Well, here we go again. Once in a while, lengthy articles on the state of publishing pop up in the most reputable of magazines. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for it and the articles are great – well researched and thought provoking and much needed. The only thing is – they are kind of repetitive and, well old. What they are saying is nothing new, at least not to us, the team at Slush Pile reader, or for that matter to you, the Slush Pile Reader’s authors and readers. If it were, you wouldn’t be here, would you?

The latest article is wordy, but worth a read. It dwells a bit too much on e-books and the wonder of the iPad (What do you all think of that one?! Is it the second coming or just another fabulous marketing ploy by Jobs et al?) but it touches upon quite a few very relevant topics. The best quote I believe is the one by Tim O’Reilly, of O’Reilly Media who believes that the publisher’s model is fundamentally flawed: “Publishers never built the infrastructure to respond to customers.”. In other words, the old school publishers have forgotten one simple little thing – asking the customers what they want to read. In extension, no matter how obsolete some want to make out brick and mortar book stores to be, without them publishers wouldn’t have a clue on how to sell or to whom, since that is the only market data they have to go on. Basically publishers do no market research, have no data on their customers, and basically publish books based on nothing more than feeling and instinct, kind of like putting your finger up to the wind to see where it blows from.

The opposite of what Slush Pile Reader is all about…

Here’s the deal – everyone complains about the low margins and the decreasing profitability of publishing. Publishers do not like Amazon’s pricing and they get their knickers in a twist over it, claiming they absolutely need e-pricing to be higher since they are already losing money. How on earth can they loose money on a 9.99 e-book is beyond me? If people can make money on a snickers bar, they can make money on a virtual product that has already been vetted and produced in the off line world. E-books is just another outlet – it doesn’t entail greater costs. The reality is – it is not pricing that is flawed but costs. It is possible to lower costs (fancy offices, meetings, oodles of staff…) and make the profits higher for everyone, including the author, without whom there would be no publishing industry after all (which many publishers seem to forget and often they act as if they are indeed granting authors a favor simply by gracing them with a second of their time). By selecting books based on facts, not on gut feeling or the picking of manuscripts based on who knows who and who is the best cookie pusher – but on, gasp, literary merit and what the readers actually want to read, more books would be sold; costs cut, profits increased and everyone would be merrier for it. N’est pas?

Change is slow, especially when it comes to an existing giant of an industry that has been run the same way basically since Gutenberg came along. Ignoring the way it has always been done, and sticking to ones guns is vital. Remember change seldom, if ever, comes from within an industry. E-book readers were not invented by the giants dominating publishing. With authors and readers like all of you here at Slush Pile Reader change will come from the customers themselves and finally books will be published based on merit and demand, not arbitrary reasons such as luck, nepotism and some more luck.

What is Writers’ Tag?

Writers’ Tag is a game played here at Slush Pile Reader in which individual writers collaborate to write a first draft manuscript. There are no preconceived characters or plot – they are developed as the story progresses – and there are no rules (and apparently no moral or ethical values beyond the policies of this site) to limit the scope of the story. You start by just starting. After that, each writer adds his/her entries to the story until we have a completed manuscript. That’s it. It sounds simple and it is simple – at least in theory.

The origin of Writers’ Tag lies rooted in a game known as Artists’ Tag. Predicated on the hypothetical that “Anyone who draws a dozen thumbnail sketches per day for six months will develop the skill-set required to be a professional artist”, in 1972 a handful of Fine Art majors at Key West Community College (of which I was one) began playing a game wherein we would start with a blank sheet of paper and a token object that was fairly easy to draw, say a cube or a star. The point of the game was to move the object around the page using various means. For example: Artist No.1 might draw a cannon and shoot the object to the upper corner of the page. Artist No. 2 might fly the object back across the page in a jet, where Artist No. 3 might parachute it back to the bottom of the page. It’s possible a spider could pick up the object from there and… you get the idea. The game would progress thusly until the page was full. There are no winners or losers – though some would argue there are only winners.

