Slush Piles: Difference between revisions
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The term "slush pile" is commonly used within the publishing industry and refers to the submissions that a literary agent or publishing house has received, but not yet gotten the chance to review for publication. Historically, writers would put paper copies of their work in envelopes and send them directly to agents and publishers who would then put these works in a pile to possibly be reviewed at a later date. While postal submissions are not as common in modern times, publishing houses and literary agents still have digital slush piles where they keep all of the unsolicited manuscripts they've been sent. Oftentimes, they receive submissions through emails or through platforms like Submittable. | The term "slush pile" is commonly used within the publishing industry and refers to the submissions that a literary agent or publishing house has received, but not yet gotten the chance to review for publication. Historically, writers would put paper copies of their work in envelopes and send them directly to agents and publishers who would then put these works in a pile to possibly be reviewed at a later date. While postal submissions are not as common in modern times, publishing houses and literary agents still have digital slush piles where they keep all of the unsolicited manuscripts they've been sent. Oftentimes, they receive submissions through emails or through platforms like Submittable. | ||
Slush piles are not necessarily positive or negative, and the success of the writers whose work ends up in slush piles all depends on the organization of the publishers, editors, and literary agents. Some publishing houses go through slush piles quite frequently (either on a weekly or even daily basis), and keep their slush piles in good shape. However, other companies may only go through slush piles monthly, quarterly, and sometimes even annually, which causes some submissions to "fall through the cracks". <ref>Brewer, Robert Lee. “What Is the Slush Pile?” ''Writer’s Digest'', 23 Mar. 2021, www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/what-is-the-slush-pile.</ref> | |||
== Submittable == | |||
[[File:Screen Shot 2025-11-08 at 2.15.12 PM.png|thumb|Submittable's Logo as it appears on the platform's website <ref>“Submittable: The Social Impact Platform.” ''Submittable'', www.submittable.com/.</ref>]] | |||
Submittable is a digital platform where writers can submit their work to contests, magazines, publishing houses, etc. The platform benefits writers by allowing them to discover a plethora of opportunities fitting the genres and formats of their work, saving writers a lot of time that they otherwise would have spent researching places to submit their work. Submittable allows its users to target their searches and monitor the progress of their submissions. Not only is Submittable incredibly beneficial for writers, it's also useful to publishers, editors, and literary agents trying to keep their slush piles under control. <ref>“Submittable for Writers: How to Easily Submit Writing to Magazines, Publishers, and Contests.” ''Author Learning Center'', 2018, www.authorlearningcenter.com/writing/managing-your-writing-life/w/writing-apps-websites/6807/submittable-for-writers. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.</ref> | |||
== Notes == | |||
[[Category:Glossary]] | [[Category:Glossary]] | ||
Latest revision as of 11:19, 8 November 2025
The term "slush pile" is commonly used within the publishing industry and refers to the submissions that a literary agent or publishing house has received, but not yet gotten the chance to review for publication. Historically, writers would put paper copies of their work in envelopes and send them directly to agents and publishers who would then put these works in a pile to possibly be reviewed at a later date. While postal submissions are not as common in modern times, publishing houses and literary agents still have digital slush piles where they keep all of the unsolicited manuscripts they've been sent. Oftentimes, they receive submissions through emails or through platforms like Submittable.
Slush piles are not necessarily positive or negative, and the success of the writers whose work ends up in slush piles all depends on the organization of the publishers, editors, and literary agents. Some publishing houses go through slush piles quite frequently (either on a weekly or even daily basis), and keep their slush piles in good shape. However, other companies may only go through slush piles monthly, quarterly, and sometimes even annually, which causes some submissions to "fall through the cracks". [1]
Submittable
Submittable is a digital platform where writers can submit their work to contests, magazines, publishing houses, etc. The platform benefits writers by allowing them to discover a plethora of opportunities fitting the genres and formats of their work, saving writers a lot of time that they otherwise would have spent researching places to submit their work. Submittable allows its users to target their searches and monitor the progress of their submissions. Not only is Submittable incredibly beneficial for writers, it's also useful to publishers, editors, and literary agents trying to keep their slush piles under control. [3]
Notes
- ↑ Brewer, Robert Lee. “What Is the Slush Pile?” Writer’s Digest, 23 Mar. 2021, www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/what-is-the-slush-pile.
- ↑ “Submittable: The Social Impact Platform.” Submittable, www.submittable.com/.
- ↑ “Submittable for Writers: How to Easily Submit Writing to Magazines, Publishers, and Contests.” Author Learning Center, 2018, www.authorlearningcenter.com/writing/managing-your-writing-life/w/writing-apps-websites/6807/submittable-for-writers. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
