Slush Slush Slush

[raefinlay]

When I sent "First Waltz" to Neo-Opsis, their email response indicated it was submission #1053.

Wow.

I mean, they're small press and probably not at the top of most writers' submission lists (which is too bad; they're a lovely mag), yet they're getting around 2 submissions per day. ASIM is up to 4100. Message boards indicate the pro mags get several hundred submissions per month.

So I've been wondering, as magazine editors/slush readers, how do you do it? How do you keep from becoming jaded? How do you look at each submission with brand new eyes and let it stand on its own merit? I can barely keep up with my OWW crits, and sometimes, making it through a submission feels like chewing on sand. And it's not that the OWW stories are all bad. I'm just jaded. I've read sooo much...

In short, thinking about all this has given me a new respect for slush readers. As a wannabe writer, it's easy to think of them as The Enemy. But they're not. They're just normal people who read Way Too Many Words. Getting a story past them is doing them a favor. Perhaps it's like that rare and wonderful moment when I do a happy dance because the story I read on OWW grabbed me and wouldn't let go. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does... *sigh*... what a relief!

Comments

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

How do you look at each submission with brand new eyes and let it stand on its own merit? I can barely keep up with my OWW crits, and sometimes, making it through a submission feels like chewing on sand.

I think a key point here, in some instances, is time and money. The editors have atleast 40 hours a week to look through submissions, as opposed to the few hours of free time you have (Preemptive clarification: I realize a good number of editors at smaller mags also have other days jobs. They're not included in this statement). Also, they don't have the guilt-riddled requirement to finish a bad sub. If they don't like the lead, they can toss it aside. And I really doubt they feel *too* guilty about it, since they see so many.

So yeah, they probably do become jaded, and yet feel that wonderful rush you described when they find a printable jewel.

I guess I don't feel like they need sympathy for going through their slushpiles -- it is their job, afterall. I do feel sympathy for them, though, when it comes to dealing with oversensitive wannabes or feel like the editor has a personal vandetta against them when they reject a story. There's just no need for that.

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

From what I've seen on message boards, it's very rare for slush reading to be a full time job. With circulation in decline, not many mags can afford it. The slush reader at Realms for example, only tackles slush a few times a month. It seems like a lot of mags rely on volunteers to read slush. In other words, it's a labor of lurve.

But yeah, if I had the luxury of tossing aside a piece I'd never publish, it would make things a LOT easier. :-)

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

In other words, it's a labor of lurve

I just got a mental image of gooey little creatures reading teh stories... but that would be a labor of larvae.

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. *feels Kevin's forehead* Yep, you were right about the fever.

[janeorben.livejournal.com]

My dad's friend Virgil reads an average of two books a day. Whenever my parents invite Virgil over for dinner, sometime after dinner he'll manage to pull a book off their shelves, find a cozy corner, and read the whole thing in less than an hour. The first thing the guy notices in a room is reading material, which he is mostly likely to pick up and poke through no matter what it is.

Some people are just obsessed with reading.

As for how they deal with reading a lot of bad stuff - I imagine they simply stop reading when it gets unbearable and automatically reject that story.