Everybody likes to watch artists create something where before there was nothing. It is an incredibly powerful learning experience to observe a master apply his/her trade – be they a musician showing you a new chord change or a painter with a more effective brush stroke. The same thing applies to writing. Every time one puts pen to paper it should be a learning experience for both reader and writer alike – and it should be fun. Enter: Slush Pile Reader.

After attempts to gain a foothold for Writers’ Tag at other sites – the results of which have ranged from so-so (owing to technical incompatibilities) to dismal failure (owing to administrative disinterest bordering on dissuasion) we found Slush Pile Reader. Here we’ve found a kindred spirit. The SPR Administration has been nothing but supportive of our efforts (Pascal and Johanna have actually joined in the writing) and it would take a better wordsmith than I to express our true gratitude and appreciation of their efforts — but I can tell you what’s happening now.

The two biggest challenges we’ve had are: 1.) Writers being tagged who simply don’t have the time, at that moment, to add their bit – or worse, have time to add to the story but no time to adequately absorb what’s already been written – and 2.) More than one writer writing at the same time, thereby tripping over each other.

These problems have been effectively overcome by what Daniel (The head tech dude here at Slush Pile Reader) et al have been coding for us. As of now there will be a Writers’ List to which writers may sign up to be part of a particular Tag. They’ve also added an electronic Token. Akin to the conch shell of Lord Of The Flies fame, whoever possesses the Token is responsible for adding the next entry. Those on the Writers’ List are eligible to grab the Token (thereby reserving the next entry) when they feel they have something to add to the story. So now, writers on the list for a particular Tag may grab the Token by simply clicking on it (when it’s available) then start writing. Writers’ Tag has also been given its own Heading and dedicated space on the Forum. A “Tag Master” will be assigned to each Writers’ Tag when it is started (this will also allow multiple concurrent games). The Tag Master will have Moderator’s edit capability in order to edit and update any post on their assigned Writers’ Tag thread. There are more enhancements in the planning stages too.

Why Writers’ Tag?

1. Writers’ Tag taps the creativity in each of us. You never know what scenario you’ll be faced with. To say it’s a challenge is to understate the fact. You’ll be amazed how much a single round will sharpen your writing skills – as you write your way out of the pan and into the fire. :^)

2. Writers’ Tag generates additional interest in the site. Lots of people check in just to see what’s happening with the latest Tag. You just never know what might happen next. Nobody knows – it’s not like you can Google it. As was recently observed: typically when you read a book, the rest has already been written. That’s not the case with Writers’ Tag. Not to mention, folks just naturally love serials.

3. Writers’ Tag is a vehicle for showcasing your writing style and skills. In short, if folks like your Writers’ Tag entries then there’s a good chance they’ll check out your MS. By the way, that would seem a fairly strong argument for putting some real thought into your Tags.

4. Most of all, Writers’ Tag is Fun! As the MS grows so too does the synergy of the writing group. I feel very close to the excellent writers with whom I’ve had the privilege of writing. I’ve learned a lot too and have recently had a go at things I never would have attempted in the past (I’d never written a “love scene” in my life until a couple weeks ago). So, it’s much more than just fun.

The actual nuts and bolts of the process are detailed under the Writers’ Tag Forum heading. Do yourself a favor and come check it out.

Eugene Saint

We are happy to unveil a number of new features to the Slush Pile Reader site! We have been working behind the scenes to improve the site and to construct new features that you, our esteemed members, have asked for. We are so glad that we have been able to realize these new additions to the site and we hope that you like them and that they live up to your expectations! We certainly think so…

The first new improvements concerns the ease of manuscript consumption and we have added the following to the manuscript pages:

• Line numbering for easier commenting.
• Full screen mode – makes it easier to read a manuscript.
• Formatting options for reading in full screen – also for ease and comfort of reading.
• The ability to bookmark not only a certain manuscript but also a specific place in that manuscript so you will always know where you left off.

