Slush Pile

G'day.

I should be brushing my teeth, doing devos, and going to bed, but I saw the Blogs of Note instead. I found this, which made me laugh--remarkable, given my general tired and sinusy situation.

It's a post on the blog Editorial Anonymous.

"Dear EA,
"Have you heard of Authonomy.com from Harper Collins? This seems like a step in the right direction toward eliminating slush. Your thoughts?

"When I first heard of this, I thought it was a terrible idea. Anyone who's read much of the slush pile realizes that the authors in slush piles are a tremendously mixed group. Some of them are good, experienced writers. Some just need more experience. Some are in the wrong field. Some are bad. Some are awful. Some are functionally illiterate and seem to have found a writing implement by accident. Some are crazier than a sackful of squirrels. So the idea of making the slush pile public and asking the people in the slush to determine which manuscripts are worth reading sounded to me like asking the guy with one leg and three fingers about how to use a chain saw. And then I had a look. And d--n me, but it seems to be working. Too soon for a final verdict, I think, but I'm fascinated."

The URL is http://editorialanonymous.blogspot.com/2008/09/authonomy.html for those who want to read more by EA, or read it without my children-friendly alterations.

As if my blog is child-friendly in the first place.