an empolyee of the writer.

A subtle difference, but a difference nevertheless. In that case, I can kind of see why an agent would object to the word "hire."

From now on, I will say, "An agent represents my novel." That is accurate, not offensive to anyone, and not awkward to say.

Actually, since the author pays the agent out of the monies for the book...and since people who are HIRED are generally paid by those who HIRE them...what in dog's name is wrong with saying you "hired" an agent? There's nothing punitive or subservient in being hired...it merely describes, in very concise and precise terms, who's paying whom. Anything more cumbersome (politically correct?) than that not only clouds the nature of the relationship, but wastes words.

I hire a person to do handyman-chores around my house; that person's skills outstrip my own in that department, but I still pay for the work, and it still has to be done to specifications. So it's still a "hired" relationship. Likewise, I "hire" a piano tuner, or a plumber, or a cat-sitter. They don't have problems with that word. Why would an agent?

If an agent is offended by my "hiring" him or her, when it's my 15% that's paying him or her, maybe the agent would rather do it on a volunteer basis?

I will treasure any agent with whom I sign for representation; I will collaborate, cooperate, and otherwise work nicely with you. I will value your services immensely. But if I'm paying you, I'm hiring you. It's the easiest word, it's the clearest word, and there's nothing wrong with it.

Janny

"I hired an agent" implies that you were the one in control of the process, not the one hoping desperately for The Call.

I was just thinking about frogs and the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom when I read this entry. At the risk of causing world-wide sterility in amphibious creatures in general, I will post a quote from the Historical Novel Society website:

"There will never be a satisfactory answer to these questions, but these are the arbitrary decisions we've made.

"To be deemed historical (in our sense), a novel must have been written at least fifty years after the events described, or have been written by someone who was not alive at the time of those events (who therefore approaches them only by research).

"We also consider the following styles of novel to be historical fiction for our purposes: alternate histories (e.g. Robert Harris' Fatherland), pseudo-histories (eg. Umberto Eco's Island of the Day Before), time-slip novels (e.g. Barbara Erskine's Lady of Hay), historical fantasies (eg. Bernard Cornwell's King Arthur trilogy) and multiple-time novels (e.g. Michael Cunningham's The Hours)."

Source:
http://www.historicalnovelsociey.org

This is an interesting way of thinking of it. I have one set during the Civil War, but it's a thriller, not something like Killer Angels. If we called it historical or even mentioned the H word, it would be misleading about what the story is. It does have a modern sensibility, even though it's set 100 years ago.

So far, we've said it "set during the Civil War" and have made sure the setting gets mentioned after the story does.

These be hard words, because some agencies will not look at "historicals", or wants historical exclusively. If you send 'em something, it better be in their mindset as a contemporary, not yours. And they all have different definitions.

Sounds like time for the dread e-query: "what time frame constitutes a piece of historical fiction for your agency?"

(gasp)

T2

Like Miss Snark, if an agent says she is looking for commercial fiction - shazam. If both commercial and literary - I like the term commercial literary fiction.

Funny though... you know the difference between C and L when you read it!


Haste yee back ;-)

Both Nathan Bransford and Kristin Nelson recently blogged on this last week.

The best definition I've heard is that literary fiction is fiction driven by language and stylistic concerns as much as plot and characters.

I'd always be careful of calling your work literary or commercial fiction when sending it to an agent anyway. 'Literary' means good, according to a certain definition of the word - and every author thinks their book is good. It can come too close to singing your own praises. 'Commercial' is largely a marketing decision, and can steer dangerously close to saying 'This is the manuscript for my bestseller'. In short, they're qualities that tend to be defined by somebody other than the author - and trying to define them for your own work can risk looking naive and/or full of yourself. Miss Snark is right; you worry about the book and let the agent worry about the definition.

