Sloane was involved in the magazine from the very beginning, when he served as Hugo Gernsback's managing editor. His own role in the magazine production grew and in 1929, he was named editor. Shortly after, in an editorial, he wrote that he believed that man would never achieve spaceflight. Nevertheless, he published first stories by luminaries such as Jack Williamson, John W. Campbell, Jr, Clifford D. Simak, and E.E. "Doc" Smith. His skills as an editor were debatable, and he was a slow respondent. Furthermore, Ziff-Davis's payment rates and policies caused many of its more successful authors to sell their stories to competitors.
Sloane's son was married to Thomas Alva Edison's daughter.