MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - With this attitude, is it any wonder new authors don't trust the system?

neilmarr · 08-01-2010, 04:33 AM

When a slush pile exists, some blame must be taken by authors and agents. Remember that a slush pile is composed of unsolicited and univited work.

Imagine the stink if every amateur gardener in France decided he'd like to sell through a major spermarket chain to become a famous brand name producer and, without asking first, dumped his produce in the car park for inspection. Even worse if the chain happens to retail home DIY materials and has no interest in tomatoes and lettuce.

The trick is to avoid having your work added to the pile in the first place, either by making personal contact with an editorial member who actually says, 'Yep, I'd like to see more' or by working through a trusted agent who's known for his own rigorous filtering system and offers only target-specific, well prepared work.

The synopsis and two-chapter sumbissions system works in that ALL full manuscripts are read because those mss are specifically requested by an editor on the strength of the synop and partial.

Mine is a pretty small indie with only three professional, full-time editors. But proportinately, we receive as many subs as the editorial teams at any of the Bix Six. And, using this system and each putting aside an entire day each week to read submissions, in ten years we have NEVER had a slush pile.

To say that a slushpile is full of mediocrity is daft, by the way. How does anyone know that for sure as long as a single submission remains unread?

Cheers. Neil

PS: I must apologise for some missing letters in words of one or two of my recent posts 'exenses', for instance, instead of 'expenses' and above I had 'autors' rather than 'authors'. I'm working just now on a table out on my terrace and with a wee netbook whose keyboard has been hammered to death over its single year of existence. I'm afraid I'm heavy-handed on keyboards because I was brought up on old sit-up-and-beg typewriters and using carbon paper to produce up to five copies of each page. Just can't get out of the habit. On a PC, it doesn't really matter because I can replace the keyboard every six months or so for a few bucks. On a laptop or netbook, I'm a disaster -- Lord High Keboard Executioner, me. N

08-01-2010, 04:33 AM	#29
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,215 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	When a slush pile exists, some blame must be taken by authors and agents. Remember that a slush pile is composed of unsolicited and univited work. Imagine the stink if every amateur gardener in France decided he'd like to sell through a major spermarket chain to become a famous brand name producer and, without asking first, dumped his produce in the car park for inspection. Even worse if the chain happens to retail home DIY materials and has no interest in tomatoes and lettuce. The trick is to avoid having your work added to the pile in the first place, either by making personal contact with an editorial member who actually says, 'Yep, I'd like to see more' or by working through a trusted agent who's known for his own rigorous filtering system and offers only target-specific, well prepared work. The synopsis and two-chapter sumbissions system works in that ALL full manuscripts are read because those mss are specifically requested by an editor on the strength of the synop and partial. Mine is a pretty small indie with only three professional, full-time editors. But proportinately, we receive as many subs as the editorial teams at any of the Bix Six. And, using this system and each putting aside an entire day each week to read submissions, in ten years we have NEVER had a slush pile. To say that a slushpile is full of mediocrity is daft, by the way. How does anyone know that for sure as long as a single submission remains unread? Cheers. Neil PS: I must apologise for some missing letters in words of one or two of my recent posts 'exenses', for instance, instead of 'expenses' and above I had 'autors' rather than 'authors'. I'm working just now on a table out on my terrace and with a wee netbook whose keyboard has been hammered to death over its single year of existence. I'm afraid I'm heavy-handed on keyboards because I was brought up on old sit-up-and-beg typewriters and using carbon paper to produce up to five copies of each page. Just can't get out of the habit. On a PC, it doesn't really matter because I can replace the keyboard every six months or so for a few bucks. On a laptop or netbook, I'm a disaster -- Lord High Keboard Executioner, me. N Last edited by neilmarr; 08-01-2010 at 05:39 AM. Reason: wonky-keyboard-generated typos.