For all you authors we have added the following to the management of your manuscript:

• Statistics about your readers – who reads your manuscript? Now you will know!
• The ability to insert a chapter mid stream or rearrange the order of existing chapters.
• Disabling of easy copy/paste – following the discussion and subsequent popular vote in the forum.
• The automatic save of work that is being submitted – once you begin submitting, your submission will be saved even if something goes awry, like an energy outage or a computer crash…
• Manuscript badges – badges to help promote your manuscript outside of Slush Pile Reader. Select the badge you wish to use, copy the code and place it on your site, blog or in a forum post and let people know that your manuscript is available for reading and voting on Slush Pile Reader. They can simply click on the badge, and voila, they are transported directly to your manuscript. The manuscript badges come in two varieties: Linked Image can be used in emails, on websites and blogs and BBCode can be used in forum posts.

To check out these new manuscript management features go to ‘my profile’ and then to ‘ manuscripts’.

We have also added the following features:

• Personal badges – for members without manuscripts or members with manuscript with age classifications: If your manuscript is classified with age restrictions, then anyone following your badge will have to be registered before they can read your manuscript. In this case we suggest you use the ‘personal badges’ that direct people to a registration page with a personal recommendation from you instead. When you have posted a badge you can log out from Slush Pile Reader and click on the badge yourself to test what other will see. Personal badges are found under the manuscript tab and under ‘Invite friends‘.
• Personalized top lists – Follow the Slush Pile Reader top lists on your personal site or blog. You can generate code to paste a top list with settings that suits your need (colors, genre, sorting, etc.) and post on your site or blog. The top list always displays the current Slush Pile Reader ranking according to your settings. For instance you can make a top list of the five latest romance novels that have been posted on Slush Pile Reader or the ten highest ranked science fiction manuscripts or top three unfinished short story collections – what ever suits your needs.
• Survey – we have added a survey feature to help us understand who likes what and why. If we know more about who likes which manuscript we will be able to better market selected books and get better results – benefiting the author by helping us know more about the reader. Once again, we will never, ever use any information gathered for any other purpose than explicitly stated on the site and we never spam our members!
• A comments tab – under ‘ my profile’ we have added tab that will let you keep track of all your comments. We have also added the ability to subscribe to manuscript comments.
• ‘Share’ or ‘AddThis’ button – we have added an ‘AddThis’ button for ease of inviting friends to Slush Pile Reader in general  or directly to a certain manuscript on the site. You will find it in the top right hand corner of every page. This button is for sharing the page you are currently on with your friends and connections via e-mail and/or almost any social network there is. Just click what means you want to use sharing the page and follow the instructions.
• Karma points in manuscript comments – you can now collect good Karma through commenting on manuscripts as well as through your forum posts. Collect Karma, dose out Karma to your fellow Slushers and who knows, it might come back and reward you one of these days….

And finally we have improved on various minor design features and tried to fix some bugs that have, indeed been bugging you all. We have tested and retested everything before launching, but as always, code is code and sometimes it seems to have a life of its own. We test everything in different browsers on different computers and in numerous environments but sometimes mistakes occur and weird things happen as a result. So please, let us know any problems you encounter and we will fix them! We hope you will enjoy the new improvements and we appreciate all your comments and suggestions – please keep them coming. There is always room for improvement….

P.S. As for the badges, please tell us what sizes you want and if you have suggestions on how you want them to look. The badges that are available now are only examples. Do you have a design of your own you think we should add? Let us know.

We are proud to present Slush Pile Reader’s first guest blogger Karen Bessey Pease, also know on Slush Pile Reader as Kazza or Kaz. Karen is the author of Grumble Bluff and instigator as well as co-author of the second Writers’ tag I‘ve Got Nothing. Karen is a welcome and much appreciated part of the Slush Pile Reader community and we are more than thrilled that she wanted to be our first guest blogger. Thank you Karen!

