Oh okay. Thanks guys, now if I can only find the icon where I remove myself from under the chair that would be great. I thought I was going to get blasted for asking such a stupid question. I am still a little unfamiliar with the lingo on here lol.
Oh okay. Thanks guys, now if I can only find the icon where I remove myself from under the chair that would be great. I thought I was going to get blasted for asking such a stupid question. I am still a little unfamiliar with the lingo on here lol.
*hides with Kevin so he doesn't feel alone*
1. Unagented mss. end up in the slush or unsolicited submissions.
2. The person who reads the slush—the first reader—varies from publisher to publisher, and at any given publisher, from time to time. It may be a senior editor, an intern, an associate editor, or an experienced reader who volunteers. This is not unskilled labor. Being a first reader is taxing, and requires serious skills.
3. The person reading the unsolicited mss. rarely reads all of the ms. except in the cases of short fiction. The first reader's responsibility is, especially at larger publishers, to decide if the ms. merits being passed up the line to a senior editor.
4. Generally speaking, if the language proficiency is acceptable, and there's some indication of plot and characters, a ms. has a good chance of leaving the pile and moving up the hierarchy to someone who will read more closely.
5. The vast majority of unsolicited mss. tend to be deficient in language skills (grammar, syntax and diction are lacking, spelling is idiosyncratic) or have clear indications that the writer is unfamiliar with the concepts of plot, narrative and character.
I think this pretty much sums it up, though I think we could add to this that sometimes these "slush pile readers" have been told by the agent they work for that they are on the market for (interested in) a particular type of genre/story to add to their list. I believe that can play into what makes it beyond the slush pile. You can have a very well written story with strong voice and plot and still not get past the slush pile if, for example, you have written in a genre that the agent is not actively seeking or is one they are completely tired of because it has become saturated in the market or they already have something similar the are currently subbing to publishers.
I presume Jodi Piccoult's sister or Jodi Piccoult's friends' submissions don't end up in the slush pile. am I presuming correctly?
Very few writers look at their work and think, "this isn't good enough". Most writers only share their work with their friends, who are usually too embarrassed to say anything other than "well done!" when they read their friends' work.
I'm not entirely sure what's going on with your manuscript, but you could always ask for clarification.
we don't like their sound, and guitar music is on it's way out.
For those who didn't get the reference, that's from Decca Records' rejection of The Beatles
That's a classic example of rejection for the wrong reasons, and that kind of thing inflates the self-importance of people who were accurately rejected.
Who are these submitters who submit this horrible stuff. What are they thinking? Seriously. What are they thinking? It sounds to me they ruin it for the other submitters who may have a quality project.
WormHeart, I've edited your post.
Please don't single out examples of poor writing like that: it's unkind, and not constructive. Thanks.