Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-02
BUSINESS AND WRITING.
ONE WOMAN WHO TRIED JOUR-
NALISM.
Some of the Reasons that Induced Her to
Give Up the Unpromising Realms of
Newspaper success.

right TO add the butter. Some ten years
ago ! was the most miserable of created
beiags-a woman with three children de-
pendent upon her-no training for work or
special knowledge of any kind, and |
shared. in common with a good many other
women, the conviction that my nisfort-
unes gave me a certain claim upon people,
and that | should make an income because
it was necessary for me to do SO OF starve.
| don't mind owning now that came per-
ilously near doing the latter.
Ever since | landed in New York, now
over ten years ago, have been able TO find
work of some sort, although it has often
been miserably Ill paid, and, am afraid,
Ct very little real value The first thing
mad to get rid Of was my ambition and de-
sire for fame as writer. A woman with
three children soon finds she must banker
after more material things than name in
literature, and the time speedily comes
when, as hack. she is ready enough to
accept any kind OF work and let who will
have the glory, so long as she sees results
in dollars and cents.
So it came to pass that, shortly after my
arrival in New York, | was more than sat
islied if my copy was accepted and weeks
income assured, and perfectly jubilant
when, by any chance, task of compiling
fell to my share which would bring me
more grist to the mill But it was
wretched existence. Many and many a
day in midwinter l have tramped about
Brooklyn and New York looking up open
ings-writing at the point of the bayonet,
as it were, for a miserable dollar; and
many a time and oft have | written col
umDs of worthless trash which never saw
the light at all. But every hacl, can tell
the same story, the never ending effort to
produce and the difficulty Of turning the
production to account after all-the miser-
able abortions of semi-literary life.
might to this day be walking the tread
mill of itinerant journalism but for the
frankness of my friends. had a good
many Of them, and they were unusually
outspoken, probably because they were
really sorry for me. The fault dnding of
faithful friends is valuable
FAULT FINDING FRIENDS
A publisher. whose name is byword
for philanthropy, once told me plainly that
I should never succeed as a writer until
produced something worth reading. and
he added, Il doubt if you have sufficient
cultivation TO DO itr' | remember swaI-
lowing this bitter pill with tears. a still
franker friend. business man, expressed
his opinion of the abominable pride that
could consider it digniied to write rub
Dish for nothing and yet despise honor
able business, adding that a successful
business man could easily buy up all the
authors in creation, and never miss the
money, which, as | was only hack ard
could not even aspire to authorship, was
quite unnecessarily severe
1t $ to this caustic friend owe the fact
that | am today in comfortable circum-
stances, and that MY children are highly
educated and entirely independent Of me.
He fell upon me with such severity that l
asked WHIST he would have ne do, and was
told, TO nay surprise, that he himself had
made his money ,4ainiy by his c!everness
as an advertiser-a fact which at first made
no impression upon me except that of SIR
prise that he should be interested in any
thing SO commonplace.
1t reminded me simply of atrocious IL
Illustrations and odious types, but after all
there was something seductive in the idea
of making money, and l finally gave ear
to the suggestion that instead of killing
myself in producing bad articles, which
nobody wanted, | should try to produce
sured my every body-at least everybody in
businesS-would want
SUCCESS AND MONEY.
have found much truth in his predic-
ton. The modest card drew up al his
suggestion and sent to the leading bust
ness houses brought wonderfully prompt
replies asking me to call, aud all at once
Il comic element entered into my life, and
! found r,N-yxpfP pr,ita end 1on1y N
and for such funny things, tool about
many Of which knew absolutely nothing,
yet was expected, by the terms Of my card,
to be prepared to give advi~s upon. In my
new undertaking called myself descrip-
tive writer, and was prepared to put any
thing and everything into such shape that
the public would be bound TO want it. l
very soon had my hands full.
should say there is nothing rave not
written about, from soft soap to the circu-
lation of the blood. the latter on the under
standing that the article must satisfy d
committee Of six gentlemen before should
be entitled to the thirty dollars | asked for
it. | read it to them with gUaking heart,
and came out victor, much to my surprise
and theirs.
Another time ! was offered ten dollars to
man could cut her husband off with dime,
but, calling TO carry out my instructions, |
found she had forgiven him and wouldn't
hurt his feelings by any such an item. An,
WE'LL | learned wisdom slowly but surely.
The only thing | could do was to make
suggestion. couit tell business man
what would be likely to bring him busi-
ness. Is it any wonder, then. that l was
listene5 to with respect, even when my
suggestions had little value.
At that time, ten years ago, trade joys
nails were not as plentiful as they are Gw
| started one or two, and undertook their
whole management, writing the articles,
printing, publishing, even circulating.
had much to learn, but the knowledge |
gained soon paid in good coin of the Re
public, and six months from my new de-
parture was offered forty dollars a week
by firm Of good standing to look after the
advertising. Later on, when was free 20
work for others, this income was more
than doubled, and each fresh experience
gained was just so much stored up capital.
"A Business Woman In New York Times.