Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

IN

The Manuscript Club Idea

By WILLIAM D. KENNEDY

III-Co-operative Study of Markets

N the first article in this series the Manuscript Club was defined as a small group of writers meeting regularly to criticize the work of its members and to suggest markets for this work. So far we have discussed the activities of a typical club especially from the standpoint of criticism. But of even more practical importance may be the co-operative study of markets and the co-operative marketing of manuscripts. Very few clubs throughout the country, it is my opinion, are fully realizing their opportunities in this direction.

Working alone, a writer can greatly increase his chances of selling his work by analysis and study of the editorial content of selected magazines. In the London Writer for January, a British free-lance describes his experiences thus:

"Those breakfast stories in the Daily Express, for example, little tales with a surprise ending - I longed to write one of them. They did not seem particularly difficult; some of them I even privately labelled poor; but for nearly a month I wrote out the barest synopsis of each as they appeared in print. I made copious notes about them, their subject, their setting, style of opening, whether conversational or otherwise; type of characters used, age, class, etc.; number of words, style and length of title, so that at the end of the month it was a fairly simple matter to model my ideas into the form suggested by the notes. And the result: my first attempt came back; my second was accepted.

I employed much the same method with those Nutshell Novels of the Bystander, Passing Show, and the Humorist. In these cases I noticed that the theme usually dealt with some incident or action connected with a sport or event of topical interest. But here in choosing the subject special attention had to be paid to the reading public of the paper. For instance, I do not think a Nutshell Novel which revealed itself in the last paragraph as an episode in the hunting field would suit Passing Show, because the Passing Show public is not, generally speaking,

a hunting public. A sketch of this type was submitted to and accepted by the Bystander."

A number of American writers are doing much the same sort of thing and some of them are succeeding. On the other hand, this may be a waste of time. Working to a set pattern may narrow the potential market for the manuscript to one or two periodicals, and these may be depending on their staff writers entirely for material. Such a market may not only be narrow; it may be entirely closed to outsiders.

[ocr errors]

Most Americans, and probably most British, prefer to write what is less restricted as to form and length. But, because the number of magazines is legion and editorial restrictions fairly flexible, this can safely be done if always if the seller has a good general working knowledge of the markets. Market reports published in THE WRITER and in "The Free Lance Writer's Handbook" are intended to be general guides to the needs of the leading magazine and book publishers. Yet time may be well spent in more detailed studies of editorial requirements, and it must be admitted that a group of people working together on such a problem can accomplish far more than one working alone. Notes made of such analyses should be mutually helpful and even more the suggestions made from the floor as to possible markets for manuscripts read in meetings if the individual members have previously familiarized themselves thoroughly with the editorial requirements of the periodicals which offer the best markets.

One club, composed of ten, all interested chiefly in magazine writing, has simply allocated twelve pages of the magazine market section of the "Handbook" to each member.

He then studies the hundred odd market reports in his quota and sends for sample copies of all those which appear to publish the type of material produced by the Club (short stories and articles). The magazines themselves are studied from two points of view (a) depth of market and (b) type of market. The depth of market is too often neglected. Many young writers are startled by a realization that a weekly which publishes ten short stories in each issue is over twenty-two times as big a market for short fiction as the monthly which publishes two each issue. Other things being equal, the chance of acceptance is twenty-two times as great. But all other things are not necessarily equal.

Another consideration less frequently overlooked is the emphasis placed by certain editors on the "circulation” value of names of well-known contributors on the front cover. Yet even though unknown writers do realize that such magazines are practically closed to them, they have a very hit-or-miss knowledge about where the real opportunities do lie. It is not difficult to discover from a single table of contents what proportion of the writers are well enough known to have feature value. It is more difficult to find out whether or not most of the material is written by the staff or on contract; yet it can be done by checking through several issues to see how often the same names re-occur. Even then a rascally editor may fool you by using pseudonyms on the by-lines, but it is a comfort to know that he has no particular reason for doing so unless some author has several things in the same issue.

Then there is the problem of the type of market, which is far more complicated. Yet the editorial content of any periodical will

*Note: The following has been suggested as a simple and convenient form of making notes of an analysis. The Magazine.

Estimated number of serials per year.
Number of unknown writers.

Number of short stories per year.

Number by unknown writers.

