Comments on: Fire & Brimstone

By: Teri

Teri — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:38:34 +0000

That slush pile link was a hoot. I think I should feel guilty for enjoying it as much as I did. But then — they’re so far out there in wacko land. So, so far. I can’t imagine getting letters like that in my email box.

By: Kendra

Kendra — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:46:51 +0000

SlushPile Hell does have that guilty-pleasure feeling about it. I can remember the query I sent out for my first novel. Not SlushPile Hell bad, but *cringe*. Not surprisingly (at least in retrospect), that novel didn’t get any requests. If I were an agent, I think what I would fear most are the crazies who develop stalker tendencies. Do you keep files of and document the really weird/frightening emails just in case?

By: Kristin Laughtin

Kristin Laughtin — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:07:46 +0000

One can’t help but feel a little schadenfreude at reading generally clueless or pretentious queries, but at least Slush Pile Hell is a great lesson in what not to do.

By: stephen matlock

stephen matlock — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:58:37 +0000

Dear Kim Batchelor,

You had me at “[will make anything] Jonathan Franzen writes look like infantile prose.”

By: Ciara

Ciara — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:11:57 +0000

I love slushpilehell though I do feel a bit guilty just going on it to laugh.

By: Kim Batchelor

Kim Batchelor — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:47:46 +0000

I have a seriously poignant, can’t-put-it-down-but-strangely-unreadable tome that will make Gone With The Wind, all the Harry Potter books, and anything that Jonathan Franzen writes look like infantile prose. I even illustrated it myself. Could you drop everything and come by to take a look?

I’m home tonight between 7 and 7:30. Can’t wait.

By: Draven Ames

Draven Ames — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:27:25 +0000

After spending some time in submissions last month, it is easy to agree with you. Great post. Sometimes people just don’t read over what they wrote before hitting send.

There are some horrible writers out there too, we have to be honest. Is it their fault? Certainly not. If they don’t know what they are doing, they can’t be held at fault for what they are doing wrong. That is why my rejections gave critiques on why they were passed and some general suggestions and ideas to make the stories better. Going in, I had an idealistic point of view about submissions. Each author got my attention and a full read.

It was horribly difficult. A few months of that and I would have been banging my head on the table. You have a very difficult job that I don’t envy.

But it would be really fun to be a literary agent. Something to dream about.

Great post.

Draven Ames