This extends to when authors are out and about, trying to interest people in their books, too. And I'm a genre whore, frankly. If I'm talking to a group of young women out for cocktails at a bar, by golly, my book's chick lit. If I'm talking to a bunch of young mothers at the park watching their kids, it's mommy lit. If I'm having a drink with a bunch of male authors at a conference, it's mainstream fiction.

It's all about interesting the people you're talking to AT THAT MOMENT, while not, obviously, totally misleading them. My book could be - and has been - categorized by others as all of the above (and then some). And it's just not smart to be that concerned about labels and categories, especially if that limits your audience of potential readers. (Although in my experience - and not to offend anybody - the writers who seem most eager to limit themselves to just one category are those who consider themselves literary fiction writers. I don't know why this is, but that's been my experience. It's like it's a badge of honor or something.)

"When agents talk about commercial fiction they mean the stuff that sells well. When they talk about literary fiction they mean the stuff that gets reviewed well."

That has got to be the most cogent definition I have ever seen.

Who says literary fiction isn't formulaic? Isn't it true that if there's a character in a work of literary fiction who is happy and well-adjusted as of the last page, then it ain't literary?

Just wondering. ;)

Killer Yapp's Sunday in the Park graphic novel...

I saw them filming this. I was the guy yelling "Get a room, you mutts!" Dogs, they just don't care.

Miss Snark:

At a writers conference I attended, one of the presenters had this to say:

Commercial fiction takes people on a roller coaster ride. Literary fiction asks "Why do people ride roller coasters?"

I thought that was an interesting take, and it turned a light on in my head about the difference between L and C.

Something to think about, anyway.

P.S. I LOVE your blog and have learned so much about this business. Thank you.

I thought I was writing literary fiction with a mystery framework, right up until a nice editor read the first few chapters, told me I was writing psychological crime fiction, and explained the difference between literary-fiction advances and psychological-crime advances.

'Who says literary fiction isn't formulaic? Isn't it true that if there's a character in a work of literary fiction who is happy and well-adjusted as of the last page, then it ain't literary?'

Have you read Jane Austen? Charles Dickens? Come on, you've got better sense than that.

Hello? Charles Dickens and Jane Austen literary? No and no. Many of Dickens' novels were serialized in popular magazines, with readers breathlessly hanging on for next month's installment. They were the trashies of the 1840s and 1850s. Dickens got paid by the word, for heaven's sake, which explains a lot of things. And Jane, whom I adore, was writing love stories. Three volume novels. Pure entertainment, Regency style.

You're confusing "literature", as in classic fiction taught in English lit classes, and literary fiction. Big difference. You should know better.

So literary and widely-read are mutually exclusive, and something can't be literary if it's enjoyable? Sounds to me like you're defining literary as 'the kind of book I don't like'. In which case, you're missing out; it's never good to write off an entire genre with an epigram. The more open you keep your mind to categories, the more books you'll discover that you love.

My wife, the writer, has a definition of literary fiction: "Twisted loser stories, hold the redemption." She writes what her head-of-dept for her MFA disparagingly calls "genre fiction", but at the end of the day, he teaches writing, while she does it.

Just to clarify, because all the references I've seen to this have been for just the next book after the published one . . . This contract means the publisher has first-refusal rights on every book this author writes for the next seven years.

Nuts is right.

Yikes. Worse case scenario is that the publisher could hold onto everything your friend writes for the next seven years, neither accepting nor releasing it.

Unlikely, yes, but why take that chance? I know people who've had very bad experiences with first-refusal clauses, so I'm very wary of them.

Sounds like our favorite publishing scam, Publish America. (From what I understand, they take everyone and then lock 'em into a seven-year contract, trickling 'royalty' checks of a dollar a pop along the way. No bookstore will stock these books because it's all POD, pre-order, non-returnable dreck.)

I was recently at a party where not one but two(!) would-be authors tried to get me--no, let's be frank, beggedme--to order their 'PA' books. I tossed back one for the road and got the hell out of there.

Actually it's not PA. It's a legitimate publisher that has a good reputation in the niche it's in.