General type of stories

yield interesting facts if an analysis is made and notes kept of the results. When each club member has finished his study his notes should be pasted inside the front covers.*

To these should be added copies of the market reports printed in the "Handbook" and notes of the manuscript markets section of THE WRITER, and from time to time additional notes concerning experiences of the club members in dealing with the editor, including always the price paid for accepted manuscripts.

be

These specimen magazines should placed where they can be consulted by all club members. Unless the club has its own headquarters the best repository is the local public library. A shelf in the periodical room is enough and most librarians will be glad to co-operate to the extent of giving space to such an exhibit. Far from being a chore, such study of markets will be found surprisingly interesting to anyone who undertakes it. Nothing will help the writer more to build up a practical working theory of reader interest. Certain questions should constantly be kept in mind: why did the editor include this? What type of person did he expect to interest? How many of this type are there in the country? What else would, in all probability, interest this same group? Oddly enough, some of the lesser periodicals are quite as instructive as the large circulation ones in this respect.

The result may be that some of those who write only as a hobby will discover a new and equally fascinating hobby, that of collecting unusual modern magazines. I confess that one of the most interesting phases of my editorial work is glancing through the unusual magazines which come into this office. I have

Number of articles per year.
Number by unknown writers
Number illustrated by photographs

Special departments (general description of each);

Are contributions to these signed or unsigned?_ Type of reader appealed to.

Special notes

always intended some day to write a book about current periodica. But the necessary leisure seems far in the offing and I gladly surrender the idea to anyone who has time for it. It has always astonished me that scholarship has failed so utterly to recognize that the recent immense growth of the reading habit has provided a more accurate index of the morals and thought of the age than many others now being employed.

The markets for book manuscripts should be covered in a somewhat different way. In most libraries will be found copies of "The Publishers' Trade List Annual," published by the R. R. Bowker Company. A study of this will furnish an excellent index to the activities of all the leading publishers.

In passing, I merely wish to mention the large number of house organs, etc., which offer good markets for writing of a special type. There are a number of these, each so small that it is not worth while printing its requirements either in THE WRITER or in the "Handbook." Yet a free-lance writer can frequently pick up pocket money by writing for them if he has special technical knowledge. By far the best reference is "The Standard Rate & Data Service." Any advertising man will show you a copy if the library has none.

Before leaving the question of the co-operative study of markets, I wish to call attention to the opportunities in writing for the British and Colonial periodicals. I have only recently received several letters from British

writers bewailing the popularity of the American story in the English popular magazine. An excellent guide to the British and Colonial markets is "The Writers' and Artists' Year Book for 1927 (advertised elsewhere in this issue). A minor difficulty in reaching the English market comes from the necessity of sending English stamps for the return of a manuscript in case of rejection. To meet this situation, we are obtaining a number of English stamps and, as a free service to subscribers, will be glad to furnish them at cost. A stamped, self-addressed envelope should be sent together with American stamps for exchange at par.

Some clubs have made arrangements with literary agents for handling the entire output of their members. In a few cases this has worked satisfactorily. A more workable plan is the compilation of a list of possible markets for each manuscript in order of preference, which is simply turned over to a public stenographer who sends out the manuscript to each in turn. Many writers are too easily discouraged by one or two rejections and relief from the routine of several re-mailings is welcome.

In closing, I wish to say that in my opinion nothing will strengthen the manuscript club movement in this particular stage of its development more than a co-operative study of the markets on the general outline of the plan which is suggested above.

The Equipment of the Short Story Writer

By N. BRYLLION FAGIN

UCH has been said about the qualifications a short story writer should bring to his work. A few laboratory attempts have been made to determine experimentally these qualifications but the results so far have been insignificant. That the short story writer employs certain faculties in the evolution and execution of a story is, of course, obvious, but the relative importance of these faculties is, as yet, a matter of divided opinion. Writers, however, who usually take their equipment for granted could hardly fail to profit from a classification and discussion of the principal elements that constitute the mental and emotional equipment of the successful fiction writer.

[ocr errors]

POWER OF OBSERVATION. The writer utilizes all the experiences of events, people, places, and thoughts — or, in other words, plot, character, atmosphere, and theme that life has that life has brought to him. But he must be able to observe this fund of knowledge that has come to him before he can use it. He must learn to know characters first hand, to know how they behave under the stress of circumstances, how they react to events, places, and ideas.

