Will literary agents reply to me if I send in a MS without a SAE?

Question

I obviously don't mean getting my MS back, but just a straightforward answer on it.

Answer 1

I agree with manatee, but if you give your email address and a plea for recognition of receipt in your covering letter then just maybe an office junior or temp will reply when bored. Who knows, they may even be reading through the 'slush pile' and like your masterpiece enough to mention it to someone who could do anything about it.

Answer 2

No. They probably won't.

Most agents accept email queries now; make sure you check their guidelines, which will be on their websites, or on their listing on Publisher's Marketplace, Agentquery.com, Litmatch.net or whatever list you're looking at.

Most agents ask for query plus first 5-10 pages of the ms, pasted into the bottom of the email. Don't send chapters unless they specifically ask for it, don't send a synopsis unless they specifically ask for it (some do, some don't. Again, read the guidelines.)

Don't _ever_ query an agent who doesn't have sales, real sales to real publishers, you can verify. Check out their clients; check out their websites, check their book's listings on Amazon.com & B&N.com. Do the books have reviews, and what are they? What are the sales ranks (yes, sales ranks are confusing and don't mean much, but chances are a book with one or two reviews--written by people who haven't written any other reviews--and a sales rank in the seven digits, published by a publisher whose books you've never seen in a store, is a vanity press book and the agent in question is not worth your time. Check the agent at P&E as well:

http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/

and Absolute Write's Beware & Background Check forum:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/foru...

Bottom line, once you've decided the agent is worth your time, don't give them any reason to reject you by not following their guidelines. You want them to represent you? You give them what they want. If they want the firsty fifteen pages, printed on pink paper with green ink and sparkles in the corners plus two of your eyelashes, you give it to them (I guarantee they will never want that, btw. :-) ) Showing that you read the guidelines and have enough respect for them to follow them sets you off on the right foot. It doesn't guarantee a Yes, but it prevents a No before they've even read your query.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I believe that the SAE is just if you want your MS back; they will most likely reply to you anyway, but it's a good idea to send an SAE just in case.

Answer 4

Well, most won't want you to send in your MS in the first place. The first three chapters and a synopsis are what you tend to send off in the first place.

In which case, some may reply, some may not. Many will reply to you if you put an email address instead and let them know you're not bothered about having your material returned.

Answer 5

Probably not.

Is there a very good reason why you can't put an SAE in with your MS?

The literary agent might not use your SAE, but not sending one looks like you are scrimping.

Answer 6

the majority of the time, unless you have a direct, personal contact with the agent you are querying, no. They are too busy to write out addresses to reply letters, so even if they are interested they more than likely won't spend the time to reply at all.

It is always suggested to send a SASE with all queries, partials, and full submissions

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Answer 7

They are less likely to. Stamp it, put "I look forward to hearing from you" in the covering letter, be pushy! If you don't include the envelope you're taking a ricsk that they won't reply. It's better to be safe than sorry.