Writers! Believe it or not, this post is for you.  Especially if you’re just breaking in or want to break into the publishing field.

Watch American Idol.  I’m serious.

Here’s why.

First, the auditions are a good visual metaphor for the slush pile. Those 12,000 people you saw in line for Chicago’s auditions this week?  That’s 2 months of fiction slush at one of the Dell magazines.  Unknown writers vying for a slot in the magazine.

The selected candidates you see before the judges in the auditions are the memorable people.  They’ve gone through about four rounds of auditions with producers and others before seeing the famous judges.  The people moved to the famous judges are either the worst of the worst or the best of the best.  The judges have no way of knowing when they walk into the room.

Why do the producers of Idol chose the worst of the worst? Because they’re memorable.  Most of the 12,000 Chicago auditions were adequate at best–pretty voices but no personality; people who couldn’t sing but who weren’t awful; people who were pretty but had no voice.  To entertain, you have to be remembered, and the worst of the worst are entertaining in a sad sort of way.

But that relief you feel when someone starts singing well? That’s the relief an editor feels when she discovers a great manuscript in the slush pile.  The editor has no idea if the relationship will work out, but she knows it’s worth a try.

Hollywood Week is what happens when writers make it out of the first read pile in a magazine’s slush.  Your story hasn’t been purchased, but it’s good enough to give you another chance.  Usually that chance is an invitation to resubmit, often with a new manuscript. That resubmission request includes some advice on improvements.  If you watch Hollwood Week, you’ll see the same thing from the judges. Some contestants get angry. Some devolve into tears.  Others try again. And again. And again until they get it right.

The Competition isn’t as instructive for writers as the first month plus of Idol, but it’s still valuable–especially when they bring in the long-time professionals to mentor the students.  You’ll hear gems about how to remain a long-time professional in the arts.  I learn things from this part of Idol every year.  I’m sure you will too.

Yeah, there can only be one American Idol each year, but the savvy contestants who don’t win have careers too.  And if you watch, you realize why.  You can apply a lot of Idol’s lessons to writing, with one (happy) difference.  We writers don’t have to perform face-to-face.

Go forth and enjoy–and learn.

…from me and other folk at SF Signal.  They are compiling a Best of 2009, according to–well, whomever they ask.  I’m in the fourth segment of this, which includes Elizabeth Bear, Brenda Cooper, and others.  You can find the fourth segment here, along with links to the first three segments.

The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review has just posted an interview with me covering various topics: writing, editing, Diving Into The Wreck, hats, and much more!

Go play on the website. It’s a fun one. You can find it here.

After reading the Freelancer’s Guide on Success, writer Brad R. Torgersen decided to figure out what success means to him. Now. Today. And he’s set up some benchmarks. It’s a cool post, and a neat way to look at what you’re doing.  You can find it here.

As you’ll see over the next few weeks, I’ve gone website happy.  I figure it’s easier to have a static website for some of my universes, which will easily answer reader questions.  So the first to go live (as they say) is Diving into the Wreck. I haven’t done everything I want to do yet; I’d like to highlight artist Dave Seeley’s work, for example, and help people find the various novellas.  But I have enough to let y’all know it’s there–and, more importantly, that there’s an excerpt from the novel on the site, for those of you on the fence about buying it. You can find the excerpt here.

I also have a bookstore page for bookstores carrying the book.  So if you are a bookstore owner or you know of a bookstore that carries the book, send me your contact information, and I’ll put it on the site. I’m doing it by region, so folks can find nearby bookstores carrying the novel (and maybe discover some bookstores as well!). Here’s the link to the bookstore page.