It’s deadline time for Book of the Year Awards at ForeWord magazine. FedEx, UPS, and the USPS struggle up our mountainside of stairs – bump … bump … bump — with their dollies of submissions. They’re grumbling; I’m grumbling too.

It’s not that I’m doing a lot of heavy lifting, or that the submissions are inferior. It’s the packaging.

One glance at the wrapping and it’s a dead giveaway who’s the professional and who’s the amateur.

Now, I’m not a snob. I give everything a close look – it’s getting close enough to look that’s the problem.

The professionals have got it down: padded envelope with book and press release. Pull the string and it’s open. The envelope can be recycled. I figure it’s the Golden Rule at work here. The professionals no doubt receive their fair share of manuscript mail and they know what a struggle it is to cut through the tape, the bubble wrap, more tape, the cling film, more tape, Styrofoam jacket, more tape. It makes you crazy. It makes you mad. Is that the first impression you, as a publisher or a writer want to make? Of course not.

So, here’s the thing: If you’re sending books to a distributor, they need to arrive in pristine condition. Go ahead. Bubble wrap them to death.

However, if you’re sending books for review or a contest, dinged corners matter not. It’s not as bad as luggage at the airlines, but it’s not a china shop around here either. We’re not selling books, we’re reviewing.

First of all, no tape. I hate tape. Why do so many people think they’ve got to seal the seal with tape? I’ve got one package around here that is completely enclosed in tape. You could eat off it. Have I opened it? Nope.

Also, I dread anything sent in bubble wrap. I can't get the knife to go through that stuff at all, plus it clings to the book in an unreasonable manner. And then, there's the damned tape!

Speaking of which, choose an envelope that gives your book a bit of room to maneuver. If you have to shove the thing into the wrapping, then I'll have to coax it out. I want a book that leaps into my hands.

No Styrofoam padding. Styrofoam is evil.

No Styrofoam chips. They are the devil’s spawn. (I got a book a while ago from a publisher of spiritual books. The thing was suspended in endless and eternal amounts of Styrofoam chips. What a mixed message.)

Also, if you're sending a book for review or a contest, forget the press kit. Press kits are for newspapers that may be interested in writing a feature without having to do research or make a phone call. At ForeWord, we review books, and the books will speak for themselves.

Forget the bookmarks, stickers, magnets, and pens as well.

But don't forget the one page press release packaged with your book. Got to have that for our filing. (This isn’t necessary for contests, but not a bad idea anyway.)

Oh, and one more thing: No Tape.