Take it from someone with a publisher to run and a slushpile: genAI still can't do comics worth a shit.
November 8, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Take it from someone with a publisher to run and a slushpile: genAI still can't do comics worth a shit.
I want to point out, that when you're trying to calculate your odds of being published (don't, it's pointless), your chances are not 1 out of however many subs in the slushpile. Ninety percent of the slushpile is rejected pretty much immediately. They did not ever have a chance.
2- There's been a lot of emphasis over the last few years on the numbers game with short fic publishing. Folks are using places that give them a stream of stats like acceptance rates. I think this might be creating the thought that more things on submission increases pub chances. (It doesn't.)
October 13, 2024 at 10:53 PM
I want to point out, that when you're trying to calculate your odds of being published (don't, it's pointless), your chances are not 1 out of however many subs in the slushpile. Ninety percent of the slushpile is rejected pretty much immediately. They did not ever have a chance.
And that's the slushpile CLEARED! 19 stories accepted: 2 flash, 5 reprints, 12 originals
February 22, 2025 at 11:34 PM
And that's the slushpile CLEARED! 19 stories accepted: 2 flash, 5 reprints, 12 originals
If you want to double the amount *and* still have good stories, maybe read the dang slushpile. But that’s not actually what AI grifters want, is it?
I'm really struggling to understand what people think GenAI would help with on the screenwriting or novel writing front. If we wanted to lower the quality and double the amount of films and books that are made, we could EASILY do that with the books/screenplays submitted by humans TODAY(1/?)
March 27, 2024 at 7:28 PM
If you want to double the amount *and* still have good stories, maybe read the dang slushpile. But that’s not actually what AI grifters want, is it?
i would subscribe to Weirdo Slushpile Desk Rejects Monthly, just sayin
August 16, 2024 at 5:01 PM
i would subscribe to Weirdo Slushpile Desk Rejects Monthly, just sayin
I would offer a bounty for the worst, more incompetent, most poorly written, most cringe-inducingly awkward, but FULLY SINCERE screenplay any studio intern can dig out of the slushpile, then fund it exactly as described and release the results for free on YouTube.
THE WIZARD IS BACK!
You have been cursed with a lot of money! You are going to become not just permanently brain damaged, but SUPER evil, incapable of doing good, if you use the money for anything that isn't ridiculous.
To break the curse, you must spend it on something ridiculous.
What say you?
You have been cursed with a lot of money! You are going to become not just permanently brain damaged, but SUPER evil, incapable of doing good, if you use the money for anything that isn't ridiculous.
To break the curse, you must spend it on something ridiculous.
What say you?
lets say a wizard has cursed you with a lot of money. you are going to become permanently brain damaged simply by being in possession of so much money. the only way out of it is to spend a lot of money on something ridiculous and not at all useful
what would you buy to break the curse?
what would you buy to break the curse?
May 28, 2026 at 6:57 AM
I would offer a bounty for the worst, more incompetent, most poorly written, most cringe-inducingly awkward, but FULLY SINCERE screenplay any studio intern can dig out of the slushpile, then fund it exactly as described and release the results for free on YouTube.
Slushpile thoughts: a lot of newer writers would benefit from being more intentional in their metaphors.
A metaphor is not just a vibe. It needs to make semantic sense in order to function — the purpose is to offer some kind of clarity, not to obfuscate.
A metaphor is not just a vibe. It needs to make semantic sense in order to function — the purpose is to offer some kind of clarity, not to obfuscate.
August 15, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Slushpile thoughts: a lot of newer writers would benefit from being more intentional in their metaphors.
A metaphor is not just a vibe. It needs to make semantic sense in order to function — the purpose is to offer some kind of clarity, not to obfuscate.
A metaphor is not just a vibe. It needs to make semantic sense in order to function — the purpose is to offer some kind of clarity, not to obfuscate.
OMFG... sometimes I had to skim just to cull stuff, like you would with a slushpile, and in this case it really seemed to read like fiction and somehow I missed before I passed it on that the whole piece was basically a surreal ode to his own dick.
