The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-02-24
CHANCE FOR NEW WRITER'S.
PUBLISHERS JUST NOW KEEN AFTER
LITERARY PRIZES.
Il Is . Result Of the Reoeat Great Success Of
Novels by Authors Previously Unknown
Process . Manuscript Goes Through
-Rroata IRON the Work That Succeeds.

TIVE
You don't happen 10 have the manu-
script Of n readable and fairly well written
novel concealed about your clothing. do
you?" jocularly inquired the head OF = pub
fishing firm when a non-literary Trend
dropped In on him the other afternoon.
w ell, not in this clothing that I'm wearing
now" replied the visitor. why. are you
shy of material to make up into books' I've
always had the impression that the supply
OF readable. fairly well-written novels eS-
ceeded the publishers demand In the ratio
Of about 100 To I
Il don't doubt in the least that you've
had that IMPRESSION" said the publisher.
more soberly. That's a very widely prev
alent impression and one that does us a
lot OF harm. 1t keeps many n clcv er man
and woman out of the literary hunt.
The market for cloth-bound works OF
fiction il in better shape than IL ever was
before. 50 that. far from discouraginS new
writers, the publishers are actually reaching
out for promising novels. I'll give you an
inkling az the reason why Publishers have
learned in the last few wears that the pub
hca,ion of new works of fiction Is the hugcst
Kind Of Il gamble. and Of late the prizes have
been won by the previously unk nown au-
thor-
For instance. who had ever heard Of the
author Of David Haruin' before the publi-
cation of that record-breaking seller? And
| could mention half a dozen other novels.
written by previously unknown authors.
published in the last two or three wears.
the sales Of which have amounted into the
hundreds Of thousands. These lessons have
taught even the most conservative pub
fishers TO scrutinize everything that floats
their way in the fiction line with the hope
Of capturing prizes We're all looking out
for David HsrumI,' and we're all taking
more chances In the lottery than we ever
! did before the boom Ieriod OF the unknown
author set in.
There's another very foolish idea with re-
spect To publishers that obtains very largely
|, in the minds OF folks capable of doing good
writing. and that Is that the average pub
Usher doesn't know a good book when h" sees
IL. II would be about a. sensible To say that
men who make "A business of dealing IN paint
ings don't know a decent picture when thcS
see II.
you'll often hear these persons who are
s~ceptioal a. 20 the competency Of publishers
to pass upon books in manuscript cite that
| incident Of the British barri-tcr who went to
the trouble 10 copy with his pen Sir Walter
SCOTS 'lyanhoc' from end to end, and sent
| the manuscript to n famous Publishing con-
| Germ a. AN original work and who. In tho
course Of time, got the manuscript back,
together with a letter from one Of the iirm,
stating that the book Wa dull. stupid. mac
curate and quite unworthy Of bcing put h"-
tween covers. That story may he true or II
may not he true; anyhow, 1t happened IN
England. which j. some few thousand geo
graphical miles from the United States. where
publishers are live people, II d" say 50 as
shouldn't
But even admitting. which | don't. that
publishers in themsclva, are incapable OF
passing on the quality of manuscripts SUBJ
mitted to them, what 10 "" all employ pro-
feSsional readers for? II - easy enough TO
cite cases in which books that eventually
achieved fame have been hawked about from
publisher to publisher and turned down 10y
ono professional reader after another but
what Of the great mas of Manuscripts that
are not peddled about, that instantly capture
the attention Of the publisher and the ap-
proval of the professional reader and are
publs she'd out Of hand by the firms that first
get hold Of them
The process through which a manuscr,p'
submitted TO u publisher passes - not widely
understood. Fully nine out Of ten manu-
scripts submitted 10 Il publisher proclaim
themselves to be completely impossible trash
al the very o~ut-et-stur that any schoolboy
could see would not do. The tenth manu-
script, We will say, starts N 70 fairly and
Possesses such marks Of having been written
nv a person Of intelligence. that the publishes
finds himself reading quite a lot Oft.
Having decided that IL is quite At to b.
passed on 20 a reader. he passes II on. The
reader reports. we'll say. that the manuscripts
has its points, but that, on the whole, h'
doesn't believe it, quite w 10 the PRINTING
mark. Then its as likely a. not that thu
publisher will hand the manuscript over to
another reader for his opinion, II reader
No. comedies with reader No, IN HIS oplniof
Of the manuscript, then the publisher acoep,'
the Judgment of the two and returns the man
uscript to the writer. II. however. reader
No. ? pronounces the book 10 be we'll worth
printing. IT oftens happens that the publisher
will submit, IL 10 stu another reader. and no.
cent the judgment II the best two out Of tht
three.
The fact that publishers decidedly do know
A good book when they ses II or see even
part of II has been illustrated only rec' n'IN
IN the case Of n novel that. published n hi
over siX months ago, has already sold ncari'
$50. 900 cppic. tn" man who Nr't" This book
was following an exceedingly cNacting prof"s.
sion al he time the scheme ~ the novel tool
shape IN IN head n" couldn't -" much
chance ~ his ever getting the thing written
:, I for ~ had to make q hNlng lpi blnl~tl ana M
family
"Eut ~" started 10 work on th" novel. any,
how. iotting down passages in trains I'm,
cabs. any place a. which h. happened To- b'
a, leisure for n while In tins way b." com
pletad tho first few chapters ~ m" book
H- wasn't - particularly lndule'nr critic &"
hi. own work, but IA" embrvo novel -truc'
Nun n being a pretty good thing So h." tool
n few hours on one day and went 10 sec
publishing Arm with his few chapters ia BIZ
pocket
The publisher told him 10 com" back in
few days. and when ne ssaln presented ham
, self 80 the publisher the contract VIZ a|
ready 10 De- signed. The publisher requc~lor
the writer ~ those few chapters to give IA
MS ,ob and 90 ahead and finish the novel
and he guaranteed To take care of IN" write
Will. the work was in progress Tho write
adopted the suggestion, and h" drew on III,
publi.her for his needs until the book wa
a., completed
This novelist has made between $3.50,
and sIo0.O 900 out Of that one book slrsadv. am
going to make a lot more out OF II "