The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-01-09
AUTHORS, PUBLISHERS, AGENTS.
Stories Apropos of Their Relations.

Stories Apropos of Their Relations.
In considering this matter it is neces-
sary to clear ones mind of cant. There
are two separate professions in the
writing world-there is the profession
of the man of letters and there is the
profession of the popular novelist. The
literary agent has nothing to do with
the man of letters; as rule he knows
exceedingly little about literature.
From many years of experience of him
I have never discovered the slightest
suggestion Of critical insight as to
what is or what is not good literature,
and even the discovery of the novelist
| with a future Is never or rarely his, the
glory usually pertaining to the literary
adviser of this or that publisher. AS to
| the popular novelist, whose one stand
ard Is the price per thousand" he is
well entitled to employ literary
agent; he has an article to sell that is
the result of his own ingenuity, of his
own fertility of resource, precisely as
the pill merchant or the pickle mer-
chant; in fact, have heard one of the
more candid of these gentlemen frankly
admit that he had an exactly analogous
position to the pill merchant. Why,
then, should he not put his goods up to
the highest bidder and employ an auc
tioneer for the purpose?
I have already said, and tThe Au-
thor" does me the honor of quoting
some of my remarks. that am quite at
loss to understand the point of view
of those publishers and editors who de-
liberately invite a middleman to inter
vene in their dealings with authors. 1t
Is obviously to the advantage of pub
fishers and editors to break down the
line of demarcation which separates
the literary man from the mere com
mercial writer and to try and bring
themselves into constant touch with the
personalities Of literature. The sup
position that publishers will obtain the
material cheaper thereby is entirely
fallacious; some of the most successful
of our later day novelists-Hall Caine,
Miss Marie Corelli and Mrs. Humphrey
Ward for example-do not employ a
literary agent. and financially they
have not, I am sure done worse than
their neighbors. Among those success
full writers who support the idea that
the literary agent is an immense adj
vantage a number of them have during
the last year or two abandoned their
original attitude of dealing only through
the medium of an agent. The stories of
a number of these authors can now be
purchased direct by the editor or pub
Usher who requires their work In fact,
I believe I am right in saying that only
five writer's, Of those who are worth
having, sell exclusively through agents
Mr.. Kipling Anthony Hope" III. s:
Merriman," W. w. Jacobs and Fl. G.
Wells.
In this connection some very amusing
experiences have come under my notice.
Some weeks ago for example, a we'll
known and popular writer offered a
series of short stories to one of our
leading magazines through his agent
The price was considered too exorbitant
and the offer was declined. A short
time afterward the author took the
stories round himself to the proprietor
Of the magazine and after a little
amiable discussion the stories were ac-
cepted at al over price The humor of
the situation lies in the fact that the
agent then wrote to the magazine pro-
pretor to beg his services in obtaining
the authors commission of 10 per cent,
which the author would have had to
nav had the agent been successful in
selling the stories.
Another story that is going the round
has been told in two or three ways. |
That story is correctly told as follows,
for both editor and author are we'll |
known to me. The editor in question
made an author an offer for some stor-
les. He did this, I may add because he
had a kindness for the writer. whom he |
had known for many years and whose
work he thought was not sufficiently
widely appreciated. The author, how |!
sell his stories through an agent, an at
titude he had of course. a perfect right |
to assume The editor, with equal right |
declined under the circumstances to |
purchase, whereupon the author replied |
that of course no copies of the editors |
paper would be on sale at the news
agents and that it would only be sold |
by the editor in person. The corre-
spondence closed by letter from the
editor in which he stated that he was
perfectly willing to sell as many copies
of his paper singly to individuals as
might be desired-that he did not make
it rule to sell it only through agents.
From The London Sphere.
UNIFORM DIVORCE LAWS.
A glance at the bare record of appli-
cations for divorces filed in this district
within the past few weeks would tend
to persuade one unfamiliar with the