San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-10-02
DOES WRITING PAY?
TWO PROPOSITIONS THAT ARE
WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION.
Literary Work Pays If One Knows How
to Write and What to write-5ewels of
Rhetoric Not wanted-Our Popular"
Writers-Wages.

Rhetoric Not Wanted-Our Popular"
writers-Wages.
This question I recently put to an old
friend who has successfully followed the pro-
fession of literature through many year Of
storm and stress say followed" because,
in his wooing, he persistently ran after the
fair and 6ckle dame ere he won her hand
and her dowry. Happily, he is well mated,
and has been married almost long enough to
have a silver wedding. The answer l re-
ceived may be tersely summed up thus:
Writing pays if you know how to write
and what to write" Now, the two PROPOSE
tons contained in this answer are worthy of
brief consideration.
First, how to write: The young writer
usually starts out, think, possessed with
the one idea to get what he calls a style! He
expects to make writing pay by the mere
elegance of jeweled words high sounding
epitAets anl wellSbalanced periods Thus,
many a promising writer has found himself
wrecked, at the outset Of his literary venture,
on his style Plain yispeaking, writing for
style does not pay. For, remember that
there are too many literary lapidaries who
Tall CIL, S1b anu Ley4ISLl Tic JG"clS vi
with more subtle skill than yourself Thou
sands of manuscripts have been returned
with thanks" with whose form and express
sion the most exacting editor could not find
fault. Indeed, many an editor has confessed
that it was with deep sigh that he tossed
the beautiful thing into the waste paper
basket Again, what boots it to gid ones
writing with pretty colors, if the covering be
only brass'
Secondly-The writer who expects to make
writing pay must know what to write. He
should be quick to see what people are will
ing and ready to read and what editors are
ready and willing to pay for. | sometimes
think that many of our popular" writers
have been not unlike the spies sent out by
Joshua to explore the land of the Philistines
These writers return and report strange tales
Of giants or give rumors OF the mysterious
Queen "She- who-must-be-obeyed the
people listen to them. Indeed, the Philis-
tines are really queer set at the best. They
call for edition after edition Of "Ouida's"
writings, because they want to read about
red headed Circes who lure husbands to their
ruin. They want TO learn, on the other hand,
how 'good goody" people talk and make
love, so they ask for 10000 and SO, 900 eacl
of the late E. P. Roe's novels They all reao
Howells, because they want the minute de
scriptions of my lady's wardrobe and often
pests in teapots. They all take James, be
cause they want the vivisection of butterfie.
and the spicy talk Of aristocracy. They
want detective stories from the newspapers
so they ask at the libraries for Charlie
Reade; if it is Fifteen" puzzle they want
they ask for the author Of 1.-THE Lady or the
Tigerf" They often do not know what they
want so they take to some "osophy,"
''ology," or else to the woods.
Again, the writer who wants to make his
writing pay must take his wares to the right
market, Writing, It i. said, is, in. the eyes
Ito b COHtinWedl