I love every backstage story about this anthology so much. My favorite is the Dali(?) one in which Ann had to inform Jeff that this story he really wanted to add to the anthology was, in fact, about the author's cock
Barker called me up one night and without preamble said "It's opinions, not onions. Not onions. This is Clive Barker. I've been trying to track down and stop this error in editions for decades. OPINIONS."
October 26, 2025 at 2:01 PM
OMFG... sometimes I had to skim just to cull stuff, like you would with a slushpile, and in this case it really seemed to read like fiction and somehow I missed before I passed it on that the whole piece was basically a surreal ode to his own dick.
Your chances of making it past the slushpile increase as your ability increases. But it's always complicated by the taste of the slushreaders and the directives those slushreaders have received from the editor.
Your best bet is to go all Han Solo & forget the odds. Just write.
Your best bet is to go all Han Solo & forget the odds. Just write.
December 29, 2024 at 11:21 PM
Your chances of making it past the slushpile increase as your ability increases. But it's always complicated by the taste of the slushreaders and the directives those slushreaders have received from the editor.
Your best bet is to go all Han Solo & forget the odds. Just write.
Your best bet is to go all Han Solo & forget the odds. Just write.
"Technology that turns your slushpile into money," you have GOT to be kidding me, Storywise + Angry Robot.
April 8, 2024 at 4:41 PM
"Technology that turns your slushpile into money," you have GOT to be kidding me, Storywise + Angry Robot.
oh man, Storywise's page is even worse than I thought. Like, now they're using AI to make money from writers. Coolcoolcool. Totally not a problem at all that they're doing that without the authors consent, or split of the profits
April 8, 2024 at 4:51 PM
oh man, Storywise's page is even worse than I thought. Like, now they're using AI to make money from writers. Coolcoolcool. Totally not a problem at all that they're doing that without the authors consent, or split of the profits
Notes from the slushpile:
if you would like your story to stand out, avoid beginning with the weather.
if you have a cracker of an opening line, you need the rest of the story to support it.
if you would like your story to stand out, avoid beginning with the weather.
if you have a cracker of an opening line, you need the rest of the story to support it.
April 28, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Notes from the slushpile:
if you would like your story to stand out, avoid beginning with the weather.
if you have a cracker of an opening line, you need the rest of the story to support it.
if you would like your story to stand out, avoid beginning with the weather.
if you have a cracker of an opening line, you need the rest of the story to support it.
Slushpile update: we have 250 stories left in the general subs slushpile. Working through as fast as we can.
January 5, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Slushpile update: we have 250 stories left in the general subs slushpile. Working through as fast as we can.
Slushpile update - 154 stories left in stage 1, 56 through to stage 2, and around 300 declined.
January 18, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Slushpile update - 154 stories left in stage 1, 56 through to stage 2, and around 300 declined.
Speaking as a former slushpile editor, not only have I rejected stories that mocked people's bodies in this way, but I would have blacklisted the author. I'm glad I never subjected myself to this book.
June 24, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Speaking as a former slushpile editor, not only have I rejected stories that mocked people's bodies in this way, but I would have blacklisted the author. I'm glad I never subjected myself to this book.
Not to mention, stories immediately rejected from slush are not part of the sample being selected from. So, 100 subs, 80 are immediately rejected, the editor is choosing from among 20.
What you need first are your odds of making it past the slushpile. And that's not random either, so not 1 in 100.
What you need first are your odds of making it past the slushpile. And that's not random either, so not 1 in 100.
Can't believe I'm still reading pieces where people conflate a magazine accepting 1 story from 100 submissions as 1 in 100 odds of publication. It sounds good, but it's bad math founded on an assumption that all stories are equal. They aren't. The process relies on the editor's qualitative weighting
December 29, 2024 at 11:17 PM
Not to mention, stories immediately rejected from slush are not part of the sample being selected from. So, 100 subs, 80 are immediately rejected, the editor is choosing from among 20.
What you need first are your odds of making it past the slushpile. And that's not random either, so not 1 in 100.
What you need first are your odds of making it past the slushpile. And that's not random either, so not 1 in 100.
I feel like one of the most important things any writer can do is do some time in the trenches reading slush, because once you've spent some quality time with the slushpile you understand how and why this works.
