Rejections, Encouragement from, 21 Remont, Fritzi, Detecting a Writer, 17 Service Journals as a Field for Writers, Caygill, 146 Shepard, Fred S., Appraising the Value of One's Short Stories, Tingling Ones Wanted, 171 Short Story Market, Current Conditions in the, Sketches of Writers, Temple Bailey, 133 Song Poems, Not in Demand, 101 Stanley, Wallace P., 53. Stevens, A. Borden, Thinness and Point in Manu- Stories, Appeal for Pleasant, 118 Trade Journals Want Facts and Ideas, Bentley, 113 Trade-Journal Writing as a Profession, Podhaski, 5 Trollope's Popularity, Anthony, 70 Typewriting Manuscripts, Rules for, 164 Typewriting, Tips about, 119, 165 Value of One's Work, Appraising the, 85 Verse, Children's, Gaylord, 131 Verse, Self-instruction in Reading It Aloud, 148 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 The second printing of the Directory, which is constantly being revised and enlarged, began in THE WRITER for February, 1916, and a five-years' sub- scription beginning with October, 1916, will give (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. Boston. $1.50; 20C. Mrs. Margaret A. Whiting, A publication for school teachers. Popular Engineer (M), 1027 Race st., Philadelphia. $1.50; 10c. J. Geo. Heilman, Bernharts, Penn., The Journal of the American Order of Steam Engineers. Uses general articles, short stories, and technical serials, limiting length of manu- scripts to one page. Buys photographs, only with technical matter. Wants fiction that Uses only fiction stories of adventure, de- tective stories, humorous stories, business stories Popular Mechanics Magazine (M), 6 N. Michigan Boulevard, Chicago. $3.00; 25c. H. H. Windsor, editor J. L. Peabody, managing editor. science, mechanics, industry, invention, and dis- 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. Uses general articles covering the latest de- velopment in science, new inventions, and me- chanics, illustrated with good photographs hav- ing technical point and human interest. Sets length limit from 200 to 1,000 words, Pays one cent a word upward, and $3 apiece for photo- Porcupine, New York. Publication suspended June, Postage (M). 18 East 18th st., New York. $2.00; The official magazine of the Direct Mail Ad- vertising Association. Poster (M), 1620 Steger Building, Chicago. $3.00; Uses only such manuscripts as have to do Prints articles describing the writer's success length limit at 2,000 words; buys photographs of poultry subjects which have instructional and illustrative value; prints no fiction; and pays Poultry Success (M). A. D. Hosterman Co., 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 photo- graphs of new boats, races, power-boating events, etc., sets length limit at 3,000 words. with dealers, confined to merchandising and ser- vice 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 power- farming 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 in- Presbyterian Advance (W), Presbyterian Building. Nashville, Tenn. $2.50; 4c. James E. Clark, D. D., 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 arti- Presbyterian Banner (W), 105 Federal st., N. S., Buys short stories, serials, and juvenile mat- ter, 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 Advertising & Selling (W) 471 Fourth ave., New York. $3.00; 15c. J. M. Hopkins, editor. Reads only selected manuscripts from advertis- ing 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 processes of manufacture, nature scenes, and foreign lands, with some verse. The third printing of this Directory-enlarged and revised-was begun in THE WRITER A MONTHLY MAGAZINE TO INTEREST AND HELP ALL LITERARY WORKERS.. solutely hopeless material every magazine of Handling letters of this kind is one of the kind gives encouragement in itself. In the vast majority of cases, therefore, a speedy rejection and the hope that a course of rejec- -- Of a very different type are the stories that - - 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 |