The necessary extent of a writer's observation has frequently been a matter of debate. No one will deny that the wider and keener the observation the greater the equipment, but this does not mean that every writer must travel extensively and participate in the hec

tic life of great cities, in the spectacular dramas of unusually active personalities, or in world-wide movements or events. One may observe life in one's own village and produce highly dramatic fiction. We all remember Mrs. Gaskell's "Cranford" with its quiet little dramas and keen visualizations. Jane Austen's novels and Louisa M. Alcott's novels are other illustrations. Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio" contains poignant stories, born of keen observation of life and character in a small town. It is close observation which gives to the finished product of a writer verisimilitude, that quality of lifelikeness which we frequently compliment by designating as Realism.

IMAGINATION. The power to visualize requiries an active imagination. In his effort to explain characters and their behavior the writer uses his imagination to imbue his fictive people with individuality and intimacy. It is necessary for him to imagine how people would act in the circumstances in which he has placed his characters. It is necessary to imagine just what they would say and how they would say it, just how they would feel and think. And it is necessary to imagine clearly the precise situations in which they would act most characteristically.

INVENTIVENESS. The ability to observe people and to imagine their possible reaction to a given situation does not necessarily pro

vide the power to supply those dramatic situations which test character. Inventiveness is necessary to supply the threads, the sad or cheerful, whimsical or ironical incident which changes the life of a person and the destiny of a story. The ingenuity of drawing out a character, of sounding his temperament, of bringing out all his dormant forces and into active play and interplay requires a faculty capable of complicated patterns, requires the power of inventiveness.

--

THE SENSE OF THE DRAMATIC. Any examination of amateur stories discloses a surprising lack of the sense of the dramatic on the part of most would-be story writers. Practically, the sense of the dramatic can be divided into two distinct forces: the ability to select what is potent and interesting in the mass of trivialities that dominate existence, and the power of rendering trivialities dramatic. If "the work of the Short Story is to make life vivid by signalizing moments". as one textbook on story-writing claims - the writer must have a sense of the dramatic strong enough to determine what a signalizing moment is. The almost classic example of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman's "Revolt of Mother" exploits just such a moment. In the twenty years of the old couple's life together there have been many moments but not sufficiently dramatic for the purpose of the author. But the building of the new barn after twenty years of Mother's waiting for a new home does constitute a signalizing moment and

Mother revolts.

MASTERY OF THE MEDIUM OF EXPRESSION. A thorough knowledge of the language in which one writes is essential. A vocabulary comprehensive enough to express all the shades of thought and emotion that the writer may wish to convey is an asset well-worth acquiring. Words are the bricks with which the literary builder constructs his edifice and he ought to know their potentialities and characteristics.

tary grammar is much too large, as any editor will testify. It is a matter of common sense that he who undertakes to write for publication should acquaint himself with the ordinary grammatical conventions of his medium.

But mastery of the medium does not end with the acquisition of a comprehensive vocabulary and a knowledge of grammar. Effectiveness of expression requires a knowledge of sentence and paragraph structure, of rhetorical arrangement and emphasis. Dullness, monotony, and flatness of expression are all too prevalent in amateur manuscripts and not infrequent in manuscripts by professionals.

This brief discussion of the equipment of the story writer may need further explanation. The five qualifications enumerated are not presented as absolute requirements without which no writer can succeed. They are desirable and the writer who is endowed with them by nature is fortunate indeed. But what of those who have not been blessed with these aptitudes or have been blessed with but one or a few of them?

An interesting answer to these queries is found in the autobiography of Hugh Walpole. This English novelist, who has also published some of the most brilliant short stories written in the past decade, admits his limitation of artistic equipment. "I discovered," he writes, "at a very early age, that I had neither an accurate nor deeply penetrating mind. My brain was soppy . My memory was shocking and is so . . . to this day. I discovered also another thing about my thoughts

[ocr errors]

that they were never either new or original. Certain perceptions I had, a feeling for atmosphere and an eager passion for whatever seemed to me beautiful in any shape or form, but when I had seen my beautiful thing I could not translate it into something 'rich and strange' and I cannot today. My envy of certain poets of my time . tain poets of my time . . . for their wonderful, sharp, poignant perception of the beauty and strangeness of everyday things is sharp to bitterness. And yet 'envy' is not the word nor 'bitterness' either. Their gifts give

The number of manuscripts seeking a market that show a shaky knowledge of elemen

[ocr errors]
« iepriekšējāTurpināt »