According to the author, she investigated other publishers in this niche market and several of them also had similar terms. One was for more than seven years. These publishers aren't scammers, just sadly misguided because most of them had no background in publishing before starting their companies.

I don't want to go into any more detail because I don't want to get the author in trouble. The publishing niche is very small.

Is this the same thing as the author who goes on the Today Show to say that their book just came to them in a dream and they wrote it in one week?

I agree absolutely. I never write down what the voices say to me, nor do I ever do what they want.

I'd be arrested within hours.

Loinfruit? Gotta love the Snark?

So it sounds like his mom wrote it? I'm really not clear on what you're saying here.

Jenn, I'm not sure, but I think she means the writing is more catharsis for the author than actual novel material (like Devil Wears Prada, which had, for me, one of the most unlikable heroines ever. Oh no, you mean your boss wants you to stop taking personal calls at work? Stop embezzling money? What a demon--okay, sorry. That was my channeling).

Channeling is when the author claims to have received the book via a trance, and either dictates or writes them down. These were big in the 80s .

To say you are channeling your mother is a joke on that trend.

I'm pretty sure it means actual ("actual") channeling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channelling_(mediumistic)

I'm afraid I don't understand either. Do you mean that agents don't like it when a novel is written in first person?

s.m. o'shea, I think she means agents don't like it when a novel is written in dead person. :0P

The Seth books were huge in their time; mid'70's to mid'80's when Jane Roberts died. There were even, if I recall correctly, a couple released after her death.
They are still in bookstores, so whereever she's on the shelf (probably in New Age area) is where you'll find her and the rest of the channelling books.

For those of you still struggling to understand what this is, I recommend that you click on the “here” in the line “More info on it is here” in the original post.

All of my books are channeled through me from the spirit of a small Chihuahua named Fernando. I am but a vessel.

FYI, Miss Snark...

The ponies haven't run at Hialeah for years, because Hialeah racetrack is no more.

I wonder if "channeling" in this context also includes the sort of writer who is not so much hearing the voices of dead people, as divinely inspired. You know the type, "Oh, I didn't write this--it just came to me. All I did was write it down."

I suspect that sort of writer is difficult to work with, especially if any revisions are suggested. How dare you tamper with the voice of their muse?

During reasearch last night, read about this "psychic phenonema" - spirit dictation and automatic writing - and idly wondered if we would see a new wave of it.

The Seth books were huge in their time; mid'70's to mid'80's when Jane Roberts died. There were even, if I recall correctly, a couple released after her death.

Which begs the question, who was channeling Jane?

I remember reading an interview with the late Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which she mentioned that a surprising number of fans asked her which of her works were "channeled." I wonder if she ever thought about going the route of one poster here, and claiming to be the vessel of Fernando the Chiahuahua, or some such.

Though come to think of it, that could backfire, too. Harlan Ellison used to respond to people who'd ask where he got his ideas by telling them, "Schenectady." Problem was, invariably someone would come up to him afterwards and ask for a specific address. Or so the story goes.

Seth books continued to be published because Jane Robert's husband has tons of material from their twice weekly sessions. (Confession: I read many of those books.)

Channelling books is done through "automatic writing", which is a process that filters information from "spirit guides" through a human being who is able (for whatever resaon)to connect with the guide or guides, as the case may be. The late Ruth Montgomery, who was a well educated and repsected writer in the American City, Washington DC, actually wrote books on this...automatic writing. Edgar Cayce, from Viginia Beach, did this too. No one ever gained any great monetary increases from automatic writing; most did it (and do it) because they didn't have a choice.

Like so many things of this enlightened nature there are those souls who want to believe in it, those souls who fake it to make money and those souls who really do it.

Good lord! Channeling!! I went to a channeler once... yes, I think it was in the 1980's. She was an "old mystic from India, who'd been dead for centuries," and told me I'd live somewhere 'green.' Kanani stares at the azalea bush-- dear me, she/he was right!

