Postage Change Coming - Future-Proof Your Queries "Forever"

On May 12, the cost of first class postage in the U.S. goes from 41 cents to 42 cents. It’s hardly enough to break the bank, but it could be enough to keep you from getting a response to a query if your SASE doesn’t have the proper postage. It’s just a penny, but it has the power to really trip up your agent search. So, what’s to do about it?

First, if you’re not already sending your queries with SASEs stamped at the higher rate, you should be. The postal service doesn’t have a grace period, and though they will deliver mail that’s already in the system when the rate changes, it could be weeks or even months before your reply actually makes it into the mail. But even if you match the new postage rate, it could change again before some of your queries get replied to. So, what’s to do then?

Luckily, Uncle Sam has you covered.

Last year, the postal service released a new stamp that should prove to be a great help to writers who query by mail. Called the “forever stamp”, it is good for first class postage no matter when it is used. That means that you can pay the 41 cent rate and it will still be good at the 42 cent rate, or at any point in the future when you might choose to use it, no matter how high the cost of stamps goes. It’s a great way to future-proof your submissions, and always know that your return envelope has the proper postage to get back to you regardless of how long an agent takes to review the submission.

According to the USPS website, they’re printing over 5 billion forever stamps to keep up with demand ahead of the rate change. So, now’s the time to stock up (they’re not getting any cheaper, folks!) You’ll save money in the long run, and never have to worry about proper return postage ever again!

And who can argue with that?

Christopher Hawkins
LitMatch.net

New Feature - Updated Profile Page Layout!

We recently launched a new feature on LitMatch (not so much a new feature, really, as a new way of looking at things.) We took our literary agent and agency profile pages, turned them inside-out, and completely rebuilt them. The result is a new layout that brings key information to the forefront while organizing the rest in a simple, intuitive format.

The first thing you’ll notice when you look at the page are the icons. They’re there to tell you, in a single glance, the agent’s submission status, if they accept email queries, and if they accept postal queries. Section headers have been made more prominent. Contact information is easier to read, and genre information has been reformatted to help you find what you need quickly and easily.

Other important information; like response times, comments, and clients & projects; is arranged in a simple, tabbed format on the right side of the page. The tabs keep things organized and allow you to limit your view to only the information that’s of most interest to you. Everything from layout to colors to fonts has been given an update for a fresh, clean look in order to make your agent search as easy and painless as possible.

This upgrade represents a big step forward, and incorporates suggestions made by users and agents alike. But we’re not done yet; there are more changes and upgrades on the way! In the meantime, please keep your suggestions and ideas coming. You can email them to us at admin@litmatch.net. We’d love to hear your feedback about the new design and your thoughts on how you’d like to see us grow in the future.

Thanks to all of you for your help and support!

Christopher Hawkins
LitMatch.net