What Volunteering as a Slush Reader Taught Me About Rejection

"[T]he people rejecting my submissions are not trying to ruin my day or feel superior to me."

Welcome to our weekly column offering perspectives on lit mag publishing, with contributions from readers, writers and editors around the world.

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I’ve always been sensitive to rejection, which is not the most helpful personality trait for a writer! Over the years I’ve gotten more thick-skinned, but I’ve definitely been irked or puzzled by the sheer opacity of the rejection process. I think most writers have moments when they wish they could peek behind the curtain and find out what the editors who just rejected them are thinking. I recently got the chance to do just that when I experienced my first reading period as a slush reader for a small literary magazine. I spent months reading through what felt like an endless queue of submissions, and it’s given me a new mindset when it comes to submitting my own work.

Here are a couple of the things I’ve learned: