Got an unsolicited manuscript. (Our website clearly states query first.)
It’s not a genre I publish. (Website also states what we’re looking for–again, very clearly.)
No e-mail address in the query. (Ok, not everyone is connected. I’m not in the Writers Market so if the author doesn’t have Internet, I can overlook those first two errors.)
And no SASE.
Can I just say that including a SASE says to me that you’re professional and respectful?
Not including a SASE does not kill your chances with me (as it does with some others in the business), but I do wonder why it’s not there. Are you uninformed? Are you being rebellious? Do you have poor short-term memory? Or are you just cheap?
Or maybe you intended to include a SASE and were mortified to find it still on your desk the day after you mailed your submission.
Because the latter has happened to me, I will respond to your submission sans SASE in a polite and professional manner. But for those of you who may be thinking a #10 SASE is not necessary, please, think again.