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Reed, Nan Terrell, 108

Rejections, Encouragement from, 21

Remont, Fritzi, Detecting a Writer, 17

Savage, C. Courtenay, 75

Service Journals as a Field for Writers, Caygill, 146

Shepard, Fred S., Appraising the Value of One's

Work, 85

Short Stories, Tingling Ones Wanted, 171

Short Story, The American, 28

Short Story Market, Current Conditions in the,
Mott, 130

Sketches of Writers, Temple Bailey, 133

Song Poems, Not in Demand, 101

Song-Poem Sharks, 132

Stanley, Wallace P., 53.

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The Writer's Directory of Periodicals.

The information for this Directory, showing the manuscript market and the manuscript requirements of many publications, has been gathered directly from the editors of the periodicals, and is strictly up to date.

The second printing of the Directory, which is constantly being revised and enlarged, began in THE WRITER for February, 1916, and a five-years' subscription beginning with October, 1916, will give the Directory complete, together with much other The third valuable printing is progress.

matter.

now

in

Before submitting manuscripts to any publication, it is advisable to secure a sample copy.

(Continued from December WRITER.) Policeman's News (formerly the Policeman's Monthly) (M), 251 West 19th st., New York. $1.50; 15c. L. G. Loeb, editor. Popular Educator (M-10

nos. ) 50 Bromfield st., Boston. $1.50; 20C. Mrs. Margaret A. Whiting, editor.

A publication for school teachers. Popular Engineer (M), 1027 Race st., Philadelphia. $1.50; 10c. J. Geo. Heilman, Bernharts, Penn., editor.

The Journal of the American Order of Steam Engineers. Uses general articles, short stories, and technical serials, limiting length of manuscripts to one page. Buys photographs, only with technical matter. Wants fiction that bright and spicy (for relief to the engineering mind). Pays on publication.

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Popular Magazine (S-M), Street & Smith, 79 Seventh ave., New York. $3.00; 15c. Charles Agnew MacLean, editor.

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Uses only fiction stories of adventure, detective stories, humorous stories, business stories - all of the highest class. Buys no photographs, and pay on acceptance.

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Popular Mechanics Magazine (M), 6 N. Michigan
Boulevard, Chicago. $3.00; 25c. H. H. Windsor,
editor J. L. Peabody, managing editor.
Covers
developments in the field of
science, mechanics, industry, invention, and dis-
covery,
non-technical articles covering
these fields. Can use anything in the nature of
constructive development anywhere, provided it
is new, practical, and interesting to a large num-
ber of people. Buys photographs in large
numbers, using any size, if sharp and clear.
Passes upon material promptly, and
acceptance.

pays on

Popular Science Monthly (M), 225 West 39th st..
New York. $1.50; 15c. Waldemar Kaempffert,

editor.

Uses general articles covering the latest development in science, new inventions, and mechanics, illustrated with good photographs having technical point and human interest. Sets length limit from 200 to 1,000 words, Pays one cent a word upward, and $3 apiece for photographs, on acceptance.

Porcupine, New York. Publication suspended June, 1918.

Postage (M). 18 East 18th st., New York. $2.00; 25C.

The official magazine of the Direct Mail Advertising Association.

Poster (M), 1620 Steger Building, Chicago. $3.00; 25c. Roy O. Randall, editor.

Uses only such manuscripts as have to do with poster advertising or poster art. Might use a brief story, if the theme centered about the uses of posters or poster advertising. Prefers articles of from 1,000 to 1,500 words: occasionally buys photographs of modern posters; arranges payment with the writer submitting material, paying from one-half cent to a cent a word, based on general value and timeliness. Poultry Herald (M), St. Paul, Minn. 50c. Sc. H. A. Nourse, editor.

Prints articles describing the writer's success in any branch of the poultry business. Sets

length limit at 2,000 words; buys photographs
of poultry subjects which have instructional and
illustrative value; prints no fiction; and pays
on acceptance.

