Slush pile

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In publishing, the slush pile is the unending pile of unsolicited manuscripts either sent directly to the publisher by optimistic authors, or sent through an agent not known to the publisher.

Slush-pile submissions are generally poorly written, the work of cranks, or are otherwise unpublishable, and are rejected, usually before the reader has finished reading the first page. Others, such as books in a genre not handled by that publisher, simply fail to meet the publisher's criteria for acceptance. Only a tiny proportion of slush pile contributions are seriously considered for publication, and less than one in a thousand is published.

Sifting through the slush pile is often a task given to young, first-jobbing assistants to the editors. If they find something interesting there and can persuade a commissioning editor to consider it, they may get some credit for themselves, especially if it is subsequently published and sells respectably.