Mercifully, we all moved onto the internet in the 1990's and haven't had the need to channel since.

I knew what channelling itself was I'd just never heard the term applying to writing before. I mean I've read books or watched tv shows/movies where characters were channelling but I've never really heard of writers doing it.

Also, "channelling" is sometimes used to refer to writing that is blatantly derivative, eg "this author must have been channelling Terry Pratchett when he wrote that scene".

Ahem.

Wait! I thought she meant channel surfing! LOL
I crack myself up into a million little pieces!

Um, erotica is literary porn. Silly wabbit.

I'd go with 'erotica' myself, as that covers everything. But do make sure to research which agents are prepared to handle porn/erotica before you start sending it round, yes? It's one of those things not everyone likes, and you could waste a lot of postage by not checking in advance.

Just a a tip when you're writing a cover letter - I don't think 'arousement' is a word. And I wouldn't bother telling agents that your work is excellent: they'll know you think it's excellent, otherwise you wouldn't be trying to get it published. Just tell them what kind of book it is, and let them decide if they like it or not.

Silly goose! Someone's already written "Naked Came the Stranger."

I think a number of the recent imprints that have popped up devoted to erotica will even look at unagented material, so you should consider that route as well as querying agents who handle erotica.

I thought this was a joke email. It's not?

Hope the author doesn't make up words in the novel as well.

I'd go with 'erotica.' It's an accepted term that doesn't necessarily mean 'porn' which has a certain connotation that you might not want to be associated with, later.

I sold several pipes worth between $75 and $350 on ebay and only used first class mail with delivery confirmation from the post office. (Of course I insured the pipes).
Every pipe was delivered in good condition and on time. I think it cost a buck and change. Very easy and very effective. The recipients could track the packages.
It's so simple.

I send requested fulls by Priority Mail because the flat rate box is cheaper than regular mail. I also use delivery confirmation. I've never had a problem with it. My understanding is that when they deliver it, the barcode is scanned and then it's posted at the USPS site. I just punch in the barcode number and discover if it's been delivered. "Holding at the post office" sounds more like registered, certified or insured mail.

It used to be that there was a priority flat rate 2 lb mail pack that cost $3.85. Now they don't have a weight limit, and it costs 4.20. It's a good deal for postage. I send a lot of stuff that way. Use extra tape on the corners though.

My experience with delivery confirmation was disappointing. I sent a requested partial to an agent using this method, received a tracking number and proceeded to try to find out if my mail had been delivered. All the tracking number ever reported was that a delivery had been attempted and my mail was sitting at the post office for pick up. It said that for weeks. I had also been under the impression it would simply be noted and left at the address. I later found out this was the case, and the agent had received the mail at the office. But I never got confirmation from the post office that the mail had been delivered! I felt like I'd wasted my money.

Last week I sent a full manuscript to an agent, and I had the package insured. I didn't even consider that the agent might have to make a trip to the PO if nobody was in the office at the time of delivery.

Hope I didn't screw up royally.

The tracking info will say unable to deliver, message left. Then when you check in on Monday night it will say "delivered." Had that happen lots of times. Don't worry.

I used Delivery Confirmation to a NY publishing house and the Post Office attempted a Saturday delivery. When they realized no one was at the building, they noted on the tracking Web site that they were unable to deliver and they would attempt re-delivery on Monday, which they did. No hassles for the recipient.

I'm the one who asked the question, and I have a rotten update. At 7am on Monday morning, USPS decided that the box was "undeliverable as addressed" (no duh, why not wait 2 more hours until the busineses is open), so it's being sent back to me return to sender.

Two words: Never Again

BTW, can someone recommend what I should do now? The manuscript was requested last week, it's coming back to me, I want to get it to agent ASAP. Should I use FedEx, send it email, or what?

Priority is a waste of money? For anything I've ever sent via USPS, it only ever costs $.75 more for Priority mail over first class. $.75 is no biggie...although, all it means is it will get there a day or two sooner under most circumstances. So, I suppose the $.75 is a waste of money.

