Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-03-06
REJECTED MANUSCRIPTS.
An Editor Tells why 80 Many Msgssiss
Contributions ara Returned.

the monthly magazines in the CONVEX
sation which the writer of this article
has had with the editor of one of the
widely circulated monthlies published
ia this city. Ii will he rcmem bered
that the voluntary contributor has
wonderfully small chance of geiti1g
hearing unless he offers something
Of remarkable merit or originality. The
editor OF "a magazine or newspaper is
supposed 10 keep his finger continual
~ on the pulse OF what he calls his
audience, aud TO know what they will
like and be eager 10 read better than
anybody else. 1t is doubtless true that
lie sometimes makes mistakes. but on
the whole the chances are strongly in
favor of his being right.
To come, however. To what the ed
itor in question said. You ask what
opportunity IN unknown writer has of
securing the acceptance of any artic.c
that he may offer To us." is the way he
began. We'll. ] suppose the best an
swer would be that it depends upon
the article itself. Most OF The articles
submitted To Us do not repay the
trouble of reading, but out OF great
mass of chat We do occasionally get
grain or two of wheat. Ii is tire
some and proiitless cleaning though.
us Il whole. just look ut the situation
we are in. III writers would Only stop
To consider 1t. they would see mora
clearly than they often do why what
they offer is SO frequently 'unavaia-
BILE l know it is the fas IiOn to laugh
at this word. bnL the fact is that it ex-
presso gne exact truth in very many
cases. A thing may be good in itself.
but set not Suitable for our columns.
We never 20 into mourning bee use a
manuscript which we have rejected is
accepted somewhere else. aud it is
easily possible that the fact our re-
lection of it might not have influenced
the other edilpr in the least If the ;tu-
thor had been frank enough 10 let it
be known. But it is hardly necessary
to say that authors do not have that
habit. Not available fits the case
better than any other expression that
/ know Of aud. though the rejected
may demur at it. | am confident that
editors o i'll continue TO use it.
Il asked YOU moment ago to lcok
at the situation in which We editors
find ourselves; and from one maya
zine office it Is easy TO know all. We
print twelve numbers in each year. In
each number we print on IN average
SAY twelve or fifteen articles or SO.
Now. how many manuscripts do you
suppose are offered to us IN the course
OF Il year? Something o'er 4, 1000. If
we chose To make up the entire maya
zine from years be ginning to years
end out OF the voluntary contributions
we should still perforce have TO reject
$500 or 1900 articles. There j. no
escape from tnis arithmetic. rs every
wouid-be contributor can see for him
self.
Everybody knows. or ought 10 know
If she undertakes to write II the mag
aZinc. that of the contributions which
are written in pursuance OF contracts
made with tho editor, that they are ar
ranged for long in advance aud that
the majority are furnished by men
who are skilled writer's or recognized
authorities in some field of activity.
Suppose that we find ourselves able 10
use one voluntary contribution in each
number; that would be Il large proper
tiou but how stands it then with the
voluntary contributors? On the basis.
as | figure it. about onc-third of per
cent of the manuscript offered would
be used; but rs Il matter OF fact the
magazine does not contain, on the
average, one unsolicited article in
every issue. Onc-fOurth of per cent
would perhaps pretty accurately repre-
seut the number of Voluntary coutri-
buttons that are accepted. Any one
familiar with the law OF chances can
figure out the probabilities ia his own
Case when he sends an article. Always
remember. however. what said At tho
beginning of our conversation. Much
depends ON the article Itself. II it pos
sesses special merit or any sort. the
writer may lie pretty certain that IL
will he found out Nothing delight,
the heart of an editor 40 much ~ 10
make valuable lind-such a one. for
instance. rs the Atlantic Monthly made
when the woman who chose TO call her
self Charles Egbert Craddock began TO
write for it.
DO YOU wonder. then. that | said it
hardly pays us for the time and trouble
Of handling the large number of man
uscripts which we receive? Fortunate
" the great majority of them do not
have to be read in full. A page or two.
or few pages at the furtheSt, are suf-
iiceut in most cases. Authors some
times try To catch the editor by past
ing the pages together or BY trying
some other trick so rs To- determine, in
case he gets his manuscript back.
whether it has been read or not. Such
devices are useless. even stupid. Ell
ilors read every manuscript sufficient
" To know what its quality j., whether
it requires the reading of one or a
hundred pages. | beiieye this is con-
scientiously done in every Office.
But do aspiring writers ever ask
themselves what right they have to i'm
pose such n burden on delenseless edi-
tors? think it would he an excellent
thing for magazine editors to enter in-
To All agreement not to read any man
uscripts that are not typewriter; and
If could have my own way | would
Fxf.