The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-09
KEEPING UP WITH THE LITERARY GAME

tating the methods o. the English sufYra.
Eettes. Long ago he wrote . book called
THE Fasting Cure" tKsnneriey). and he
has lons been . believer In and practitioner
Of periodic fasts.
A sanAer Fiction Factory.
Aspirann for literary recognition rnisht
do well to look into the claims OF Province
town. at the end Of Cape Cod, for being
conducive TO successful htsrafy activity.
Here were written ct the same time three
novels published this sprlnsi Mary Hsaton
steeies storm and Sinclair Lewis's "our
Mr.. wrenn." At the same time Susan
olaspeli was writing a move, ana not Ions
before Louis Joseph Vance worked there on
Joan Thursday" Yet there II only one
long street In the town and that II lined
with the weather beaten houses Of Yankee
and Portuguese fishermen.
what hook store Customers Prefer
In Fiction.
The Bookworm. Boston, recently offered
prizes for the best letters on the above
subject The following 10 printed from the
winning letter. written by Ward Maeauisy.
q leading bookseller Of Detroiti
The public taste IN very catholic and
novels written on almost any subject. IL
written with viaor ana originality. have .
chance to become popular. II 10 true that
At certain times certain types Of storiss
have considerable vogue and then give way
to other types. II 10 . mistake 70 suppose.
however. because detective stories ere widely
popular at = given time that any detective
story. however crude or poor. will win sue.
cess There IL always far more supply
than demand. and the books that survive
to success must be those that either havo
merit or are esteemed to have. II 10 .
mistake. therefore. to expect that q book
will be popular because other books OF its
general character have proven 50.
Books that apparently are directly imi.
tative are usually Stunned by book buyers.
OF all the imitators Of David Harum" how
many actually won successf
As q general thing. Il may be stated that
the reader Of to-day prefers q novel Of the
present time. Other things Being equal he
prefers that II be concerned with our own
country and written by an American writer.
though among more literary readers there
has recently been = strong tendency toward
English novels Of the better class ana a strong
feeling that those Ensiishmen can write"
The vogue OF the Western novel has not
yet spent Its force. and a virile tale Of the
west. whether the fruit OF observation aud
| experience or the product Of the imssinA.
ton. has an excellent chance for popularity
The romantic. pseudo. Historical story.
generally described as a 'oraustark" novel,
that the public 10 well satisfied with imaS.
mary politics Of imaginary Kingdoms. and
one would have to have a very distinctly
new twist 10 lure the notion world.
Novels. the only selling point OF which ID
| their erotic quality. are no longer widely
, sought. A strong book will not necessarily he
| stunned on account OF II. frankncss. but
| frankness for franknesss cake has long ago
| oyerleaped Itself.
Perhaps more than any other. ~ may bs
said that the novel likely TO win success 1.
one that reflects some phase Of our present
American life. that impresses readers with
| the verify OF Its descriptions. that perhaps
presents some modern problem In q vital.
| convincing way. that brings TO the reader
! all the whirr and activity OF the life round
| about him. yet reads Into II = meaning and
an importance that he does not ordinarily
| dwell upon.
| Many modern readers are treme n d on sly
| interested in a wide range Of subjects They
want to learn OF these things but they want
their instruction In the suiss of fiction
| Books that offer information or presen,
problems In skllful fiction form have an ex.
| cellent chance for . hearing. II In necessary
! to make good fctior. however. and no drag
slnE In OF cxtraneous matter or tackins or
a moral at tho end Will do
Readers undenIably prefer Action Of at
| optimistic kind though there are indica.
tons that the smile because you ought to-
stories have about run their course. Happy
endines are a. popular a. ever and s.vera
excellent books havs suffered because the
public would not tolerate their gloomy con
illusions. Books purely Of humor are moi
often widely popular, though there are eS
ceptions, but clean, swift moving Story
Is much more likely to win success II q
steady now OF consistent humor runs through
its pages