I was led, kicking and screaming, to Slush Pile Reader by my pal Jack, an exceptional writer who has been beaten up by the publishing industry, but who has never given up hope; never stopped believing in himself. I hated the idea of joining the site, because I’ve survived such an experience before; survived it, but just barely. The scars are still fading.

But if Jack wanted me to give it a try, I was game. He’s never led me astray yet, and besides, I wanted the chance for a little healthy competition with him. He thinks he’s smarter than I am, you see… and I wanted just one more chance to prove him wrong. Surely, forty-seven would be my lucky number!

My biggest concern was that SPR would be another site where ethics seemed to be the exception, rather than the norm. I’d watched from the sidelines on the other authors’ website; watched as the premise upon which the site had been created was corrupted by those authors who were so covetous of the exalted spot on the Editor’s Desk that they stopped playing by the unspoken rules and began to create their own.

Most common among the misuses of the site’s ranking system was the ‘swap-read’. An author would back another’s manuscript in exchange for the return favor. Sometimes they would give the first chapter or two a cursory read, and leave a short comment a sentence or two in length—but that was it. No book can be fairly judged by its first chapter, and no short and succinct comment can possibly aid an author in improving his or her craft. Nonetheless, manuscripts began rising rapidly through the ranks; often, without merit. When authors swapped favors by backing each other’s books, some very well-written and spell-binding manuscripts written by authors who would not ‘play the game’ were left behind. I do not believe that is what the website’s creators were hoping for. I believe they were honestly looking for le crème de la crème and not simply those novels whose authors were adept at manipulating the ranking system.

So I arrived at Slush Pile Reader full of skepticism and mistrust. I was ready to be disappointed in human nature, once again. I craved integrity in my fellow authors. I wanted to believe that these writers shared the same values, and that they honestly wouldn’t want to rise to the #1 spot unless the readers on the site honestly and truly found their story to be a cut above the rest. After all, if we didn’t want that affirmation, why wouldn’t we have simply self-published our manuscripts?

It took me less than a day to realize that SPR was not that ‘other’ site. That it was populated by honest and ethical and talented authors and caring creators and staff. I was given a poke by Saint, who asked if I would like to join him in a game of Writers’ Tag! (He’d already struck out when asking me to play Spin the Bottle, and I admired his bravery at returning to me, hat in hand.) So I climbed aboard Train of Thought and I met KJ and Alexie. Johanna and Pascal and later, Rod. Each fun-loving, fair, generous and kind. The walls began to come down, and the ice began to melt around my heart. Slush Pile Reader felt like home.

There were some worries among the authors here when there seemed to be a sudden, mass migration to SPR of authors from the ‘other’ site. Otherwise serene writers became tense. They began to feel suspicious; they began to feel concern for their treasured creations which they’d believed were safe in SPR’s care. Our manuscripts are our babies, you see. Some of them have been incubated and tended and nurtured for far longer than nine months. They are pieces of our soul which we bravely put on display for total strangers to reflect on and dissect. It takes great courage to allow another to have control over the products of our love and labor, and when we suddenly distrust what manner of care they might receive, our first inclination is to snatch them back from the babysitter and hustle them home. Some of the writers here on SPR wanted to do exactly that.

But I have faith that all will be well. That SPR will not disappoint, and that the members will make this a site like none other; a leader in its class. Perhaps it will even have a class all its own! I’ve spent a bit of time here, watching from the sidelines. I’ve found owners who are friendly, honest and just. Authors who are gifted and kind and funny. A moderator who is a combination of wise old man and mischievous little boy—irresistible, really. And I think newcomers will see the same thing I do. I think they will realize that Slush Pile Readers is not a site that caters to misbehavior or manipulation, but rather, it is a site that is dedicated to finding the diamonds in the rough. The people who work behind and in front of the scenes­–the owners, the designers, the technical crew and the moderator– are all in this for the same reason: to see that the best we have to offer is given a shot at greatness… a shot we might not have had if it wasn’t for their vision and hard work. I’m convinced; we’re in good hands.

