Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1904-12-14
A Literary Success
IOriginal.l

peA'Nh w 6Nt up oOAiNthih5 III thS INV
of the present demand" l had done
work to be proud of for the excellence
of it's style and work to be ashamed
of for it's sensational features. l had
tried every form of writing that the
public had gone mad about. Neverthe-
less / had not been successful.
After spending nearly fifteen years
In these efforts l received a call one
day from an old friend who had made
as bad failure in business as l had
made in literature. He told me that he
had entered my field and wished me to
look over a manuscript he had brought
with him.
/ don't know anything more uncom-
plimentary than for beginner in arts
tic work to ask for the approval of a
man who has signally and persistently
failed in the same line. Besides, to
think Of the poor fellow setting out in
a career of failure unconscious of the
chances against him, expectantly look
ing forward to an immediate success.
To crown the dismal condition, he had
q wife who must be hoping and eX-
pecting with him, only to go on starv-
ing while her husband was wasting his
time.
read the manuscript that my friend,
Otis Leonard, had written, and if there
was any one redeeming feature in 1t
/ failed to discover it. l made strong
effort to induce him to abandon its
publication, but he adhered to his in
tention to do so, and when he had
failed to secure its issue by any of the
regular publishers was childish enough
to use $500 his wife had received in a
legacy in publishing it at his own ex-
pense.
A year after the book appeared it
was no more known than when the
first copy was placed on the stands.
Two weeks after its publication Leon
ard asked a newsdealer how it was
selling, and he told the author that he
had had the book, but since there was
"'no call for it" he had returned the
copies he had received.
My friends, knowing that l am an
author, though an unsuccessful one,
are prone to ask my opinion about
books. One evening a lady on whom
I called asked me If l thought that
Gregory Pennycock in 1.-THE House I'm
der the Tree" was justifiable in his
treatment Of Judith Sweet, the heroine.
This was Leonards story. Delighted
that she had not asked my opinion as
to the books literary merits, / dis
hn with hor fn hQr
hearts content. A few evenings later
at dinner company / was surprised
to overhear q discussion of the same
question. The lady declared that Pen
nycock was just the kind of man
she liked, while the gentleman pro-
nounced him prig.
During the next fortnight three diff
ferent persons asked me what thought
of 1.-The House Under the Tree" and
in every case fell to chatting about the
action of the hero. What did 1t
mean? l asked Leonard how his book
was selling, and he told me he had
not heard of it's selling at all. But on
meeting him ten days later he said a
slight demand had sprung up.
In another month everybody was
reading 1.-THE House Under the Tree
that is, every one in the city where it
was published-and as soon as dealers
in other cities learned the fact they
gave orders for it and placed it, stack
ed up, ON their stands as the latest
successful novel. From this time for
ward for four months there was a
constant and increasing demand for
the story, after which it was dropped
and forgotten. The author having ad-
vanced the funds for it's publication Sc
cured a large royalty and came out of
his venture with profit of more than
$4,000 / asked him what he intend
ed to do with this money, and he said
his wife was going to invest it. !
asked him if he would write another
novel, and he said NO" To all this
looked puzzled.
"Come and dine with me tomorrow
evening"" he said. Perhaps | may
throw some light on the success Of my
story"
I had never met Mrs. Leonard, but
as soon as / saw her 1t was apparent
to me that she was very bright wom-
an. She was certainly an engaging
one. She was very pretty, which rec
commended her to men, and extremely
amiable and polite. which recommend
ed her to both women and men. Leon
ard opened bottle of wine, then said:
"Come, my dear, tell us how you
worked The House Under the Tree I"
Mrs. Leonard smiled, conscious Of
having done a good bit Of work. and
said:
after the book had been issued six
months and no one seemed disposed
to read it Otis gave up all hope. But
my money was embarked in 1t, and l
didn't want to lose it. One day pub
Usher told me that only books that
people talked about sold largely.
didn't see why Otis novel shouldn't
be talked about. / had a large circle
of friends, and ! determined to set
them to talking about The House
Under the Tree l went to twenty of
my friends and pledged each one to
ask ten persons if they had read the
book, and If they had not to ask them
30 10 LOFT ,iY,a