Slush reader adventures!
Howdy! This newsletter includes: a discussion of the life of a slush reader (me), hexarchate art, a FAQ (foxily asked questions), and a catten pic.
If there's a topic you'd like to hear about (writing, games/game design, art, and music composition are always fair game), please email deuceofgearsart@gmail.com. :3
Belated Happy New Year!
Someone asked me about what it's like to be a slush reader, so I'll discuss that! I've previously slushed for Apex and am currently a slush reader for Escape Pod. While I can't, of course, discuss specific stories, I can talk generally about how that works.
For Escape Pod, my job is to read stories out of the slush pile (preferably starting with the oldest ones) and rate them 1 (no), 2 (maybe), or 3 (yes). I also leave a note explaining my rating. The upper editors vastly prefer a straight-up 1 or 3 because a 2 doesn't help make a decision; I'm under the impression that 2 ratings are more of a thing for the upper editors when they're conferring on final decisions.
It's important to realize that my notes are internal and for the eyes of (mostly) the upper editors, NOT for the benefit of the writer. I am not performing a critique. I'm not obliged to read the story in full, especially if a 1 (no) rating is obvious from the very first page or other reason.
In my notes, I generally attempt to give a brief summary of the story/vibes (one or two lines), strengths, weaknesses or caveats. For rejections, this gives the upper editors notes on which they can base a brief optional line of feedback (e.g. "We enjoyed the ideas in this story, but felt that it had too much mass murder"); for possible acceptances, this gives them an initial evaluation.
Common reasons I might rate a story 1:
It's a perfectly good story (sometimes a brilliant story) but it doesn't suit this zine. In particular, Escape Pod is a podcast sf zine with a hopepunk vibe. Horror, grimdark, downer endings are a very tough sell. Literary/contemplative pieces with less overt plot are also likely to get bounced.
It's egregiously over the wordcount limit. In fact, the policy is not to even read it, just verify the egregiously-over part. (Or under, but I haven't run into that yet!)
It's perfectly functional story, but rehashes a trope without bringing in something new - some intriguing twist, a compelling character angle, an updated sensibility or aesthetic, etc. In particular, if I can name a half-dozen stories from 1990 and earlier off the top of my head that basically do the same thing, it's a likely no.
The story fails to be science fiction or speculative in any way.
The usual roster of reasons a short story needs work or deviates from the preferred conventions of commercial science fiction: the protagonist has no agency or doesn't earn their ending, the setting is underdeveloped, the story is a vignette with no real plot. You can absolutely write valid narratives with no-agency protagonists (a protagonist's lack of agency or failure to grow can be a compelling if downer narrative) or based on vignettes (Alan Lightman's EINSTEIN'S DREAMS is one of my favorite books!), for example, but they're not suitable for this specific market, so I evaluate accordingly.
One of the big things here is that I have to separate my personal tastes (GRIMDARK! GENOCIDE! IN! SPACE!) from what the zine is looking for! There are certain types of stories that I personally find obnoxious but which fit the zine's ambit.
Slush readers can also nope out of specific stories - normally you "claim" a story to evaluate in the system, but you can "unclaim," possibly leaving a note for the next reader. This might be because it hits a trigger for you, but it could also be "wow, I find XYZ literary technique annoying, I'm unclaiming so another slush reader can give it a fair evaluation." Or it could be "this story makes a lot of references to XYZ culture/topic that I can't figure out, do we have anyone on staff who can tackle this?", whether that's because it's hard sf whose plot hinges on molecular biology and I don't know molecular biology, or discussing Buddhist theology, or what.
That said, finding a gem in the slush, and being able to rate something a 3, is the best feeling ever. I love discovering gems in the slush.
The other thing I like about being a slush reader is that it's surprisingly chill! I'm asked to maintain a reading rate of 7-10 stories/week (totted up monthly, since people are typically reading around other obligations), although that can flex up or down depending on how many submissions we're getting at a given point in time.
The thing is, though, "all" I have to do is rate the stories. I am NOT responsible for writing rejection/hold/acceptance emails, I am NOT responsible for making a final decision, I am NOT responsible for figuring out scheduling accepted stories or balancing content ("Hmm, we've accepted six stories about friendly octopus alien video gamers in the past week, maybe we need some variety?" - that's a made-up example, I hope). I just read and rate. :) It's very zen.
Last year I was angsting over how little fiction-reading I did and then I realized...wait a second. I'm reading slush. I'm reading a significant number of short stories! I just can't discuss them.
Random hexarchate art may have occurred:
Not obvious from the pics: these are front/back of the same square of paper because I am a troll. :D
FAQ (Foxily Asked Questions)
What are you working on?
Still awaiting edits on Moonstorm #2, so I'm hard at work on CODE AND CODEX (linguistics sci fantasy). I'm about 2/3 through the rough draft.
What's one thing you're reading right now?
I'm loving Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson's mordant/hilarious graphic novel PARASOCIAL, which Alex generously sent me a copy of! Handsome washed-up sci-fi actor vs. unhinged fan; the back cover copy promises "psychosexual thriller" and I am here for this! This opens with a bang (...not literal...yet...?) and keeps going. :D
What are you listening to lately?
Omniscore's Crimson Saga [Bandcamp], which is "cinematic Viking music." Great for writing to!
What's a game you're playing lately?
Thanks to my generous in-laws, I got a Steam Deck for Christmas. I'm not surprised that Nebulous: Fleet Command won't run on it, although I tried! Instead, my husband introduced me to Shogun Showdown (I am informed this is VERY different from Samurai Showdown) and I'm enjoying it a lot. The retro pixel art is beautiful, and the tile-based attack queues and fights have a ~chess-like feel despite being based on linear movement; enemies and your own attacks seem to be pretty deterministic so there's a satisfying puzzle feeling to the tactics.
Who's an artist you're enjoying lately?
I recently picked up a used copy of Ryan Woodward's Gesture Drawings and Sketchbook from Life. I love gestures, and this is a masterclass. The mastery of form and gesture in the ten-second gestures alone is awe-inspiring. :D
I have a foxy question you haven't answered here!
Sure, please email deuceofgearsart@gmail.com and I'll get back to you!
And the obligatory catten pic:
