Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-27
A CURIOUS LITERARY SHOP
Where Unknown Authors Turn Out Chea
Stories Wholesale.

Where Unknown Authors Turn Out Cheap
Stories Wholesale.
From the New York Sun
The origin Of the very cheap and Doubt III
stories called dime novels and Of the matter
in the very cheap family papers is more or
less of a mystery to most people. The Dead
wood Dick series and books of that character
| are usually without the names of publishing
houses or bear the names of publishing houses
not in existence. The authors Of these stories
| are unknown to the world, and this kind of
literature is printed with as much concealment
as if it were New York green goods.
Down in an east side street, near one of the
large and well-known cheap publishing houses,
is the birthplace of much of this kind of litera-
ture. Upstairs in an old-fashioned red brick
building are the offices and machinery for
| creating and publishing yellow back and
stereotyping the matter that goes into many
of the story papers that find their way to every
rural and hamlet post Office in the country.
Not only stories printed here and made
into pot metal for the cheap papers elsewhere,
but the building contains Offices for the authors
OF the new story and the "boilers down. or re-
hashers of the old story.
In two or three small rooms are a dozen or
SO OF men seated at desks. maintaining the
semblance Of authors and thinkers. Some of
them wear glasses and hold the blue pencil
behind their ears and labor with long manu-
scripts, while others are running through
printed slips or old story papers hunting for
the base of a new plot. Many of these stories
are condensed or rehashed from others that
have already had large circulation.
The most Of the stories, however. are bought
by this concern from the large publishing
house near by and other cheap story publish
ing houses. Tons of cheap and tritiing fiction
| annually accumulate at these large publishing
and of 10 of TO
This shop or mill has been created to utilize
it by putting it upon the market, and that ac-
counts in e large measure why there is so
much of this kind of literature. The demand
has been largely created by the facilities for
making the cheap and very doubtful story
publisher in speaking of this place said
Not one person in twenty who writes stories
for publication by the cheaper houses ever
sees himself in print, and not one III fifty who
aims higher 1t seems to me. Mt times. that
trying to write stories. Nine-tenths of these
stories are blood curdling total nom
sense, and this shop gets the choice of the
rubbish that no reputable house could afford
to put its name to.
'This shop is perhaps the only publishing
house in the city absolutely Independent of the
author and writer. 1t Is IN literature the rag
picker and the ash-barrel SITTER Some of its
stereotypes for family story papers are credit
able, however. as those publications go.
This shop is tor obvious reasons unknown
to the public. Being independent of the story
writer. the concern desires to avoid his pres
ence and persistence. The story writer who
has failed everywhere else would come here
rather than have his tale never see the light
know that some story writer's in New York
who have failed to do even creditable work
have drifted into writing cheap rot for a liv-
ing. Then. too this sort of literature Is never
advertised in places of intelligence. Intelligent
prejudice is against it. even if its circulation
docs not violate the law