Dazzling Manuscripts, Dazzled Editors and Readers :)

As an adult—I am assuming, you the reader, is over the age of eighteen :)—I am sure once or twice in your lifetime you felt that you have “it”, the guarantees of getting something that you coveted (I’ll use a job for the sake of conversation.) Like the dream job you thought would bring big bucks in your checking account, the one that would buy you round trip tickets to the Bahamas or Hawaii or Europe. Or the one that would help send your child to ballet school.
You knew deep in your gut, the employer would be amazed by what he’d see in your resume.

But reality came crashing down—hard enough to knock you down on your ass—when you realized you weren’t the only one qualified for the job, with a degree, with impeccable recommendations.
Suddenly your confidence started depleting like a leaky balloon. You looked at the other applicants. All of you wanted the same thing. Most likely, as they waited for their turn, they were dreaming about the Bahamas, too.

Like them, you were just another number.

While you sat and waited for your turn to sell yourself, to tell the interviewer how great you were, a question popped in your head.
What should you say to dazzle the interviewer? What was so unique about you that set you apart from the herd? Why should you get the job? Should you tell him you could catch a fly using chopsticks, catch a bullet with your teeth, and undergo a root canal procedure without a shot of local anesthesia?

Now, let me apply that question to your manuscript. Assuming that your story was error free, you followed the submission guidelines and you submitted the story to the right publication, if you’re a published author, what do you think saved your manuscript from meeting the horrible fate of being eaten by a Slushpile Monster? How did you manage that prodigious feat?

If you’re an editor, (I am hoping one or two editors will share their views) please tell us what dazzles you when you read stories of same genre every day.
And if you’re a reader, what do you look for in a book? Length, price, author’s name, title, or blurb?

I look forward to reading your comments, which I believe will help published and unpublished authors avoid the Slushpile Monster and experience the euphoric sense of accomplishment instead.

Yours truly,

Tierney O’Malley