Sometimes cons will schedule a panel called Live Action Slush. Three publishing professionals listen to the emcee read anonymously submitted first pages. Each pro raises their hand when they would have stopped reading, and once all three hands are up, the reading stops and the pros explain what made them stop reading. Sometimes only two pros raise their hands. Occasionally no one raises a hand at all. It’s a useful opportunity for writers to get a glimpse into the slush editor’s mind.
Sometimes we’d hear later that a writer resented our comments, feeling that we were propping up the age-old gatekeeping philosophy of big publishing by rejecting a manuscript on the first page. If we had only kept going, they’d insist, we’d have realized how great their story really was. And they may be right – maybe the story gets good in Chapter 6. The problem is that average readers give up on a story within a page or two all the time. An editor’s job isn’t just to correct the spelling, but to find stories that catch a reader’s attention and keep it. There’s no point in having a bang-up ending if the reader is bored by page 3.
I blame the rise of easy self-publication for the increase in people not wanting to believe anything more established pros might have to say. It can feel, sometimes, like you’re being shut out of an exclusive club. Especially since you’ve self-published 4 books on Amazon already and have a few dozen reviews. It must mean your work deserves to be lauded, and no editor should have a thing to say about it. Publishers are in the business to make money, and they know what readers look for. Every book can manage to score a few fans, but it takes skill and perseverance to write one that’ll sell a million copies.
Is it fun to hear people critique your work out loud? I’m not a fan of it, no. We’d ask if the writers wanted to reveal themselves, and often we’d hear only crickets. Fair enough. But instead of complaining to other writers about the fairness of it, try to remember this – you’re not unveiling a magical truth upon the world. You’re selling a product. You want it to be the kind of product people enjoy and tell others about.
I’ll be teaching a class on this very thing at SAGA in Charlotte NC. You can still register at the site. I’d love to see you there! https://sagaconference.com/