The Writer's Directory of Periodicals,

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

A MONTHLY MAGAZINE TO INTEREST AND HELP ALL LITERARY WORKERS.

Vol. XXXIII.

BOSTON, JANUARY, 1921.

No. I.

ENTERED AT THE BOSTON POSTOFFICE AS SECOND-CLASS MAIL MATTER.

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solutely hopeless material every magazine of

recognized standing receives. By this I CONTENTS :

mean illiterate manuscripts, written badly, AN Editor's TALK ABOUT EDITORS. A Magazine spelled badly, written on lined note-paper, Editor

often in bad English, wholly without paraWORDS, WORDS, WORDS. Lloyd McFarling A LITERARY ENLIGHTENMENT. L. A. Wallingford graphing. They are apt to be accompanied Trade-JOURNAL WRITING

PROFESSION, by a note to the effect that the author is very Harold F. Podhaski

poor and needs money, and would gladly sell EDITORIAL Publishers Do Road Manuscripts, 6 Good

the story cheap, and, please, won't the editor Rule for Note-taking

try to like it? LITERARY Shop TALK

Handling letters of this kind is one of the The Unpublished Kipling Story, 7

most painful tasks that can come up in the Universal Lyceum and Booking Bureau, 7To California Writers

course of editorial work. Thackeray, I beQUERIES

lieve, has an essay on this subject. It may THE MANUSCRIPT MARKET

seem heartless to send a mere rejection slip CURRENT LITERARY

in response to such a plea, but on the other William McFee Gets Encouragement, 11

hand, since one hesitates A Way to Copy Prints, il Regular Hours

say bluntly Brain Workers

“Your work is hopeless," a letter of any BOOK REVIEWS

kind gives encouragement in itself. In the LITERARY ARTICLES

vast majority of cases, therefore, a speedy NEWS AND NOTES

rejection and the hope that a course of rejec

tions may in time prove discouraging, is all AN EDITOR'S TALK ABOUT

that lies in the power of an editor. EDITORS.

Of a very different type are the stories that

editors receive from old ladies charming, Editors seem very unpopular. Before I

cultivated old ladies. One can fairly see was an editor I did not think much of them

them telling their little family story or joke myself. Now, however, having studied the

to a circle of admiring friends, and hear the subject from every point of view, I think I

admiring “Oh, Mrs. Brown! How perfectly am qualified to discuss this subject impar- delightful! You should send that to a magatially.

zine

indeed you should !" And Mrs. The manuscripts upon which editors must Brown writes out her pet story in her pretty, pass are, like everything else in the world,

old-fashioned handwriting it is usually a divided into three classes good, bad, and

nice little story, too, but evidently just what indifferent. Of these, the latter greatly pre- it is — the work of a delightful and cultidominate, and every editor has, accordingly, vated woman who has never done anything the ill-will of all their authors, to whom he is of the kind before. And writing, as very few forced, in more or less diplomatic methods,

people seem to realize, to be good requires to give his opinion of their work.

a finish that practice and practice alone can It is amazing how great an amount of ab- give. Mrs. Brown being the sort of person

15 15

we

are

she is, it is obviously impossible to say to times causes an editor qualms of conscience. her : "You charming person,

The answer to this, of course, may be that sorry to hurt your feelings," so we mail an- Mrs. Jones' Second Husband' was an acciother rejection slip - and we hate to do it. dent. These things do happen sometimes,

There is one class of persons, however, to you know. The aim of a magazine is not to whom it is a real pleasure to send rejection publish more mistakes, it is to publish the slips, and for their benefit a harassed editor best work it can get. Compare your rejected wishes at times that slips might be worded story with an average story in the United more harshly than they are. This class is States Magazine, and don't feel hurt unless composed exclusively of young men, and they you cannot, honestly, see any points in which run to poetry. The poetry is intended to be the majority of the accepted stories are not amusing, but is always cheap and often vul- superior to yours. Faults do glare dreadfully gar. It is accompanied by a note to this in print. effect : "I am sending you some stuff which Next comes the last class of stories I dashed off ... If you like this kind of those that get in. Roughly speaking, they are junk, let me know, as I can send it to you till not more than one per cent, of those we ediyou get tired of it.” Leaving out of con- tors read. Most of them come from agensideration the tact involved in seeking to cies, or from authors the editors know. This tempt an editor with "junk” – which is, I as- is not because “pull” counts. It is simply sume, an effort of modesty — there are, with- because successful authors are successful as out doubt, some 100,000,000 other people in the result of long practice, which has brought the United States who could write it equally them in touch with the personnel of the ediwell. If the authors would only not send it torial offices. As for the agencies, those of in with such patronizing assurance !

the better class get an author a hearing beThese are a few of the more striking varie- cause they will not attempt to sell stories that ties of the worthless manuscripts, from the do not come up to a certain standard. Their magazine editor's point of view. Such backing means that a story is a good one. manuscripts are so fundamentally hopeless Agencies which do not do this are more of a that the question of the values of the ideas hindrance to an author than a help. embodied in them, or the method of their And if editors are funny things, authors treatment, does not arise.

are funny, too. We love them and need Next come the manuscripts which, like the them, but they are funny. They complain gentleman in Mr. Kipling's poem, can be as- because their manuscripts are returned to signed to neither Heaven nor Hell. They are them too promptly ; they complain because of two kinds stories which have no par- their manuscripts are kept too long. If you ticular idea but which are well written, and want anything from an editor it would seem stories which are not well written but are the part of wisdom to treat him kindly, at based upon a good idea.

least until you are sure you are not going to Usually, nothing can be done with stories get it ; but "treat 'em rough

appears to be in the first of these divisions. If a story is the motto of many authors. I especially renot based upon a good idea, no amount of member one letter (which came, I admit, good writing will pull it through. Stories of after a rejection ) from a gentleman in Oklathe second class, however, can occasionally homa who described himself on his letterbe rewritten by the author in accordance

a “Literary Artist.” He told with criticisms by the editor, and pulled into what he thought of us in the plainest lanthe acceptable class. These are

the manu- guage for eight long pages, ending with the scripts which call forth objurgations from information that he was rapidly becoming unsuccessful authors. “I read 'Mrs. Jones' famous (in proof of which he enclosed a Second Ilusband' in the United States Maga- laudatory editorial from a paper which I will zine for September," they write. “My story here designate as the Kansas State Farmer ), is every bit as good as that"

which some- and that the time was, thank God, speedily

head as

us