So sit back, grab a book and relax. Enjoy the ride and watch as Slush Pile Reader makes its mark on the literary world. We can’t all be the authors of the chosen few, but we can help make history.

And we can have a website we are proud to be members of; where we can play fairly, where we can help our fellow writers, and where we can learn from them at the same time. This is our chance to be in on the ground floor of an awesome innovation. Let’s help SPR maintain the standards they aspire to.

/Karen Bessey Pease

So here’s the deal, the low down if you will: Once you write a text you have full immediate copyright to that text – you own the rights to that material. That is all there is to it really. You do not need to file any claims, pay a lawyer to claim copy right for you or pay any fees to anyone or any government body. You do not even need to use the little copyright symbol, ©, even though most people do, and it is customary to do so. You write it – you own it. That is the bottom line.

However, I understand that many writers worry none the less. A writer spends months, years, sometimes decades on perfecting a manuscript. Of course he or she is going to have concerns. Posting a manuscript on any site, or for that matter sending it off to an agent or a publisher, or deciding to self publish is not something to be taken lightly. Of course a writer wants to feel secure that the manuscript will be safe. Legalities aside, there is still the feeling of insecurity. Is my text, or in the case of Slush Pile Reader, is my manuscript safe? Can someone copy it and pass it off as their own? Can someone sell it? If they try to, what rights do I have?

Well, basically, the reality is that if you post something, anything, on the Internet anyone can theoretically copy it and do what they want with it. But, and this is a big but, why would they?

History and research has shown that it does not happen. (Of course it can happen, anything is possible.) but is is not a common occurrence. It is not a threat to publishing and it is not something that the publishing industry worries about. Manuscripts and other texts simply do not get stolen. One obvious reason is that anyone who did steal a text and try to sell it would have to prove that they wrote it. And since the date that the real writer first posted it is logged and available and can be used as proof, not only on this site, but on most sites, there is basically no way an impostor can say that he wrote it. The real writer can always pull out a log and say ‘Hey I posted this on Slush Pile Reader in January 2010. What proof do you have of an earlier posting? And the answer is of course – none.

Another reason is the reality of publishing as KJ Kron so astutely pointed out in the forum – it is virtually impossible to get published these days. If you as the legitimate author can not get your manuscript published, despite it being a great manuscript and despite all your efforts, what makes you think a thief would fare any better?

Lets get back to the legalities just to make sure we have it down correctly: There is no legal need to register copyright. Period. However, many chose to do so anyways. Should any concerns ever arise or a copyright violation occur, despite all evidence to the contrary , a writer can always take the extra precaution of registering copyright (check with your local government – they will tell you how to go about it in your country). Registering copyright also gives a writer lesser chance of being limited in the damages if any infringements were to occur. When a manuscript is about to be published it is customary to register copyright – and it is often up to the author to do so. Copyright is strongly regulated by International law – the Berne convention – and by laws in (almost) all countries. In the US there is the U.S. Copyright Office through which you can register copyright and also read more on copyright.

There has been some discussion in the forum regarding the possibility to copy and paste text from manuscripts. Some members were worried that this would be misused. Even though, as shown above, there is no need to worry, we will disable the copy and paste function. This also disables the ‘right click function’ for those of you who use that, but popular vote always wins…

Finally, a couple of people have expressed concern that posting a manuscript in its entirety here will make people read the manuscript on line and not buy the book if and when it is published. Well, some people probably will read the manuscript on line and not buy the book. But if the manuscript is really that great, as that person will tell his friends about it who will in turn tell their friends and the manuscript will receive votes and it will be published. Once it is published it will no longer be available through the site. So new readers will have to buy the book, in whatever format they choose. Et voila, all is good that ends good!

And another thing for that matter – when remarkably best selling author Paulo Coelho made a number of his books available on-line for free it actually increased sales of his books. It turned out that people read free stuff on line and if they really love it they want to own it. It turns out the free on-line books works as marketing. So having your manuscript, or book, displaying your work on line can only increase interest in it. If it works for Coelho, it can’t be all bad, can it?

I guess you know the story by now, of how the Harry Potter series became the bestselling children’s books of all times? How J.K. Rowling finally got an agent and how that agent shopped her manuscript around to publisher after publisher, but with no luck. They all turned it down until finally, one beautiful day, an editor happened to bring the manuscript home where his eight year old daughter just happened to read it, and viola, the manuscript was published. Not because of the skill of any editors – they ALL turned it down, but because of the wants of a reader, a consumer, a book buyer and voracious little reader. Ultimately the best selling children’s book series of all times was discovered not by the established publishing houses and by any of their ‘taste judges’, but by an ordinary reader, just like you and me.

The examples of great literature that has been turned away from the publishing houses are too many to list. The enormous struggle to get published, not just in the present age, but historically too, is outlandish, especially when one considers the greatness of many, many authors who were ultimately after years of trying eventually picked up and published. Thank God they didn’t give up. But the question remains – why is it so difficult and why are so many talented authors turned away? Does it not make you wonder what else is turned down and not discovered in the end? Many authors tried their best, over and over again, and finally gave up. Like John Kennedy Toole with his sublime Confederacy of Dunces (he gave up, but his mother did not and finally managed to have his work accepted). Others take matters into their own hands and start out by self publishing, like John Grisham, who practically invented the lawyer/crime genre.

If you are interested in an amusing, but ultimately quite sad read, pick up a copy of ‘Rotten Reviews and Rejections’ where the following cute tidbits can be found:

“It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA”

Excerpt from rejection letter for: Animal Farm by George Orwell

“The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the “curiosity” level.”

Excerpt from rejection letter for: The Diary of Anne Frank

“It does not seem to us that you have been wholly successful in working out an admittedly promising idea.”

Excerpt from rejection letter for Lord of the Flies by William Golding

“It would be in extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish it.”

Excerpt from rejection letter for: The torrents of spring by Ernest Hemingway

“…only mildly interesting…it contributes nothing new to either language or form.”

Excerpt from rejection letter for: The World according to Garp by John Irving

The question is thus – what does it take to get published? Do you have to have extreme talent? No, it doesn’t seem so. When not even established literary greats seem to be able to get published today, then what hope is there for novices? A few years back V.S. Naipul’s manuscript to “In a Free State” and “a Holiday” by Stanley Middleton, were sent to 20 publishers and agents. All but one rejected both manuscripts and even worse, none of the professional publishers recognized the manuscripts for what they were, namely the works of an author who is considered one of Britain’s greatest living writers and that of a Booker prize winning author.

When Doris Lessing submitted one of her manuscripts to her very own publisher, but under a pseudonym, she too was rejected. And when Jane Austen’s manuscripts were submitted under a false name, with key names and titles changed, not only did 18 editors reject them but only one recognized her work. Come on people, how can you work in publishing, with English as the major language, and probably as most editors be an English lit major, and not recognize that famous first sentence; “It is a truth universally acknowledged….”?

So really what is going on here? Are editors not only grossly uneducated as to English literature but also incapable of realizing when they do have good literature in their hands? Or is that they are overworked and underpaid (are they really?), or is it that that the Slush Pile is too high and that they have to read far too many manuscripts?

Well, my answer can hardly come as a surprise. I simply believe that editors are not representative of the readers. Editors and publishing houses do not posses special talent and greater taste than the rest of us. What one editor likes or dislikes is not always, if ever, relevant to the majority of readers. I believe in my core that readers do not need editors to tell them what to read. I believe readers can discover that for themselves and, of course, Slush Pile Reader is the way to go about it….

Sources:
All rejection quotes are from “Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections: A History of Insult, A Solace to Writers” (Literary Companion Series)
Jane Austen fan submits her work anonymously to publishers… and receives a dozen rejections
Publishers toss Booker winners into the reject pile

A bunch of famous authors including Lionel Shriver, Philip Pullman and Roddy Doyle were asked to pick their favorite books of the decade in a recent British survey. In Holland, a similar survey was carried out and the results were quite similar, even though the Dutch survey included more non English books.

