An editor's guide to avoiding common slush pile mistakes

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First, before diving into tips and advice on helping your work stand out, I want to address the term “slush pile.” Because a lot of writers aren’t big fans of it. They say it makes them feel like editors don’t take their work seriously, so I’ll use the word “queue” for the majority of this piece. However, let me explain why we use the term “slush pile” because it’s one of the biggest lessons submitting writers need to learn.

First and foremost, your story is unique. You worked hard to get it to the point where you felt confident enough to submit it. But that’s the case for every other story in the queue, like individual, beautiful snowflakes in a white slush of narrative.

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