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Originally Posted by nekokami
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The Baen open slushpile model is a pretty good one. Offering a "finder's fee" for recommending a book that really does make it through publication and becomes popular might help to make it more worthwhile for people to wade through the slush. Increasing someone's boosting power based on the earnings of books they recommended would be a good way to help keep the random cronyism in check. E.g. as a new reviewer, I only get 10 points a week, and it takes 100 points to get a book out of the slushpile and into the inbox of a professional editor (whatever that might mean in this system-- probably someone who will get a more substantial share of the earnings, though not as much as the author). I can't spend more than 10 boost points on a single MS. But if a book that I recommended makes it through the editing process and starts to sell, I get more boost points per week, based on that-- and I can apply those points to the next MS I think is worth an editor's attention. Perhaps with enough of a boost ranking, I get an invite to become an editor myself, with a share in the profits of successful books. (It might depend on whether I have any talent in the midwifery of books-- not everyone who can pick a good MS is good at working with authors to help them polish their work.)
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Neko:
Baen's model isn't quite an open slushpile. The volunteer fan readers are all people who have been selected by someone at Baen. Originally, they were chosen by Jim Baen as being people who were "not buttheads" in his opinion from his experience reading their posts at Baen's bar. I'm not sure how they're chosen now, as I haven't been around there much since I really dove into dissertation-writing last fall.
On the "finder's fee" and "points-per-week" front: When Jim was alive he told his volunteer slush readers that we each had one (and
only one) judgement call token. We could use that judgement call by direct email to him. As in "Jim: That book over there is so great that I'm putting my judgement call token on the line to get you to look at it." The idea was that he'd have a look. If you were wrong, no more token for you. If the book was either an immediate buy or really really close, you got your token back.
To the best of my knowledge only one reader ever used their token. Jim bought the book (or so rumor has it). I never encountered something in the slush pile that was so wonderful that I was willing to risk mine.
Now that Jim is dead, I rather suspect that the judgement call token is gone too. Although a volunteer reader could probably get the official professional slush-pile reader to move a book way up on her reading list.
I think that I should mention that in the slush-pile reading that I did, the average submission was really REALLY bad. Thankfully only a few descended to the level of making me want to pluck my eyes out with a spork.
About 5% were good enough that I suggested that a pro editor might want to have a look -- but even most of those I expected to wind up as "give this guy some tips and encouragement so that his
next submission might be good enough to buy." I'd be surprised if they actually achieved a 1% purchase rate based on the quality of the submissions that I saw.
Xenophon
P.S. I have the dubious honor to be the wise-ass who originally suggested turning selected fans loose on the slush pile.
I thought I was joking about being desperate for more to read.
Jim Baen saw an opportunity and made it happen. I guess that's why he was a successful editor and entrepreneur, and I'm not.