Poultry Success (M). A. D. Hosterman Co.,
Springfield, Ohio. 75c.

Devoted to pure-bred poultry and country-life
interests. Not in the market at present.
Power Boating (M), Penton Building, Cleveland,
Ohio. $2.00; 20C. Robert E. Power, editor.

Uses manuscripts on yachting subjects, new yachts, cruises, etc., but no fiction; buys photographs of new boats, races, power-boating events, etc., sets length limit at 3,000 words. pays on publication.

Power Farming Dealer (M), St. Joseph, Michigan. $1.00. Raymond Olney, editor.

on

based Uses articles personal interviews with dealers, confined to merchandising and service problems; service and repair helps or ideas which have been found economical in saving of time, money, and labor. This includes everything pertaining to methods, equipment, tools, short-cuts, etc., used in repairing or giv ing service in both field and shop on powerfarming equipment. Pays on acceptance at rate of one or two cents a word. Sketches paid for Power Plant Engineering (S-M), 537 S. Dearborn st., Chicago. $2.00; 15c. Arthur L. Rice, editor. Uses short stories, of not more than 1,500 words, based on power plants, with didactic interest. Does not buy photographs. Pays on publication.

extra.

Presbyterian Advance (W), Presbyterian Building. Nashville, Tenn. $2.50; 4c. James E. Clark, D. D., editor.

Uses stories, serials, and special articles; sets length limit at 3,000 words per article or chapter for one issue; rarely buys photographs: prints fiction suitable to a religious weekly, paying regularly about one dollar a column only for stories for the Home Department, with occasional purchase of serials and special articles. Presbyterian Banner (W), 105 Federal st., N. S., Pittsburgh, Penn. $2.50; sc. Joseph T. Gibson, editor.

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Buys short stories, serials, and juvenile matter, paying from $2.50 to $3.00 for a short story for children, and from $25 upward for a short serial, on the tenth of the month following month of publication.

ADDITIONS AND CHANGES. Advertising & Selling (W) 471 Fourth ave., New York. $3.00; 15c. J. M. Hopkins, editor.

Reads only selected manuscripts from advertising and sales workers of tried experience, and a few selected professional writers,

Junior Joys (W), Editorial Department, Nazarene
Publishing House, 2109 Troost ave., Kansas City.
Missouri. 60c. Miss Mabel Hanson, editor.

Uses interesting, uplifting stories and serials
with a moral for children. Also general articles
describing
processes of manufacture, nature
Sets
scenes, and foreign lands, with some verse.
length limit at 3,000 words; does not buy photo-
graphs; and pays on publication.

st.,

Moving Picture Age (M), 418 S. Market Chicago, $2.00; 200. F. E. Gooding, managing editor.

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The third printing of this Directory-enlarged and revised-was begun in THE WRITER for March, 1917. Back numbers can be supplied. A five-years' subscription beginning will give the Directory complete. with additions and

A MONTHLY MAGAZINE TO INTEREST AND HELP ALL LITERARY WORKERS..

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No. I.

solutely hopeless material every magazine of recognized standing receives. By this I mean illiterate manuscripts, written badly, spelled badly, written on lined note-paper, often in bad English, wholly without paragraphing. They are apt to be accompanied by a note to the effect that the author is very poor and needs money, and would gladly sell the story cheap, and, please, won't the editor try to like it?

Handling letters of this kind is one of the most painful tasks that can come up in the course of editorial work. Thackeray, I believe, has an essay on this subject. It may seem heartless to send a mere rejection slip. in response to such a plea, but on the other hand, since one hesitates to say bluntly "Your work is hopeless," a letter of any kind gives encouragement in itself. In the vast majority of cases, therefore, a speedy rejection and the hope that a course of rejections may in time prove discouraging, is all that lies in the power of an editor.

