River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-12-24
Newspaper aud Magazine work.

One-half of the really good writer's
Of the age. says a Washington cores
pondent of the Chicago News, are en-
gagged by the great newspapers, the
other half are writing books, AMI all of
them, more or less, are selling their
names attached to their second and
third class work. and rumaging their
waste baskets for the benefit of the
ma, azines. The publishers of these
peri, Gals appreciate their true status.
Year year they are paying more and
more "a. ntion to the pictorial features
just as tn ANIMALS before them came
finally to be sold on the merits of the
engravings alone-and they are adver-
tised very much as the late DR.. Bran
dreth advertised his celebrated propri-
etary medicines. 1t is nip and tuck
between the magazines and certain
manufacturers as to which shall sell
the most volumes or bottles.
The editor of one of the leading mag
azines of the country told me on one
occasion that he did not see how it was
possible for anybody to make Twin 2
by magazine writing. In my humble
opinion this settles the question. A
pursuit at which it is impossible to
make living can never in this age
command the best and brightest
minds. The magazines pay no salar-
les except to the editors-and only pay
for the matter they print. No doubt
the newspapers would be glad enough
if they could do likewise, but,-mark
well-the newspapers cannot exist
without class of writer's who not
only are paid for their work.
but for their time when they
are not working, and who command,
even the lowest of them, living salaries
not only in an open market, but where
there are multitudes of people ready
and anxious to write for nothing. In
no branch of trade-for literature is a
/ trade as well as art, can this anomalous
condition be fonnd where workers hold
4 their own, demanding and receiving
/ good wages for work which an inumer-
| able army clamors to do for nothing.
The rewards of'Sagazine writing are
meager even to the most successful.
/ Junius Henri. Browne. certainly most
/ delightful writer, is quoted as saying
that he was never able to make more
| than $1,000 a year by the hardest kind
! pf work on the magazines. Mrs.
Frances Hogdson Burnett, when the
/ Scribners we're advertising her the
loudest, did not receive $4,000 yeal
! from the magazine. | think she did
not get more than 1925 month for 6
monthly part of one of her serial stories
besides the royalty on the book wher
it was published-an and her contract for
babe her to write for any other period
| zeal. Imagine a newspaper writer o.
Mrs. Burnett relative reputation work
ing for about 5000 month all told
and forbidden to write for any Other
publication The most money con
tributor can make out of a magazine j;
/ by serial story series of articles Il
be published in book form. 1t is case
in which the interests of the author anG
publisher are peculiarly associated, th'
popularity of the book being an adver
tisement for the magazine in which i
first appeared-but as for the actua
money paid for the serial parts 1t 1:
probably not large. As for the salar
les of one editor-in-chief Of a magazine
and one or two slbordinates, imagine
they are good; as the magazine pay
only two or three salaries among it
workers it can afford to do something
handsome tor them.