The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-11-04

puDNSnlug :
man who pc .1 ,
and either acc .. From
his decision the 80 Ambi.
tiOus young authe- au that it is
unjust to be compelleeFS55 abide by the
decision of a single person to have tc
submit to one opinion, when an appeal
to the public Is what the anxious writer
desires to be enabled to make. That
can not be made without the types, and
the barren honors of type can be at
tanned only by the consent of the
reader, who, as rule. is accurate in
his judgments. mtuitively he can tell
what will be acceptable to the reading
public.
The late James 7. Fields, while he
was an active partner IN the firm of Tick
nor Il Fields, was waited upon by young
sugar merchant who had poetic aspira-
tions. The mercantile man complained
that his manuscript poems had been re-
jecte1 by the firm, and he wanted to
know the reason why, as all of his friends
had heard the verses read and unani-
mously declared them to be an invalu-
able accession TO American literature.
"Our reader decides that" said Mr..
Fields, in his blandest tones. Then |
would like to see the "reader." Always
the personification Of amiability himself
the publisher took the merchant upstairs
to the reader. That mighty parsonage sat
at a desk heaped high with manuscripts
he carefully read q few pages of eac
package, then dropped it into a basket &
his side. Occasionally he became MOI
than ordinarily Interested III that cas-
he placed the package inside his desl
why, he goes through EN- Just as .
sample sugar, exclaimed the would-be
poet, in amazemcnt. " That's because he
Is as familiar with literary wares as you
are with sugars, reioined Mr.. Fields.
g 1 am satisfied, said the merchant, "lei
us go. They went, and the disappointed
bard gave up verse e-making, but he made
a large fortune III sugar.
Since "readers " are not infallible, be
ing mortals, they commit mistakes. Miss
Evans novel Of ''Buelah was rejected
10y half doom J. "-r A. last CARL
tone sas3-s7
delay, making -, ,,jOv r the Publishe4
and as much more for the author. Nc
less famous work than the Sketch
Book of Washington irving was re-
jected by John Murray, of London. One
of the best "readers this country ever
produced was Henry J. Raymond, the
editor. who was "reader" for the Har.
pers before he started the \. Y Times.
His Judgment was invariably correct.
Sometimes there Is difference between
" readers and publishers. Apple
tons "reader having first decided =.
favor of an issue of Lothair," tAs
brothers limited the edition to 200 4,
they sold 40, 600 copies of the work.
. Readers for magazines and stoi 7
papers have hard and endless tas
Oliver Dyer. who has written a good de
himself, Is the reader for Bonners
New York Ledgcr, and has filled the
place acceptably for a number of yeaks.
The " reader for H0gper's N0nthlt
peruses, on an average, fifteen original
contributions a day, and, on an average.
reject twelve of them. In single twelve
month the Harpers have rejected the
manuscripts of one thousand novels. Is
there any necessity for stating that the
ten hundred long stories were not read
through
In consolation to aspiring young au.
thoIs remains the fact that money rem.
ders them entirely independent of the
terrible "reader. If they have the
means to pay for the printing, paper,
binding and stereOtyping, any publish.
ing house will publish for them on com.
mission Without the cash needed for
these outlays, all unknown readers must
abide by tie decision f the readers. ("