Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-07-29

Magazines.
Wosatngioa Cor. 81 tho C6iol0o Daily Ne,os.
When was youngster wrote wild,
weird tale consisting OF a series of impos-
bible incidents connected by chain OF
miracles and sent it to one of the lead
Ing magazines OF this country. BY lead
ing magazines / mean HaIperS Maya
rire, the Celfur4 then ScrijRer'S), the
-4tlonNc hontbly and L'ppincofs Noqa-
zine. Ny wild, weird tale was published
Rnd paid for. The scene was laid in
country where / had never been, and OF
which my information was such that
4 represented wheat sown in November 70
be reaped in August and open wood
hres the device tor warming palace IN
polar regions. The editor presumably
examined It carefully. az he kept it eight
months before publishing it, but he failed
10 note these triiing Clscrep ancies-ln
Ehort. he did not edit 10. IL ls not my
purpose to disparage my wild, weird
fale-ou the contrary, ! VIII say right
here that candidly believe 1t even now
TO have been a tOleTAbly good story, as
magazine stories go. The editors evil
identity thought So too, as within eighteen
months ! had five eimi.e: stories pub
listed IN ilrst-class magazines, for which
In all | received about $500. ! only had
three stories declined, which ! then
thought was q pretty good showing for
beginner. have since found out that
1t was q remarkably good showing even
for veteran magazinist.
1t lie little remarkable and slightly
ridiculous that the magazine editor does
not do any editing. He merely selects
and arranges matter Tor publication
which in great newspaper offices IS IN
trusted to subOrdinales. This want Of
editing is painfully apparent in every
issue Of the magazines, whore s0leclsms,
mistakes Of fact and bemishes resulting
from sloyenly editing are only too com
mon The systems Of newspaper and
magazine editiug-if the last deserves to
be called editing-are radically different.
The newspaper editor, armed with re-
ientless heart, an unhinching hand aud
a blue pencil, goes through Il manuscript
like surgeon with a dissecting knife.
He has besides his literary reputation at
stake, like magazine editor, his bust
hess and political interests also-for
newspapers are strictly business enter
pris6s, which magazines are not always;
there is more than one prominent maya
zine in this country run by great pub
fishing firm as an advertisement, and
one or two as literary pastme, very much
as other capitalists keep yachts and
tr0ttars.
There ia, Of course, a very great differ
Rnce in the manner Of the two sorts Of
Editors. The newspaper editor must be
brief--sometimes he must be brusque.
He is always polite il he is a frst-class
editor, but his eye often wanders TO the
big br8Zen-faced clock hanging some
where in the office, by which everything
IS run, and when he says his time is
limited he il telling the truth: he knows
the very minute when the clang OF the
presses in the sub-ceaT o. the printing
Office must begin. The magazine editor,
on the contrary, is disposed 10 be con-
VersatiOnal. He can afford 10. He has a
whole month before him to arrange the
matter for a publication about as big as
the Sunday edition OF great New York
daily, and as many months as he chooses
10 deliberate where the pictures shall 20
in an article on "rhe Probable shape of
the Sea Cows Tail in the PaleOzoic
Period" or "OperatiOns Before Trlpoll in
1906. by Capt. HAYWARD and Com. Lam
yard, U. 5. NJ" and other subjects of
cpntempOraneOus human interest. The
newspaper editor, on the contrary, has
about twenty-iour hours to edit an arti-
Gle on the Spanish treaty. for example,
gong over the whole ground of CONNER
Clal treaties, the constitutional rights of
the House and Senate in treaty-making,
It's effect on the tariff, its status in differ
ent sections of the country, the whole
thing to be compressed into three-quar-
tiers Of column, with the certainty that,
Il he slips up once, every one of his es-
teemed contemporaries Will be bounding
him next morning, and that he will never
be able TO write another line on the sub
}ect of commercial treaties without being
reminded in a printed chorus, with the
charming fraukness Of newspaper men.
that he is monumental jOhn-dOnkey,
and this continual grind going on every
day in the week and every week in the
year, and a thousand other things of as
much Importance as the Spanish treaty
pressing him; with literature and art de-
Glanding to be heard as much in news
paper as In a magaZine-Yerily, the news
paper editor is born to ink and misery.
i must again repeat that this typi-
cal editor belongs 10 great and power
1ul daily.
But the magazines Of to-day are mod
Bled on the keepsakes, ANNALS, tokens OF
affection, ETC., ola former generation, and
bage taken their places. Let not the maya
Kinists shrek at this comparison-the an
nuals of forty years ago can show list
pfcontributOrs which for talent, nay, gent
Gs, compare even with those little tin gods
un wheels. HOwells and James, Tenny-
Son, 1nackeray, Bulwer, Thomas CARLYLE,
walter Savage Lander, Thomas Hood,
Harrison Ainsworth are a few OF the
names 10 be found on the title-pages OF
these publications. Nor were the prices
paid TO contributors Insignificant. One
OF them paid Sir Walter Scott $500 for
the drama Of "rhe House OF Aspen, -
and the very best artists were engaged
in their illustration at sums that would
be large at the present day. The SIM.
larIty went further. These ANIMALS openly
announced that they preferred cOntribu.
tors with a title. Many OF our American
magazines do not care for volunteer ar
ticles. They, too, want the name-and
they get 1t. But they get, just "a the
publishers OF the ANIMALS did before
Them, the dregs and heei-taps OF good
writers.
Let the student Of human nature con.
slider for one moment the temptation
TO an author OF good round sum foI
anything he may choose 10 seud--R crude
tribe, or an early aud unsuccessful Ell
fort, perhaps-tO be published In M
Hphemeral form. What one of the greai
writers mentioned above would be Will
Ing 10 rest his fame on the ilmsy con
tFibuiions 10 keepsakes and tokens q
Infection for which DE was 80 hand
somely paidY Nor would the best writer.
= OF our day be wiling either. One.hal
81 the really good writer's OF the age az,
engaged by the great newspapers, th,
other half are writing books. and all y
- ~ AZ