66

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Of a very different type are the stories that editors receive from old ladies charming, cultivated old ladies. One can fairly see them telling their little family story or joke to a circle of admiring friends, and hear the admiring "Oh, Mrs. Brown! How perfectly delightful! You should send that to a magazine indeed you should!" And Mrs. Brown writes out her pet story in her pretty, old-fashioned handwriting it is usually a nice little story, too, but evidently just what it is the work of a delightful and cultivated woman who has never done anything of the kind before. And writing, as very few people seem to realize, to be good requires a finish that practice and practice alone can give. Mrs. Brown being the sort of person.

she is, it is obviously impossible to say to her: "You charming person, we are Sɔ sorry to hurt your feelings," so we mail another rejection slip and we hate to do it.

There is one class of persons, however, to whom it is a real pleasure to send rejection slips, and for their benefit a harassed editor wishes at times that slips might be worded more harshly than they are. This class is composed exclusively of young men, and they run to poetry. The poetry is intended to be amusing, but is always cheap and often vulgar. It is accompanied by a note to this effect: "I am sending you some stuff which I dashed off. . . If you like this kind of junk, let me know, as I can send it to you till you get tired of it." Leaving out of consideration the tact involved in seeking to tempt an editor with "junk"- which is, I assume, an effort of modesty - there are, without doubt, some 100,000,000 other people in the United States who could write it equally well. If the authors would only not send it in with such patronizing assurance!

These are a few of the more striking varieties of the worthless manuscripts, from the magazine editor's point of view. Such manuscripts are so fundamentally hopeless that the question of the values of the ideas embodied in them, or the method of their treatment, does not arise.

Next come the manuscripts which, like the gentleman in Mr. Kipling's poem, can be assigned to neither Heaven nor Hell. They are of two kinds stories which have no particular idea but which are well written, and stories which are not well written but are based upon a good idea.

Usually, nothing can be done with stories in the first of these divisions. If a story is not based upon a good idea, no amount of good writing will pull it through. Stories of the second class, however, can occasionally be rewritten by the author in accordance with criticisms by the editor, and pulled into the acceptable class. These are the manuscripts which call forth objurgations from unsuccessful authors. "I read 'Mrs. Jones' Second Husband' in the United States Magazine for September," they write. "My story is every bit as good as that " which some

times causes an editor qualms of conscience.

The answer to this, of course, may be that "Mrs. Jones' Second Husband" was an accident. These things do happen sometimes, you know. The aim of a magazine is not to publish more mistakes, it is to publish the best work it can get. Compare your rejected story with an average story in the United States Magazine, and don't feel hurt unless you cannot, honestly, see any points in which the majority of the accepted stories are not superior to yours. Faults do glare dreadfully in print.

Next comes the last class of stories those that get in. Roughly speaking, they are not more than one per cent. of those we editors read. Most of them come from agencies, or from authors the editors know. This is not because "pull" counts. It is simply because successful authors are successful as the result of long practice, which has brought them in touch with the personnel of the editorial offices. As for the agencies, those of the better class get an author a hearing because they will not attempt to sell stories that do not come up to a certain standard. Their backing means that a story is a good one. Agencies which do not do this are more of a hindrance to an author than a help.

And if editors are funny things, authors are funny, too. We love them and need them, but they are funny. They complain because their manuscripts are returned to them too promptly; they complain because their manuscripts are kept too long. If you want anything from an editor it would seem the part of wisdom to treat him kindly, at least until you are sure you are not going to get it; but "treat 'em rough" appears to be the motto of many authors. I especially remember one letter (which came, I admit, after a rejection) from a gentleman in Oklahoma who described himself on his letterhead as a "Literary Artist." He told us what he thought of us in the plainest language for eight long pages, ending with the information that he was rapidly becoming famous (in proof of which he enclosed a laudatory editorial from a paper which I will here designate as the Kansas State Farmer). and that the time was, thank God, speedily

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