Perhaps Miss Snark is confusing Priority mail with next-day or something?

I use confirmation (it's only 40 cents--free if you use their Click N Ship service on line), but sometimes the Post Awful doesn't record in the tracking number.

Certified costs more and it's just shooting yourself in the foot if no one's in that day.

When in doubt put in a self-addressed stamped post card.

All it needs to say is "Manuscript Title has reached the __ Agency."

When I was making the rounds back in the day, no one minded lobbing that in the "out" box. I at least knew that the envelope had been opened.

I often do my mailing after hours at an automated machine. The only option it will give me for mailing manuscript packages is Priority Mail. The cost is only slightly higher and it's much more convenient for me to mail that way than to stand in long lines at the PO.

A simple solution would be to mail your submissions on Monday using Priority Mail (even though Miss Snark is right, you don't need to spend the extra money). Then you can rest assured that your manuscript will be delivered by Wednesday or Thursday, avoiding Saturday delivery altogether and saving you from worry.

Posted this on an entry below, but here it is again on a more current post:

Do you think FedEx Ground is the kiss of death?

A writer with several published books under her belt recommended I send my most recent requested full this way, rather than in a manuscript box via USPS, because my manuscript is small and then I get delivery confirmation.

But I just now realized one has to SIGN for FedEx Ground (I know... duh!)! I am a nitwit! I thought FedEx Ground was like Priority Mail--just a scan/track sort of thing.

Is this an automatic no? I saw that the administrative assistant signed for the full, so maybe I'm in the clear?

I didn't think Miss Snark recommended that.

By postal regs, ordinary mail turns into priority after a certain weight, so you might as well use the flat rate box if you're sending a full manuscript. The delivery con is nice, but unneccessary. The P.O. delivers.

But I just now realized one has to SIGN for FedEx Ground (I know... duh!)! I am a nitwit! I thought FedEx Ground was like Priority Mail--just a scan/track sort of thing.

You can get around this must-sign-for thing easily. On every FedEx airbill No. 8: Sign to Authorize Delivery Without a Signature.

This gives Fedex and out if something happens, but I have used this for years with no dire results.

Maybe it's just my general anti-government feeling, but I don't trust the POffice with Christmas cards, let alone my manuscripts.
Everything I have done in the last ten years of publishing goes FedEx. And always at the beginning of the week so you have time to recover if something goes wrong.

I've lost manuscripts to computer crashes but never to FedEx. It's more money but I sleep better.

A postal worker told me that priority goes no faster than first class - they go at the same speed. And yes, everything turns into "priority" over a certain weight.

Jen Leskin MD said...
"BTW, can someone recommend what I should do now? The manuscript was requested last week, it's coming back to me, I want to get it to agent ASAP. Should I use FedEx, send it email, or what?"

Just send off another copy as priority mail right now. Don't send it as an e-mail unless it was requested that way...usually it's pretty clear. Stop worrying; they will understand.

We mailed 3 checks which disappeared over a 3 month period (and lord knows how much less trackable mail went into limbo.) Never arrived, never cashed.

Once our post office spontaneously started forwarding our mail to a totally different address 2 towns down the road. By the time we caught it, we had charge card late fees and other fun stuff to deal with.

We routinely get mail addressed to houses one street over -- including mail from the DMV, bank statements, and Social Security.

We use delivery confirmation to let the mail carrier know someone's looking over their shoulder. It seems to help.

Ex-postal employee here (and my dad worked for the USPS for 30-some-odd years).

It's all a crap shoot. Priority mail is not "guaranteed" to get there any faster than first class. Sure, there's a good chance it MIGHT, but unless you've worked at a post office sectional center (I have), you don't realize how much like a chaotic factory it is. Things get literally thrown -- yes, THROWN -- into bins at an alarming rate. It's all about pushing it through as fast as humanly possible.

