Ever thought about getting that novel published? Apparently, others have too, and some of their queries are less than persuasive for the admittedly grumpy literary agent who writes the blog SlushPile Hell. He posts some of the more colorful queries...
whafa n.—Gloss: A contraction of “what the fuck?” «Because Probst is a publisher and has an Amazon Advantage account, he sent Amazon a letter saying “whafa.”» —“Amazon is a Gay-Hating Company for...
dayscrapping n.— «I even learned a new word the other day from our friends at Outsell: “dayscrapping,” which refers to the practice some daily newspapers have adopted of publishing or delivering papers only on certain days...
earn out v. phr.— «Consider the advance system, whereby a publisher pays an author a nonreturnable up-front fee for a book. If the book doesn’t “earn out,” in the industry parlance, the publisher simply eats the cost...
interstitial reading n.— «For a day filled with IMs and music and slathered over with email, one opportunity for publishers is to promote interstitial reading, reading that is done in the brief moments between other engagements, whether...
illo n.— «Direct your gaze, if you will, to the illustration (or ‘‘illo,’’ as they say in the publishing game) in the center of this page.» —“Diablo Cody on Heroine Chic” by Diablo Cody Entertainment Weekly Jan...