I found the lists quite interesting – so this is what these best selling authors themselves like out of all the wonderful books out there. Many choices are quite predictable and stuffy, whereas others surprised me pleasantly by their lack of pretensions. Of course someone had to throw Parmuk’s Snow in there. It is so called deep and commonly accepted as cultural, and of course he is a Nobel laureate (and honestly compared to some recent laureates he is very readable… Muller, Jelinek, Oe…I rest my case).

Others on the list though, I do not get, such as Mc Carthy’s the Road, I am sorry, I know its the hottest thing out there but I simply do not see the greatness. Frankly I think it is damn unoriginal and uninspiring. I actually think it resembles the movie ‘28 days‘, and that second rate movie was far more scary and had a more interesting narrative. The Road, of course, has all the bits and pieces; serious elements of doom, personal tragedy yet still hope, but in comparison to other future dystopia, it is pale. Think Atwood’s Oryx and Crake , Orwell, Nevil Shute’s On The Beach, all which I found far superior. Mostly when reading the Road I felt I had read and or seen it a million times prior.

Another choice I do not get is Platform, Michel Houellebecq’s, 2000 bestseller. I know French writer Houellebecq is huge in Europe and that the French love him (they would, wouldn’t they now…) but seriously, I haven’t read anything this kinky since, well I don’t know… never… and it is not a good kinky, just pretty nasty and soiled. Then again, maybe that’s what people like about his books? Houellebecq makes someone like Henry Miller seem like he fits right in at Sunday school. (They both wrote from Paris and they both explored, whatchamacallit, sex, from a ‘novel’ perspective, hence the comparison)

Of course British sensation (I was about to write teen sensation but not any more, so) Zadie Smith was on the list with both On Beauty and White Teeth. I actually liked White Teeth very much and I also enjoyed On Beauty, but On Beauty also seemed old, like it has been done before. Writers like David Lodge and Robertson Davies have both done the academic, scholarly thing before and better at that. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jonathan Franzen’s Corrections on the list. That is one book that I adored. I did try a couple of his other books hoping they would stack up, but unfortunately I never had the same Franzen experience with them

Ok, so this is what the so called pros thought, and of course my thoughts on what the pros thought. What do you think? Help me out, let’s compile Slush Pile Reader’s very own books of the decade. Give me your thoughts and well have a very unscientific poll, compiled and controlled by me. I will start out: of all the books from 2000 to 2010 my favorite is…. Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld. No wait, it is Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, or perhaps the Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion…or of course, the Kiterunner by Khaled Hosseini…

Here at Slush Pile Reader, we love books, we love to read, and we think that when it comes to finding great novels, traditional publishing isn’t doing its job. We know that there are tons of great writers out there with unbelievably good manuscripts, but these manuscripts have no way of reaching an audience because traditional publishers, it seems, are no longer reading through the slush pile. They are no longer looking outside of their community of already established authors to find great books.

We believe that Slush Pile Reader is the perfect way to create another type of community, a place in which readers and writers, rather than marketing and publishing executives, decide which books get published.

A couple times a week, we at Slush Pile Reader The Blog will be sharing highlights from Slush Pile Reader manuscripts and looking through the Internet for links you’ll love. We’ll also be giving you our thoughts on issues facing readers, editors, writers and publishers today and bringing in exciting guest bloggers to give you their views.

But this blog is not about us. This blog will be about and for the people of the Slush Pile Reader community. If you have have a link you’d like to share, send it to  blog editor at blog@slushpilereader.com. If you have some thoughts on something we’ve posted, tell us about them. You can start by leaving some comments on the this blog in the comment section below.

Take a second to sign up with us and poke around. Invite your friends. Become a part of the community that is changing the face of publishing.