This is what I’ve been doing with my spare time for a while now. It’s fun, challenging, and very educational for writers, and of course, a great team of people.
Wanted!
Ideomancer is looking for two new junior editors for fiction only. Slush wrangler wannabes should be VERY familiar with our magazine and know the styles of fiction we publish. Our guidelines state: Ideomancer publishes speculative fiction and poetry that explores the edges of ideas; stories that subvert, refute and push the limits. We want unique pieces from authors willing to explore non-traditional narratives and take chances with tone, structure and execution, balance ideas and character, emotion and ruthlessness. We also have an eye for more traditional tales told with excellence.
We are especially interested in non-traditional formats, hyperfiction, and work that explores the boundaries not just of its situation but of the internet-as-page.
In addition to reading slush weekly (usually fewer than eight stories per week), you may be asked to work with a writer to help polish his/her work. Editors also help out with publicity and funding initiatives.
The position will require a 30-day commitment during an open reading period, at the end of which either of us (you or me) can opt out if we don’t feel we’re a good fit.
Please contact us via publisher at ideomancer.com by Sunday, November 21, 2010 if you are interested in giving us a try. Tell us why you are interested in slushing for us in particular, and remember that our current editors’ work is not eligible for publication in Ideomancer, nor is this a paying position. We all do this gig out of love.
I am intimidated by this job. I just don't know if I'd be discerning enough. And then I'd feel like an idiot. But it sounds So Cool.
Ha–I don't know if I'm discerning enough, either, but fortunately, slush readers can err on the side of lenience. And it feels truly awesome when you read something you love, and pass it up, and it gets bought.