Failing to include an SASE or failing to instruct publishers or agents that they may dispose of the manuscript is a sign of the amateur. Worse, your manuscript is sure to be thrown into the trash . . . Because we receive so many manuscripts for Poet Lore Writer's Carousel at the Center, I tell my editors that they are not to waste their time with such manuscripts but are immediately to consign them to the flames. We might miss a Shakespeare but that is less likely than winning the lottery and we ought to attend to the professionals or those who know how to act professionally. One of your responsibilities as a writer is to get out with writers and asks questions.
Writers are no more entitled to special consideration than anyone else.
Unless you are a genius, I suppose, and then you don't need to be coddled. Because the post office can get persnickety, don't time-stamp the envelop. Enclose real stamps. Also, don't send money. It annoys the editor to have to run to the post office or look for stamps to cover the weight of your manuscript.