The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1883-08-09
company, Lancaster, Pa, and Janes Pratt,
boots and Shoes Chicago.
THE PROFITS or AUTHORS.


Almost . Disgrace Not % Have Writ
ten Ono Successful Story.
Correspondence OF the Philadelphia Press.
A last thing may be mentioned when
reference is made to authorship. So
many successful novels have lately been
issued in Boston that the day seems to
be at hand when it will be . sort OF dis
grace not, to have produced II; Least one
successful book. The business q to q
striking degree. falling into the hands
of the ladies'. There lives no woman
who can write at all but who can write at
leas: q charming letter. The moment
one of these discovers that to write sue
cesefnlly is to write precisely rs she
would do in . letterst0 q friend, and
that it is not "a composition" that is re.
Quired, that moment she may 80 write
90 as to make q success. What ia a s,,c-
cess? The Boston novel. "Mr. Isaacs''
has reached q sale of 1900 copies,
which is about 81 600 or 81 200 in the
pocket Of it's author.
A safe of %, 0OO may be arrived at. But
q book fades a. does roses; the most
charming Of books as does the most YER
million of roses. Alas, when the author
publishes his second no, ell it is Reneral-
ly found that all the cream in the milk
has gone into the first book. Very, very
rarely is it that there is any more cream
IN that vessel of milk One baysmai
mystery lies in tho question. "Wko pays
the publisher for such books as do not
succeed?"
A large proportion of books of all
kinds, drop stone-dead iron; the press :
who has to suffer it2 There is among
successful authors . gloomy suspicion
that in some occult fashion they have to
pay the publisher for the unsuccessful
books. Does "a commission house OF
any kind put everything into it's account?
would be boon unspeakable ifsOme
publisher, standing up for his brethren
everywhere, would cay, eve have no
concealments: Things are precisely as
we state themv' Perhaps they are. But
should read these lines let him know
authors could be articulated in one word
It would be, II you seek reputation ex-
clnsively, 90 ahead. If it is gold You
crave, 60 not into the seductive paths OF
Parnassns. Dig potatoes, bnild fences,
sell calicOes, argue cases at tho bar, doc
tor, If your conscience allows you to do
80, your ailing fellow. creatures, presch
the gospel, do anything that is honora.
bic, but seek not wealth in literature.
The lifetime earnings of even q Wash
ington Irving were less than $500, 600.
Very rarely, indeed, as James Parton
says, can literary man clear 81 600 a
year; our most successful authors rarely
pass S., GOO year. Absurdly irrelevant
as it is, let one thing happening while
this is being written be here recorded.
just outside the window q long line OF
horses stand ready harnessed to take
the street cars around an upgrade cor
ner. The horses are so placed in line az
to tie taken each in its due turn. Just
now the writer observed that the instant
the driver detailed for the purpose was
out of sight around the corner, horse
whose turn would come next deliberate.
ly walked down the line and placed him
self as the last in the line; the last thus
to be used. Watching closely he noticed
that it was but one horse that did this,
did it 30 invariably and not until the
driver was ont of sight around the cor
ner, as to make it impossible but that il
was done tn escape work. Could q
horse be that intelligent anywhere out
side of New England? As to the NOR.
Atty of the act, alas! alas!