The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-02-10
Advice to a WouId-be Novelist.

young friend in Texas asks THE SUN 10
give him advice which will aid him TO cX-
change his present toll for work Of a sort he
deems more congcnial to his tastes and
talents. lie Is one OF n class Of people from
whom we hear frcqucntly-thc men and
women who aspire ohc authors-and there
fore his letter should be- answered carefully
and thoughtfully. This is his case:
SIN lam young man. scarcely 81 years OF age and
desire, above an things to become author writer OF
novels sc What books would You advise me to rct'
Do you think nan ol ny age. possessing common iu
tcllect will succeed in such an undcrtakinsi
secondiY-Is ny writing up to the averaee' Please an.
swer the above aud obiige WFLlwisHEt
1t is not at all remarkable that our corro-
spondent, longing for literary career, turns
his thoughts and desires 10 the department
of fiction. Mother form Of literature, prob
ably, has given him so much delight rs
novels and stories. II Is even safe toassume
that, newspapers aside, he has scarcclycycr
read anything else. There are many thou
sands Of young men nowadays whose solo
reading is Of iictlon-thc stories in the peri
odicals, the dime novels, and the various
" libraries Of rOmances, as we'll as the pam
phlct tales sold for n small price. The sta
tistlcs Of the number and character Of books
taken out from the public and the circulate
ing libraries, as 1t is well known show that
all over the country novels are chiefly
sought after by all classes OF people, but es-
pecially by young men and women. Even
in the principal colleges, with great libra
rics which include all that Is best In litera-
turc, the students usually read for rccrea-
ton and amusement only and eagerly pur-
chase the current fiction, passing by the
books in the college library.
So enormous a demand has created pro-
portionatc supply, and the field OF author
| ship into which our Texas friend Is 50 anX-
| ious to enter IS crowded with workers. The
number Of new stories Of all kinds daily pub
| llshed is very great, and yet probably not
one in ten, If so many, Of those written and
offered to editors and publishers ever gets
| into print.
Our correspondent therefore will see that
though he may accomplish his desire and
| write novel, the chances are against his
getting it before the world; that II he be-
comes n novelist he will engage In a business
| more oYcrcrOwded than any trade. Let him
bear this in mind and look about him in
| Texas, which Is one OF the most growing
States in the Union, and sec II there Is not
some better and more promising occupation
to which he can turn his hand than that of
constructing Stories Of which we now have
n larger supply, especially of bad ones, than
we have any need
Do we think man Of his age, possessing
a common intellect will succeed as n novel
list? No, we don't think he will His age
has nothing to do with his prospects of sue
cess or failure, for he viii grow Older, and
we hope wiser; but his intellect has every
thing to do with them. A man Of common
intellect can never make great novelist
not even one Of the second or third rate
Lord BEAcONsFIELD, the Prime Minister o.
England, is man Of a very extraordinary
intellect. of wide observation, and great lit
erary skill, and yet no Is not more than a
sccond-rato novelist though no has Vivid
Imagination and considerable power OF con
structlon. We assure our young friend II
Texas that there are a score Of noyclists ii
this country and England with talents mucl