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I am searching for information on how to submit/send a manuscript to a Publishing House(s).
I have written a whimsical,magical Childrens Picture Book. I love the book and I think the query letter is ready to go!
I have the 2010 Writers Market Guide, and I can find who does and who does not accept what and when! I cant find how to physically mail the manuscript to those publishers that specify:Send query and manuscript.
I need some very basic info e.g. Should the manuscript be loose? Does it go in a folder, or an envelope, or an envelope inside another envelope? Where should the writers name be written on the manuscript? Are there specific rules somewhere? Is this a secret club?
I think writing the book was the easy part! What do I need to do to accommodate editors?
I need an on-line class called: "Get Me To The Post Office with the Correct Folders, Envelopes and Stamps!"
I dont even like asking you to respond to such elementary questions. Is there a book called Envelopes and Manuscripts For Dummies?

First: Calm down.

Second: Remember that youre sending business correspondence. Look at the publishers submission guidelines, and obey them. Past that, make what you send us simple, straightforward, easy to read, and no-frills. Interact with publishers like a fellow professional, and you wont go wrong.

The reason there seem to be a lot of "rules" out there is that we get correspondence from a hell of a lot of people who think theyre sending their manuscript:

a. To people who should be flattered and grateful for the 9,574th piece of slush to arrive in the office this year (rather than feeling a much more likely ambivalence). No, they didnt send us an SASE or read our submission guidelines, but we should still be willing to spend $18 to put their oversize original art in the mail back to them. And if not we should be willing to listen to lengthy tirades in which they threaten us with legal action.

b. To the fairies. Which is why its printed in Curlz, bound in ribbons, and shipped with a pound of loose glitter in the box.

c. To their 5th grade teacher, who was SO IMPRESSED when they turned in their report with their own "illustrations", and bound in a plastic folder. We will be impressed by plain paper, and no illustrations. There is no A for effort in publishing--what youre selling us is the writing, and any attempt to distract from that is very, very transparent.

d. To a class of kindergartners. Which is why the cover letter launches into a gooey exploration of the kinds of dreams unicorns probably have, rather than telling us directly what the manuscript is about and why you think wed want it.

e. To god knows who. I havent the faintest idea who people think is on the other end of submissions that include stuffed animals, baked goods, clothing, dental molds, intimate photos of themselves, q-tips, five kinds of rice, or a bunch of pressed insects.

Third: Now go to the post office.

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