When I wrote a column on freelancing, I sometimes received questions as a result of what I had written. After I discussed submissions to editors I received an e-mail from a reader which read in part, ‘One thing that I don’t believe that you covered was the question of rejection. Specifically, do you enclose an SAE (stamped, addressed envelope) for the return of your material, do you “write it off” if not accepted or do you assume that it will be accepted!’.
I replied, ‘I do include an sae with all speculative submissions (I wish I could assume acceptance!) so that I may possibly hear what has happened to the submission. Sadly, not all editors use the sae and I am left wondering about my material but that is just one of the hazards of freelancing. Now that I send material out on a CD, I’m not as concerned as I used to be when my submissions were transparencies but I still like to keep my records as straight as possible and I can only hope for a reply if I include the sae.’
Keeping records straight is an important part of freelancing as we do not want to submit identical or similar pictures to competing magazines at the same time. So, what do I do if I do not hear from an editor about a submission?
I suppose I could contact them and ask whether they had made a decision but I reckon that if they haven’t bothered to use the sae or send an e-mail then they probably won’t reply to my query. I generally give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are holding on to the CD for possible future use so I refrain from sending similar pictures to competing markets at least for a few months. However, if nothing has been heard after a reasonable time, say three months, and I need to send to their competitors, I take the gamble and do so. After all, I am not offering exclusive rights for editorial use and for calendar and greeting card use my images are marked, ‘rights to be agreed’.
David Bigwood is an Australian based writer and photographer who sells his words and pictures regularly. He was a columnist for F2 Freelance + Digital magazine for three years. His website is http://www.bigwoodpublishing.com where you will find some of his published articles.
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