The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1869-07-15
WRITING FOR PUBLICATION.

Wv I'N'70tF'7
2 them to publication, or are otherwise OBJ
: .Iectionablc. These are consigned to the
I waste-basket with wish that they We're bet
ter, and sigh at the hard fate of an editor,
t which compels him to be seemingly unhind
| We say seemingly 50. But when the re-
sponsibities and perils Of an editors position
f are rightly considered, ii will be seen that he
! can adopt but one straightforward course
He is striving to make AN interesting, amuse-
+ ing and instructive paper, to increase its Cir
culation, and make it generally prosperous
: His object, of course, is to make money, as it
is of every other man in business. He has
t erected in his own mind a standard by which
: to try the merits of productions. Long eN-
= perience has enabled him to Judge, with I'M
erling certainty, whether IN article will do
credit to his paper ana add 70 its Interest,
or the reverse. While. the author aturalv
feels an affection for his own productions
akin to that of Il mother for her offspring the
keen eve OF the editor searches out its de
tcctS weighs its merits, estimates its interest
and decides quickly whether or no il is
Judgment approves, it is prnted-if not. the
decree should be irreyerSiblc To expect an
editor to print your article or poem, because
he is your friend, would be ike expecting
your friend the merchant 10 buy of You in
feror goods at the price Of first-class ones
Ii would be no less 10 the hetriment Of the
: former than the latter. An editor can no
better afford to impose inferior articles on his
customers than a trader. In either case the
practice tends to ruin.
And he conductor Of 4 journal should be
an autocral, absolute and without appeal.
| He cannot even spare Time to give his reasons
for the decisions he makes lie i, the party
mainly interested. and his judgment should be
final.
II is erroneous TO suppose that certain per
sons are born writers, and have only 10 take
pen in hand to succeed without training or
eNtrtion. Certain mental qualities are of
course indispensable, but the best authors
and newspaper writers become 50 by long
continued and labolious study and practice
The polished beauty and the graceful ease,
:" much admired. arc by no means Unborn.
They are the fruit of long and patient study
and preparation. The spirit with which Il
practiced writer will dash off a sketch, q de-
scription or a leader, i only the arl Of HAY
inc done the like many times before. The
dashin@ acrobat or rider Of the circus, who
flashes like a meteor around the arena, be
/ 81 hos fine ard
novice The old saw holds good that moth
inc valuable is To be had without labor.
Ii j. waste of time and endeavor 10 ut
tempt to make a writer out Of material that
is unfit-and still il is hard to pronounce an
| opinion in 4 given case except rs the result
Of experimental knowledge. Perhaps one
person in thousand has the mental quali-
cations for the callng-thc material out of
which 4 writer may be fashioned. A few
trials will tell the story. The New York
Herald that has the finest corps Of editors
and reporters in the country, recruits its staff
in this way. \ Young man applies 10 the
managing editor for employment. lie is
questioned regarding himself, his experience,
qualifications, knowledge. &c. If the an
Swers are satisfactory, he is sent 70 make re-
port of some occurrence not Of special I'M
ponancc-a meeting, shiplaunch, or accident
and Is, Judged by the result Of a few eases.
If his work is approved, he gets employment
and promotion-t he fails, there is an end
of the matter The work is often severe and
eNhaustin@, and only to hc undertaken hy
men of strong physical rs we'll rs mental
powers-but the training to one entering up
on the career of journalist is invaluable.
Many beginners in literature make the
mistake Of undertaking to write poetry
They are charmed with the productions of
writers of celebrity, and seek to emulate
their fame Their efforts are generally either
commonplace rhymes, OF reproductions OF
the ideas derived from others-lmconscou
plagiarsm>. They choose the most difficult
Of all the paths OF literature, and then
wonder that they are not appreciated. You
may reckon ON les, than the fingers Of your
two hands, all the poets that have made 4
name a~ such in this country Take Bryant,
. Longtellow, Whittier, llallrck, Holmes, Prem
tee, Sl0OllI'1ltN ana Wl0 are the rest
Still those who are MOI poets. may become
writers of excellent prose. Some years ago,
r a lady Of education and very superior mind
submitted to US some poems that we did not
think warranted publication. We told her SO
frankly, and suggested that She try her hand
at prose She adopted the advice and is now
much admired as AN interesting and graceful
contributor 10 q popular weekly
| While there are many aspiring 10 be au-
thOrS who seem to have no special cal
: in that direction, there are others who, like
n the servant in the parable hide their talen,
: where it is of no service We have in ON
e mind several persons whose really vNacious
e and interesting letters we have seen, and who
: will insist that they cannot write we'll enough
: for publications One Of the best informed
: men we ever knew in the departments OF
history, travel, biography, philosophy and
G theology is a mechanic Of this city, who
thinks as well as reads, and yet insists thai
. no practical use can be made of the informal
. he has stored MP Such cases OF modes