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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Slushy Visits Publish Planet

Since it is summer, I'll compare the process of going through the slush pile to a scene in one of those blockbuster doomsday movies where the world is about to be destroyed. My movie may or may not have any similarities to a movie you have seen. Maybe if you think about it this way, rejections might not sting as much.

The Movie: Doomsday on Publish Planet
In my movie, the aliens (always good to have a generic bad guy) have pushed a huge meteor out of its orbit. The meteor is now crashing down on you, and Publish Planet. (Oh NO!) There's not enough time to push the meteor off course, drill holes in it to make smaller pieces, or fight the aliens so that they die too. The only option is to send ships full of people to find another planet to live on. Not everyone on Publish Planet will be able to go.

You have been chosen to go on one of the ships (lucky you!), and you can bring one person or animal with you (Yay!). Your friends, family, and pets line up for you to choose. (NO, you can not give your ticket to someone else. You have to choose someone to take with you.)

Here's the tricky part. There are only 30 minutes before the ships leave. Not only do you have to pick who you are taking and make the 10 minute drive to the ship, but you also have to pack (one suitcase and one carryon only per person or pet). Oh, and one more thing ...

You have to tell the friends, family, and pets you didn't pick that they will not be going. You might also want to tell them why, but you don't have to. And, you need to send a letter to everyone else being left behind on Publish Planet saying that you are sorry that they can't go. You can send form letters if you want to.

Who would you pick? Would you send form letters to everyone? Did you send any personal notes saying why you didn't pick that person?

Publish Planet Movie Credits:
You = the editor
Aliens = publishing company and/or industry sales figures and trends
Meteor = publishing budget
Publish Planet = the children's book market
New Planet to Live On = the children's book market + new ways to sell books
Friends, Family and Pets = things you want to publish
Everyone on else Publish Planet = things you don't want to, or can't publish

Disclaimer: Obviously this is a huge exaggeration of what happens when an editor sits down to read through submissions.

In order for an agent to represent an author or illustrator, or for a publisher to publish a book, they have to fall in love with the work. Or at least like it and think that it will sell like hotcakes so that they can pursue work they love that is not as commercial. If they don't want to spend time, money, and effort on a project, then it's probably better for the author or illustrator that they get a rejection. It may not seem fair that it's all subjective, but remember different editors and agents have different tastes, which means that there's probably someone out there that will love your work. You just have to find them.

On the other side of the fence, an editor or an agent who is desperately looking for a manuscript or illustrator and can't find one is not a happy person. And what happens if they end up finding lots of people they wish they could represent or publish? That would be great, right? Not necessarily. You can't take everyone on the ship, even if you want to.