January 12, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I feel like one of the most important things any writer can do is do some time in the trenches reading slush, because once you've spent some quality time with the slushpile you understand how and why this works.
From the Storywise site. Ew.
April 8, 2024 at 4:35 PM
From the Storywise site. Ew.
Slushpile update: we're 30% through the subs, with 13 stories through to stage 2.
Flash subs are 70% cleared
Reprints 50% cleared
Flash subs are 70% cleared
Reprints 50% cleared
October 20, 2024 at 9:53 AM
Slushpile update: we're 30% through the subs, with 13 stories through to stage 2.
Flash subs are 70% cleared
Reprints 50% cleared
Flash subs are 70% cleared
Reprints 50% cleared
I just stepped in a Very Deep Slushpile
Ok so I am going to Do A Socializing even though I really Don’t Want To because I will Have Fun, Actually
a penguin is sitting on a messy table holding a piece of chocolate .
ALT: a penguin is sitting on a messy table holding a piece of chocolate .
media.tenor.com
February 16, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I just stepped in a Very Deep Slushpile
- We only read anonymised stories in the slushpile
- We filter out anything without a clear SF/Fantasy/Supernatural Horror element
- Stories must be appropriate for a YA audience
- Human authors only. Or cats. We'll accept stories by cats. Please no AI.
- We filter out anything without a clear SF/Fantasy/Supernatural Horror element
- Stories must be appropriate for a YA audience
- Human authors only. Or cats. We'll accept stories by cats. Please no AI.
September 17, 2026 at 6:21 PM
- We only read anonymised stories in the slushpile
- We filter out anything without a clear SF/Fantasy/Supernatural Horror element
- Stories must be appropriate for a YA audience
- Human authors only. Or cats. We'll accept stories by cats. Please no AI.
- We filter out anything without a clear SF/Fantasy/Supernatural Horror element
- Stories must be appropriate for a YA audience
- Human authors only. Or cats. We'll accept stories by cats. Please no AI.
On a similar note, while you the editor have the right to put out any open call you like, the hyper-specific ones are irresistible LLM bait. Your anthology of space witch zeppelin capybara stories is going to have a slushpile that's 90% AI and you just have to be prepared for that.
July 8, 2026 at 10:01 PM
On a similar note, while you the editor have the right to put out any open call you like, the hyper-specific ones are irresistible LLM bait. Your anthology of space witch zeppelin capybara stories is going to have a slushpile that's 90% AI and you just have to be prepared for that.
I am currently down with the sickness (ow-wah-ah-ah-ah [hacking cough]), so here's a slushpile roundup of yet more wikipedia links from my notes
throneofsalt.blogspot.com/2025/12/wiki...
throneofsalt.blogspot.com/2025/12/wiki...
Wikipedia Links Slushpile 2
Slushpile index Second verse, same as the first ; these are all links I saved for myself in my general notes doc. 1. Irish Bell Shrines Re...
throneofsalt.blogspot.com
December 12, 2025 at 1:17 AM
I am currently down with the sickness (ow-wah-ah-ah-ah [hacking cough]), so here's a slushpile roundup of yet more wikipedia links from my notes
throneofsalt.blogspot.com/2025/12/wiki...
throneofsalt.blogspot.com/2025/12/wiki...
If you always wanted to read scripts off of the slushpile, now's you're chance to see those stories brought to life by the machine that gets things wrong
July 30, 2025 at 7:02 PM
If you always wanted to read scripts off of the slushpile, now's you're chance to see those stories brought to life by the machine that gets things wrong
How many people are going to stop exploration in certain ways, when they fear that their genuine attempts are going to be perceived as machine-generated? How many writers are going to be trapped in the ruts of genre because they are scared that they'll fail a Voight-Kampff on the slushpile? 5/
July 8, 2026 at 12:49 AM
How many people are going to stop exploration in certain ways, when they fear that their genuine attempts are going to be perceived as machine-generated? How many writers are going to be trapped in the ruts of genre because they are scared that they'll fail a Voight-Kampff on the slushpile? 5/