Slushpile Memories: How NOT to Get Rejected

by Kevin Anderson

Turn those rejections into acceptances—and contracts.

“Dear Author, Your story does not meet our needs at this time...”

You know your story is good, but still it was rejected. Over and over again.

What are you doing wrong?

Are the odds against you?

How can an author climb to the top of a pile of competing manuscripts and actually catch an editor’s attention?

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published August 26, 2021

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Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, simply, a book that any author wanting to send submissions to publishers, to magazines, to anthologies, and to other markets, should read. And perhaps more than once.

It's perfectly short and to the point and not padded with extra BS. And yes, some of the points are made repeatedly, in various ways, in order to illustrate JUST HOW IMPORTANT those things are.

Highly recommended! A most invaluable resource that offers incredibly powerful insight.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars but I'm going to round it up to 3 because I think it'll help at least some folks.

Two things to know about this book before you pick it up: it's about short fiction slushpiles (not novels or works not being submitted to an anthology or fiction magazine). It is also incomplete.

The book really could be cut down to about ten pages without losing any of the information. The book is repetitive. It knows this. It tells you this. I am going to be honest, I find it hard to enjoy any work where one of the ongoing themes is "we're going to beat a dead horse - but we'll tell you about it so you'll think it's humorous!" Sure, here and there it works, but it gets old quickly, in part because the people who need this repetitive information are not listening. The advice in question is to read the submission guidelines and format/submit accordingly - if you need to be told this ten times, you aren't going to get it no matter how many times you read it. I have worked with the public for years. Pedantically harping on a topic that those who are actually listening already know? It gets old.

The book is also incomplete. For one thing, other than referring to the need for a bio exactly once, it doesn't tell you what a bio is. This seems like a pretty straight forward thing to share with slushpile sufferers, seeing as you have to submit one with every story you send in. It's also a basic, simple collection of sentences that is still weirdly hard to wrap your head around, so it seems like a foolish thing to leave out. The book refers to a standard manuscript format while failing to tell you there is literally a website and a name for the format most places recommend and refer you to. It's referred to as the Shunn Manuscript format and a quick Google search pulls it right up. This is a much better route than just Googling "Stand Manuscript Format" as the book tells you. The book also tells you to put your address on your title page so they can mail a check to you. First of all, they'll contact you if they're going to send a check and you can tell them then. Second of all, the book's pub date is 2021. Who is still mailing checks? Every magazine I've submitted to has point-blank asked you to not include your address. They don't want this info. In a world where doxxing is a major risk, no one should be giving their address out to faceless strangers on the other end of a submission form unless they are telling you what responsible steps they are taking to protect this information. Yes, the Shunn Manuscript Format includes the address. No, it's not necessarily right and you should review guidelines before submitting.

This book reads as a way to humorously vent about his experiences receiving bad submissions. These writers don't follow formats or submission guidelines or edit their works. How frustrating! But the type of folks who are going to read up on successfully submitting to a slushpile? They're already educating themselves and should know or can quickly learn this very basic information that is somehow stretched out into five times the pages necessary. I admittedly bought a bundle for this book specifically because I thought it might offer some more in-depth help. Nope.

So, if you are just starting with submitting short fiction, this book will offer some useful tidbits but as I said above, it's incomplete and you should keep looking beyond its pages.

[Peter Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough and an easy read

Anderson's decision to use real-world examples, many of which border on the ridiculous, makes this book a page-turner.

As an aspiring author, I've had my fair share of cringe-worthy mistakes. You fear that when you're reading advice from a pro that you'll simply beat yourself up for most of the experience.

Anderson's decision to use humor blunts that. On the contrary, some of the things he shares with us, the reader, make me appreciate all the mistakes I didn't make.

Though I do leave this book more concerned for the state of mental health in our society. That's not Anderson's fault, he's just the messenger.

Don't understand what I'm referring to? Then pick up your copy and find out.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of many writing books I read over three months. A bit basic, but perhaps not for you!

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid advice from the other side of the desk

If you’re an author, especially a new author, and you want to get published and paid, read this book. It won’t take long, and you’ll learn a lot.

If you think this advice doesn’t apply to you, it does. Read it again.

If you think you’re too clever for this advice, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Read it again.

Following the advice in this book will immediately put your manuscript in the top 10% of all submissions. The rest is up to you.

[Kaye Lynne Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Slush Pile Memories: How Not to Get Rejected, by New York Times Bestselling author, Kevin J. Anderson helped to prepare me for the onslaught that is already flooding the submissions box, because it offered me a better idea of what lay ahead. But, this book was written for authors, to give them an idea of what editors are looking for and improve the chances that your submission will read and accepted. It is a brief book, which doesn’t take long to read and the lessons contained within could prove invaluable. As I have begun working my own way through this year’s slush pile, I’ve already learned that the experiences contained within Slush Pile Memories: How Not to Get Rejected is spot on.

Of course there’s never any guarantees of acceptance, but there are ways to increase the odds. Kevin J. Anderson relates his own experiences from the last two anthologies the graduate publishing program at Western put together. (Yes, he is really my professor. How cool is that?) If you are thinking of submitting a story to Mirror, Mirror or any other anthology, Slush Pile Memories: How Not to Get Rejected is a must read.