The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-25

Not very dazzling manifest to be sure,
and yet when it is borne in mind that my
literary work has always been subsidiary
and has been entirely suspended for pro-
tracted periods one may at least maintain
that the game has been upon the whole
quite worth the candle.
To achieve even the modest showing
thus summarized has required vast amount
OF patience and a keen outlook for oppor-
tunities. There are legends in circulation
about writer's born under some lucky star
who have never known the bitterness OF
rejection at the hands Of the editors. No
such happy lot was mine.
may safely say that Tor every manu-
script accepted on its first submission to
the autocrats Of the blue pencil two others
have had to undergo more or less pro-
longed pdnderjdhr ere they found resting
place. have had an article rejected thrice
by an editor ere he accepted and published
it. Another was rejected and accepted
by an English editor within the space Of
month, and then thought worthy OF inclu-
sion In the special Christmas number.
Some of my articles have been respect
fully declined from two to twenty times.
and then received a warm welcome. A
dozen publishers have found book manu-
script mot quite suited to their plans, y
while the thirteenth has been pleased to
offer satisfactory terms OF publication
Through all these ups and downs, &C.
ceptances and reflections. successes and
failures. have had exceedingly few causes
of complaint as to the courtesy or CAREFUL
ness of editors and publishers. However
| may have wondered at their eccentricity
of Judgment, or bewailed their failure to
appreciate a good thing when put before
them, the instances in which l have had
reason to deem myself illtreated or be-
trayed have been rare, while the volume
of consideration and liberality has been 80
great as completely to submerge and oblit-
crate those infrequent unpleasantnesses.
I have felt this all the more because.
residing as | have done far from the literary
centers and having had few opportunities
of meeting any of my patrons personally.
| have in one sense been entirely at their
mercy. have never had a personal in
PRODUCTION to an editor or publisher nor
have ever sought to bring any influence
to bear upon them.
My own experience has utterly falsihed
the oft repeated assertions OF there being
rings ana CiTCIeS anu Cii4oco Ai'O
whose hands periodicals play. In no arena
of human endeavor has the contestant a
fairer field and greater freedom from
undue favor
Acquired regulations have their value.
of course. The public has its favorites.
and likes to meet them often, but the veri-
est beginners, if they can only strike a
fresh note, discover an untrodden path or
describe a unique experience with any
sort Of literary grace, stand as good chance
of editorial acceptance az the established
| veterans.
In an earlier part of this article referred
to the mortality among periodicals, and
now by way of conclusion would simply
note that according to my knowledge no
less than thirty-one out Of the ninety-si
publications which admitted mo to their
pages are now no longer existent. Surely
this ia a startling illustration OF the doc
trine Of the survival of the fttest, and when
one considers that the projectors and con-
| ductors Of these enterprises have so perilous
time of it we. the contributors. who put
at risk only our time. our writing materials
and trife for postage. ought surely to
suffer more patiently the disappointments
that befall us in our endeavors to achieve
fame and fortune through the magazines.