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"Slush," by Mike Resnick

Mike Resnick, along with Eric Flint, is co-editor of Jim Baen’s Universe, the electronic science fiction and fantasy magazine adjunct of Baen Publishing. Mr. Resnick recently wrote an editor’s column entitled “Slush," referring to the writing industry’s somewhat derisive term for the flood of unsolicited submissions magazines and journals regularly receive for publication consideration. This essay is presented as a rebuttal to the central tenet presented within Mr. Resnick’s article regarding how such submissions are and should be viewed and handled at publications such as his own.

It might well seem the height of presumption for a literary non-entity such as me to challenge the stated views of such a literary giant as Mr. Resnick, a status he has both earned and deserves. For any reading here who might be unfamiliar with Mr. Resnick and his myriad literary works published and honors earned, here is the link to a brief Wikipedia entry regarding him:

My points of contention with the views expressed in his column are of a strictly editorial nature and are most certainly not in regard to Mr. Resnick’s views on writing. Mr. Resnick is first and foremost a writer. Mr. Resnick is a superlative writer. But it is precisely because he is such an illustrious writer that I write this attempted rebuttal to his views expressed within “Slush.”

I have this idea that established professional writers do not normally make exceptional editors. The reason is that when such a writer reads another writer’s work, then, if only on a subconscious level, he or she cannot help but think along the lines of: “If I had written this, I would have….” My response to this would be, “But you didn’t write it, any more than you sired and raised my kid, nor I yours. While your child might well excel at this, that or the other thing, and possess certain admirable traits, my kid excels at other endeavors and possesses different enviable traits. This is what makes him or her my son or daughter and not yours.” Just as Mr. Resnick’s legion of loyal fans appreciates his illustrious writer’s voice, others might appreciate that of another’s, even if much different than that of Mr. Resnick’s. Click to continue:

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