Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-11
EGu1len$ New>6rk Letter.

stick to Shears and the Junket Magazine
to the end of the chapter.
Time and again it happens that the
publication which / edit does not con-
writer. But / get thousands of testimo-
N ais to the effect that a great deal OF
material in the publication is far better
stuff than the hurriedly- written or an
tique material of the so-termed big guns
in the writing world.
Does all this show that the work of
the new writer is being overlooked, If not
ignored and that the material he sends
in is not even read? l hope not. 1 be-
lieve hot. I know very much to the con-
trary.
There isn't an evening that the mod
ern magazine editor the up-to-date editor,
doesn't carry to his home a gripful of
stories by new writer's, to spend long
hours in going over the material to ascer-
tain # any of that bunch Of new wr. Iers
has possible chance to do anything
worth while. He is pretty lucky to come
upon one story IN q big batch that even
shows the dfmmest sort of promise. But
when he does so come upon the work of
the writer whose immature effort indi-
Gates promise, he doesn't waste much
time In sitting down and writing to that
new one, telling him just how and where
the story fell short of the standard, and
urging him to go ahead and AVOID doing
thus and so; going, in fact, into lot Of
details that take time and effort and
thought, merely for the purpose OF urging
that new writer. if possible, to stick to
the job and not to become discouraged
over the fall-down Of his first little at
tempt at literary reputation.
Il am bound to say that very few of the
writer's who are thus keenly but civilly
game enough to go ahead and try again.
They're an easily discouraged lot, these
new ones. 1t has been. Of course, a big
effort for them to n.sh that first story.
in the cleverness of which they implicitly
believe; and when they get the admoni-
tory and advisory letter from the editor
they conclude, most of them, that they
are merely being jollied, and quit trying
any more, and return rather sorely to the
avocation which they follow.
But there are quite a few Of the game
ones. and I've got quite an assortment
of them on my writing staff now. all
doing first-rate work, and improving
every time they try. I've had writer's
send me complete novels, which, though
they showed promise, l was obliged to
send back always. however. with en-
couraging letters. Then they've plodded
on and sent me another complete story,
which again l had to send back, this
time with extreme regret. Then. in due
course of time, after hard. difficult labor,
they'd contrive and write another story
and fire 1t at me, and. 10! II was q gen.
timely good, interesting yarn. a story
fit for the enjoyment of any reader, and
I've printed the story with Joy, and the
game writer's, thus encouraged, have
gone ahead with the work-and now they
are absolutely made. They are pretty
certain that I'll take all or most of the
stun they write, and all the time they're
building up regulations, improving in
form and style. earning such good sums
for their work as to enable them to work
more slowly and therefore more care
fully, and all the time travelling with
certainty to the plateaus occupied by
the top-notchers.
What. for instance. do you suppose
the editor who brought out the late O.
Henry had a right to think Of himself?
No. I'm not the man who did that, but
another editor who was connected with
my firm achieved that highly enviaible
feat. o. Henry, painfully modest, a new
man from the south, his miraculous
stories written with pencil on measley
yellow paper, sent those stories around to
hearIy all of the magazine offices in New
York. This was more than ten years
ago. of course before the modern idea
OF scanning every manuscript. no mat
ter by whom written, came into vogue.
Readers of manuscript even then had q
distinct preference for typewriter copy.
And SO O. Henry had his yarns turned
down with a regularity that often forced
night and take another notch In his belt
by way of breakfast when the sun came
up.
Then the editor of whom speak got