The Portland daily press., 1888-01-12
MAGAZINE WRITING.
The Editor OF the Century Talks for
the Guild.
PHILADELPHIA Press.l

philadelphia PressJ
Richard Watson Glider, editor of the Gen.
fury magazine, is young man with deli
cate cast of features. He looks for all the
world what he is--a poet. He is tireless
worker In the course of a month hundreds
of manuscripts are submitted to him for his
reading. They are sent him from all parts
of the world. They are on all sorts of sub
iects and by all sorts of people. Many of
the writer's are young men and yenng wom-
ca who think literature offers a lucrative
field for the employment of their talents.
Mr.. Glider is patient reader. He is ever on
the alert for bright writer who possesses
originality. He is great believer in young
men and women, but holds out no false hope
to them. Literature.is an exacting mistress.
Only few writers get to the top round of
the ladder. Still, he says, there is no reason
why persons who think they possess talent
for writing should not try. Mr.. Glider was
good enough to discuss the matter very full
" with me this week. 1t was in his Office in
the Century building. A stenographer
took down the exact conversation. |
asked
young man or young woman who has some
ability and yet has no knowledge of how to
begin?
The onls way for beginner to do is to
begin. To become a professional writer
/ want to know what field there is to-day
for magazine writing.
Well. the most constant demand is for fic-
ton. A beginner always has the opportun-
ity for practice in the field Of short stories,
and out of this he can be graduated into a
serial writer, publishing either in. the maya
zine or in book form or in both. In this way
the writer OF stories has the advantage over
the dramatic writer, in that he can (as Mr..
Brander Matthews says make his brief es
says and try them on the editors and on the
public, whereas in the dramatic art in this
country he does not get the chance that he
does abroad, where they take one-act plays
from beginners. That is one reason why
there are so many good writer's of fiction
there are so few dramatists, because the
former have q chance to practice-tO try
their experiments upon the public, and the
latter have small chance.
Has not that been the case with almost
all of our fiction writers of the present gene
ration they began with short stories and
then bl0ssomed out as the rose?
That has been the rule. Some of them
have never got fairly beyond the short-story
stage, but if they write good short stories
they have gained the reward Of fame.
Then you would suggest that person, in
writing fiction, should not confne himself to
any particular line, but broaden his field.
think that each person ought TO do the
best he can. If he can do better in limited
field, after becoming fully aware of the fact
he had better stick to his narrow field But
the writer who wishes to hold and increase
his audience and is aiming at broad and
lasting reputation. should II possible prove
himself able to strike more tnan one note.
The verdict of the contemporaneous public
and the verdict of posterity is made up after
considering, among other things, the amount
of ground writer can cover and cover well.
Mind, do not mean chiefly geographical
of the human soul. A writer who wishes to
grow and to see his audience grow must not
forever be harping upon one string. If you
have penetration, originality, you can get
good deal Of moral geography out Of single
State, county, town village or potato patch
There must be variety of motive if not of ac-
tual scene This think is good general adj
vice; and yet know that some great men
have got along with apparently little more
than single idea They made up in depth
Doesn't the public to certain extent make
the field for the writer, the demand. Are
there not fancies and fashions in literature
as there are In dress, that is, to certain ex-
tent?
Yes, but the writer of genius can create
fashion, and does.
Then the public doesn't make demand
for peculiar field, but the writer himself
makes the puDlic come TO MIN.
The two influences are at work; one works
as strongly as the other, think. 1t is gen.
orally second-class work thatis done in an
swer to supposed demand hence limitations
and sensationalism. There is class of
writers whose main idea is to ''catch en-"
Instead of going to work with conscience
and conviction they are always rushing in
when they think somebody else has made a
so-called hit and trying to duplicate the
fortunate stroke. 1t would evidently be
mistake for certain writers to try too strenu-
ously to prove that they can do other things
than those which they have long been sue
cessful in doing. The fortunate author is he
who understands his own humiliations. Each
wricer writer must do his best, whether he
does his best in little field or in wide
field. He must be discreet in making essays
in fields not so familiar to him as those in
which he has succeeded.
Say something about the financial aspect
of the profession. Is it and will it be luc-
ratiye profession?
have known very few writers in this
country who thought they could not get
along with the proceeds of unsalaried liter
airy work. All but few find it uphill work
to rely alone for support upon writing for
magazine or book publications; but the pri-
ces paid are much higher than they ever
were. / have list of prices of a magazine
published in this city before the year 1870.
The page was smaller than the present mag
azine page usually is; but the prices were
to So page-the highest-priced author ON
the list receiving only $50 for an eight-page
article For stories, with two or three ex-
ceptions, the authors received but IS page.
Poems were rated at from So to $40, Many
of the names on the list were names that are
still well known.
What do the same writers get to-day?
The same writers would get from twice to
five times the old prices, while other writers
would get still higher rates.
should like to add that the one thing
which stands most in the way of literature
as profession in this county is the lack of
international copyright. The American au-
thor has to stand a kind of competition
which no other producer suffers from in the
civilized world namely, competition with
stolen goods. Not only this, but his own
country refuses to enter into reciprocal ar
rangements with foreign countries whereby
he might obtain abroad substantial returns
for his labors. Congress is doubtless igno-
rant rather than malicious in its attitude to-
ward American literature, and it is the duty
of every intelligent American to help over
come the pestiferous ignorance of our law
makers on this subject. 1t is the book bust
ness rather than the magazine business
which is hurt by stolen literature, but au-
-.