Comments on: Breaking News: Publishers Announce ‘Slushpile Moratorium’

By: Marc

Marc — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:28:39 +0000

http://sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com/ is no more.

By: Sean Lindsay

Sean Lindsay — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:12:11 +0000

Kathy, you’re thinking of the other John Stamos, his brother. Union regulations on sitcoms require two actors for every character, and it’s easier to hire identical twins, preferably with the same name. The Olsen twins are the most famous, of course, but both Bob Sagets have also had successful entertainment careers.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Sat, 10 May 2008 22:14:24 +0000

John Stamos, former Full House actor and now acquisitions editor for Jane’s Information Group, publisher of Jane’s Infantry Weapons.

According to the Internet Movie Database, John Stamos is currently working as a regular on the television series, ER.

By: Paul Riddell

Paul Riddell — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:26:38 +0000

Oh, I understood, Amberite: it's just that I stand behind my decision. You're absolutely right in that expecting writers to read is necessary, but it also depends upon what they're reading. I speak from firsthand experience with individuals whose sole reading input consisted of Star Wars novels and really godawful fantasy, and who would threaten to get violent were you to dare suggest that they might read something with more heft. Or, to put it another way, would you necessarily trust the talent of someone who reads a lot, but who only reads the Left Behind series over and over?

By: Amberite

Amberite — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:01:20 +0000

I think Deirdre was suggesting a solution for the “gap between the number of people in the US who actually bother to read books and the number who submit books…” problem: make absolutely dead certain that the submitters are people who read books. I actually seriously like her solution. If those who don’t read books could be dissuaded from writing them, the crap would be halved at the very least — a conservative estimate, IMO.

By: Paul Riddell

Paul Riddell — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:38:09 +0000

Sorry, Deirdre. My sister was very good at that sort of logic for multiple sclerosis Read-A-Thons, and she’d always get great numbers initially for her reading lists. What she left out what that either she’d already read those books a long time ago, or they were comic compilations. The $100 fee makes more sense, especially since the money can be spent on books for reading purposes or to get through the slushpile. After a while, all but the most deluded are going to figure that they’re getting a better deal by buying books written by others than they would have by continuing to pitch “Bert the Carnivorous Pony”.

By: Deirdre Mundy

Deirdre Mundy — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:02:44 +0000

ooooh. That last cooment HURTS.

What if you were just required to submit proofs of purchase for five books with every one slush submission?

Sure, it still works out to a 100.00 submission fee, but at least it wouldn’t discriminate against folks who are broke because they read too much!

By: Paul Riddell

Paul Riddell — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:12:37 +0000

You know, in all seriousness, considering the huge gap between the number of people in the US who actually bother to read books and the number who submit books and assume that anyone other than their grandparents will pay for a copy, I suggest a quick solution. Just as with rickety slum apartment building managers who charge an “application fee” from everyone who tries to move into a fifth-floor walkup with no water or heat and an outhouse out in the back, why don’t publishers just charge a $100 slushpile fee per manuscript? This way, the slushpile empties like lightning, the really deluded borrow money from their parents to submit to multiple publishers, and the publishers have the money to afford the workforce necessary to deal with the remaining mess. Oh, and if any of the precious little snowflakes who complain about the policy really believe in their manuscripts, they can always have them printed through PublishAmerica, thereby guaranteeing that they’ll get exactly as many sales as they would through a real publisher.

By: bookfraud

bookfraud — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:29:54 +0000

joe writer-guy in poughkeepsie here. you should be able to get your entries published in book form, if only they hadn’t closed the slush pile.

after all, if there’s a book about “what white people like” coming out, they’ll publish anything.

and i’m a numbskull with a blog, eh? but please, please, don’t ever compare me to doris lessing.

yes, keep writing this blog. you make me laugh and cry both.

By: Truett Black

Truett Black — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:22:46 +0000

This piece produced some major guffaws in my office.

Please don’t ever stop writing. You put out some of the funniest stuff on the web.