Submissions and Slush Pile Update #4

Twelve weeks into our 2019 reading period, things aren’t quite where I wanted them to be, but on the whole, I’m cautiously optimistic. New submissions continue to show up in an unsteady stream: we’ll see fifteen new stories one day and two the next. The weekends are particularly submissions-intensive. Thus far we’re mostly keeping up with the flow. As of this morning there are:

• 29 stories either with a first reader or waiting to be assigned to a first reader
• 19 stories waiting to be rejected (form)
• 16 stories waiting for me to write a personal rejection
• 12 stories waiting for me to send an acceptance letter
• and here's the blockage: 65 stories in the holding tank, either with a second or third reader or in the “Well, do we buy it?” bin. Of these, 53 have been here more than 30 days, and 25 have been here more than 60. 

Though now that I look more closely at the report, I see that at least 15 of those stories should be in one of the “to be rejected” bins, while another 10 or so should be in the “to be accepted” bin.

I’ll take responsibility for this. If I didn’t insist on at least skimming every story that came in here, we’d have a much faster turnaround. But then, isn’t getting me to read your story, and perhaps tender my opinion on it or offer some advice, the whole point of submitting to Stupefying Stories?

My weakness is the personal rejections. If I could just muzzle that little inner voice of mine that wants to offer critiques and suggestions when I see that a writer is getting so close to writing a great story, and if they’d just address this one problem...

No. Memo to self: I’m here to sell books, not teach creative writing. Must. Resist. Temptation. To Teach.