The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-30
Woes or the PuhIIsher.

To THE EDITOR OF The SUN-StT: Your
correspondents, authors with grievances and
timid editors on the defensive, have neglected
to mention one important factor In the maya
zine fiction trade. Publishing 10 a business.
not a movement for the cultivation Of art.
Editors buy in order to sell at q profit. Why
blame them for hesitating to try unknown
goodsP Fiction. like soap. does not sell on
it, merits alone. Nothing sells without pre-
liminaFy boomln In this age when the sales
mar Is king and producers are mere slaves.
The natural demand for action II too small
to go around. and In order to make a profit
It Is necessary to create an artificial market.
A yearning public has had nothing 20 do with
the discovery OF the wares now most IN de-
mand: nine-tenths Of the market for even the
most popular goods Is the result OF frantio
advertising on the part of publishers. Busi-
ness has a single purpose; justice 70 the out
slider has nothing to do with pronts.
Perhaps our magazines are constructed OF
musical comedy lines. The reason IN not
diff1cult 70 ind. Musical comedy lends Itself
readily to display advertising. Startling" 10
the himsy foundation upon which the moet
successful advertising 10 built. Under the
circumstances solid. old fashioned fiction, a
true picture OF human life, would be out OF
place. The advertiser must have thrills. and
the writer who can Introduce the greatest
number of thrills to the square inch is chief.
Hence the remarkable resemblance between
recent successes and the ten cent fiction OF
our juvenile days.
Authors with grievances should not hump
the poor publisher so unmercifully. His
position Is diricult enough. The fckien ess
OF the public and the tyranny Of writer's who
have been made popular are reason enough
for his premature gray hairs. He introduces
the writer TO the public and vociferOusly calls
attention to his excellence, all at the risk of
his own hard dollars. Is the author properly
grateful? Not at all. A soon as he has
been sufficiently doomed. he straiRhtway
assumes all the airs Of a prima donna. One
name on Ave magazine covers In a sin gle
month and thousand dollar checks for
short stories with only a minimum number
OF time worn thrills-these things do not
soothe the publishing breast.
The editor is right. The search for new
talent goes on eagerly and continuously.
But II is not for the sake OF art that the pub
lisher's hirelinRs read thousands Of manu.
scripts. 1t In for reltef from the popular
author who would II he could grind profits
down TO the loss level. The public demands
names on the title page. and IL Ia the business
of the editor to supply the demand. Incl
dentally he Ia constantly on the alert for new
thrills, 4" for It Is out OF thrills that new names
can be constructed.
The young writer must accept conditions
as they are. Let him put aside foolish notions
about art. fidelity TO truth and other non
commercial ideals until he can assume the
lordly role. Let him HE himself TO the Bow
cry theatres and learn the business OF manu-
featuring thrills. IL Ia less difficult and much
less exhausting than the real thing.
Only the narrow mind ed condem the br a
Of fiction now on the market. Some people
admire poster art; others do not. Those who
do not fancy the present output are probably
old enough TO remember the rise and fall OF
the breakfast food. Our appetites are still
fairly good, thank yon.
Mr.. Greer's proposal to suppress all names
but those Of the magazines IL carried out
would suit no one but the publishers. The
popular idol would tumble to the dead level
aud the public loves idols. Besides, who
wants to be an author II there are TO be no
pictures in the papers and no thousand dollar
checks for mediocre short stories?
NEW YoRK. September 20. A. v. Y.