Just Call Me Slushy
Note: the opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher I worked for. But I learned a lot going through the slush pile, and I wanted to share. More articles to come soon!

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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Side of Slush

The Good - Discovery
At the Illustrator's Conference in 2006, I heard Edward Necarsulmer, an Agent at McIntosh & Otis, call the slush pile the "discovery pile." This is a wonderful way to look at it. It helps authors and illustrators to feel like someone is waiting to discover their story or illustrations, and it helps those of us going through the slush pile to remember that there might be a gem hidden in the huge mountain of manuscripts and art samples.

If you get lucky enough to find a story that you love, and that your boss loves (and depending on the publisher, the acquisitions committee too), it is the most amazing feeling. And then, if you actually get to publish the book, it's even better. You can say "I found that book."

You're probably wondering how to get your book or illustrations discovered out of the slush pile. And you've probably heard statements about voice and good writing, and the editor or agent "just knowing" when they read it. But as an author and illustrator, I know that those things aren't really helpful, so I'm going to try to give you a few ideas to help you be discovered out of the slush pile.

* Step One - Passion. Write or illustrate something that you are passionate about. Passion for a subject, character or time period really shows through in the writing. Then put it aside, send it to your critique group, or start revising right away - whatever method you have for polishing your work. Note: critiques can be a very valuable part of this process, and sometimes you will need many critiques and revisions to make your work shine.

* Step Two - Patience and Research. Don't send your work out right away. Let it sit, and when you take it out again, think about what type of story it is: boy meets girl, moving/new school, losing a friend, a new baby, a favorite toy, etc. Then go to the bookstore and/or library and find current books on those subjects and see how they handle it. For illustrators, find picture books or cover art, etc. with subjects or styles similar to yours. Note: reading is almost as important as writing, and looking at other art is valuable to illustrators too.

* Step Three - Unique. Think about how you can make your story or art different than the books you studied. If a publisher has ten stories about moving to a new neighborhood in the slush pile, the one that's unusual will stand out more than the other nine stories about the same thing. And for art samples, the one that illustrates a character or subject in a new way will capture their attention, and just might get your sample taped up on the wall. Note: start to notice which publishers might be right for your work. Do the books they publish have a similar tone or look?

*Step Four - Finalize. Get people to critique your work, or at the very least, to proof-read the final copy. I saw many manuscripts and art samples that were not ready to be submitted to publishers because they needed more revising, or weren't age or subject appropriate. I also saw several novels with blank pages, lines running through the printing, or other printer made mistakes that were in the middle of the manuscript, so the author didn't see them. Make sure all your pages look the way they should before you send them out. Note: research to make sure that the publishers publish what you want to send them. Remember to follow the submission guidelines, and for writers, always include an SASE.

* Step Five - Seasoned Pros. Some of you are probably saying, "I've heard all that before, and I still get form rejections." OR "I'm already published, I know all this stuff." For you, I would suggest focusing on step one and step three. To me, unique stories that the writer was passionate about jumped out from the slush pile. It didn't always mean that we could publish the story (I wish we could publish everything we liked) but it was more likely to get a personal letter or revision request. And for the artists, a unique character, or style of art that the illustrator is obviously passionate about is something that grabs you, even at first glance. Note: I saw many subs from published writers that broke obvious manuscript formatting and submissions guidelines.

The Bad - Help!
As an author / illustrator, I know what it's like to desperately want to get your book published. However, having seen the other side of things, I now realize that the slush pile is a huge, neverending thing. What you are competing against is time. The time it takes to go through (and send back) inappropriate, poorly targeted, and not yet ready submissions. There is only so much time, and books that are already contracted are higher on the priority list than submissions. Even a picture book takes time to read. You want to be able to give each submission serious consideration, which is hard to do if you have just finished reading a ton of other books in the pile. Sometimes you need to take breaks from the slush to regain your objectivity.So, even though it's hard, try to be patient with waiting for responses ... and send out simultaneous submissions when you are able to.

The Ugly - Trends
I have seen things that make me wonder how publishers can continue to accept unsolicited submissions, like no SASEs in a high percentage of subs, poorly targeted submissions, and people who write, "I know you don't publish this kind of thing, but ..." In the future, there may be changes in how the children's publishing industry works, or stricter submission guidelines - with automatic rejections for not following the rules. The number of closed houses and publishers who don't send responses unless they are interested keeps growing. Maybe we can stop these trends if, as authors and illustrators, we submit professional packages that are well written, illustrated, targeted, and have the SASE included. At least I hope that will help.