As for mailing full manuscripts...if you're not using a box, but a padded envelope instead (which is what I used just a couple of weeks ago to mail a full), you're not going to be able to use First Class because the cut-off weight is 13 ounces. Since there's no way that most full manuscripts are going to weigh less than that, you're either going to end up paying for Priority, or going with Third Class/Media. I chose Third Class, because the Priority rate was ridiculous.

And yes, sometimes Media mail can actually arrive as fast as the others. It's all a big marketing scam, really.

The moral? Don't waste money on postage. Package it well and pay the lowest amount possible.

Priority Mail has never let me down. I like the confirmation bar code as well, since I love to see when the package was delivered.

Kathy, it sounds like you live in P.O. hell. I recommend getting a post office box and having everything sent there. It's worth the peace of mind not trusting your carrier (sounds like carrier issues).
I love my P.O., and I love my P.O. workers. They are wonderful, and I've had things take longer than they should, but most things get there on time.
I'm old enough to remember as a child delivery (in Manhattan, no less) twice a day, morning and afternoon. And mail delivery on the Sunday before Christmas.

The same thing happened to me. I was reassured that delivery confirmation would not need to be signed for but when the postal worker attempted to deliver on Saturday, they left a notice for the recipient to pick it up. I called USPS to explain that the recipient wouldn't call, that the recipient wouldn't pick it up, that the recipient didn't really care and that even though I was assured it would be left w/o signature, it wasn't and that I didn't get what I paid for. The post office said it was at the discretion of the mailman whether to leave it or not and that there was nothing I could do now.

Lesson learned - I either skip the delivery confirmation or I send at the beginning of week when it will get there before Saturday.

If you have a 13 ounce package, you can mail it for $3.15 or pay $.90 more and use priority. Anything more than 13 ounces is automatically priority, and for anything less the difference in price is greater. Going very long distance, priority may be faster than first class, but if you're on the east coast either way it will take a day or two.

The author who insured her package wasted money. There is no value to your mss beyond the value of paper and ink. If lost, they will not just pay the amount insured if the package wasn't really worth it.

My take: First class (or priority if weight requires) + delivery confirmation. Yes it's not perfect but neither is UPS or FedEx.

I recommend you folks who have the ability to write a book should obsess about your work and send it any damn way that gets it there. I may know how to ship stuff but I'm envious as heck.

I completely don't get this. Why would you insure ten dollars worth of paper? If it doesn't get there, print it out and ship again.

Time is money. I insured my package for $100 because:

1) It takes quite a bit of time for me to print a complete manscript, cover letter and bio, package it and stand in line at the post office to have it sent. If I pay to have it delivered and it's not, I feel I should be reimbursed for the time I wasted. Not necessarily for the paper and ink.

2) In my experience, the PO handles and cares for insured packages much better than for those not insured. I've had very valuable uninsured items left unattended at my doorstep for hours or even days. If it's not insured, they don't care who gets it. I made the mistake one time of sending a big box of Christmas presents uninsured. Guess what? It never got there, and I had no recourse.

3) It was a full manuscript, not unsolicited. If, by chance, the agent has to go to the PO and pick it up, at least it was something s/he was expecting.

I would never send a query/sample pages, or even a partial, by any other way than regular mail.

A full? I think it warrants a little more respect than that. My book does, anyway.

As the wife of a former post-office truck subcontractor, just be glad if it gets there at all.

You'd want to hand deliver EVERYTHING if you really knew what goes on behind those walls, and on the road. It's a miracle that most of it gets where it's supposed to go...

Kathy -

I am totally with you. In fact, we probably live on the same street. The priority mail/delivery confirmation is the only way I send *anything* important...and I mail things almost daily for my job. I realize that depending on where you live this is a waste of money, but my post office is a disaster, as is my mail carrier.

"A full? I think it warrants a little more respect than that. My book does, anyway."

Usually only Miss Snark's comments make me laugh so hard I snort.