Standing Out in the Slush Pool

By D.L. Winchester.

I've read a lot of submissions since we launched Undertaker Books.

As our short fiction editor, I'm responsible for our anthologies. I'm thrilled to say submission volume has exceeded our expectations, with almost two hundred submissions to our three calls.

Like I said, I've read a lot of submissions.

With that in mind, I'd like to offer the following advice, editor-to-writer and writer-to-writer, on how to make your submission stand out in the slush pool.

1. Follow Instructions
Yes, most of the instructions are designed to make my life easier. I will gladly and freely admit that.

The stuff I want you to put in the subject line? That's to help me find what I'm looking for in my inbox.

Please use Shunn Format? It's easy on my aging eyes.

Having you attach your story as a .docx file? I want to be sure I can open and edit your story.

So why should you make my life easier?

Because I AM THE EDITOR AND YOU SHOULD FEAR MY WRATH!

Yeah... Maybe that isn't a good reason. But oddly enough, it's true. The harder time I have dealing with your submission, the better your story has to be for me to take it. I'm more likely to take an imperfect story from an author who followed instructions than a good story that was a pain in the butt to access because directions weren't followed. Your willingness to follow a few reasonable requests suggests you will be a pleasure to work with, thus increasing my interest in working with you.

I don't expect perfection, Lord knows I've made submissions and gone back to realize: "Oh crap, they wanted .rtf, not .docx." But your submission is your chance to make a good first impression with me, the editor. Following instructions as closely as you can goes a long way to accomplishing that.

2. Put a Cover Letter in the Body of your E-Mail.
Again, your submission is your chance to make a first impression with the editor. Since you can't reach through the computer and shake my hand, include a cover letter to introduce yourself and your work.

It doesn't need to be a novel (Please don't make it a novel), just two or three basic paragraphs.

A future post will dive deeper into cover letters, but here's a format I'm fond of:

Salutation

Introduce your piece

A short biography

Appropriate platitudes

Farewell

Three paragraphs, and they shouldn't be long ones either (if your cover letter is more than 250 words, condense it). You can even make it into a template that you use again and again. (As an editor at Undertaker Books, I'm never going to know or care that you used the same biography and platitudes for me as you did for another submission.)

A cover letter is a simple step that humanizes you to me, the editor. It's your introduction, your handshake, and having one will help you stand out.

3. Polish Your Work
I am lazy. (Okay, not lazy, but a guy with a full-time job and two small children.)

I don't want to do more work than I have to.

So when I'm reading submissions, I'm looking for pieces that minimize the effort it will take to make them ready to publish.

When I'm preparing my own submissions, my goal is to eliminate the editor's "but."

I love your submission, but...

...your grammar is atrocious.

...you changed the main character's name halfway through.

...the ending is unrealistic.

...there are a lot of minor issues that should have been corrected before now.

Any of these (and a lot of other things) are enough to earn a rejection. So as you prepare your submission, look at ways to eliminate the "but."

-Ask a fellow writer to critique your story.

-Give it an extra editing/proofreading pass before you submit.

-Read your story out loud to make sure the wording sounds right.

The more you do to improve your story (and the less I have to do), the more your story will stand out against the dozens of others in the slush pool.

If there is a moral to this blog post, it is a simple one: Make it easy for the editor to say yes. That may come across as haughty, but it's a truth I've seen as both a writer and an editor. The way you approach a submission will impact your chances of getting an acceptance. Editors have a million reasons to say no. By making it easy for them to say yes, you greatly increase your chances for a positive outcome for yourself and your submission.