The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-09-06
MAGAZINE STORIES.
Renewal Of the old Complaint Against
the Wicked Editor.

hction much fostered by most OF oui
! monthly and weekly publications rep
reseMs the editor as receiving each
week or month a huge mass OF manu-
! scripts. which his readers" Gull over, re-
Jecting the impossible with a curt word
Of acknowledgment and submitting tn,
better material to the editor In chief who
selects for publication the very best
Perhaps such was tho situation some
years ago. But to-day. let us see how tho
facts compare with this fiction. I can
Illustrate the situation by a recent incl
dent.
a few months ago a monthly magazine
advertised for stories of from 1900 to
1900 words. to be paid for at the fat
rate of $3.50. Needless to tell. the
American people responded nobly. Manu-
scripts poured In by thousands And how
many did the editor accept2 One In ten +?
one In hundred? one in n thousand !
! NO, not single one did he publish or
pay for. All were returned to the
! writer's
And now the editor stands on a
! PEDESTAL and pirates that the stories were
! lacking In sincerity" Sincerity! That's
! the key word to the situation, but It isn't
/ the stories that lack sincerity. It's the
/ editor. The whole business was an ad.
Vertising stunt" OF tho cheapest descrip-
ton. costing the editor nothing but the
wages OF an office boy to remail the
manuscripts.
That the whole thing was a mere ad-
Verusing Job is proved by the fact that
not single story was accepted Does
any one imagine that among all those
| thousands OF manuscripts, many OF them
written by people OF high education, rare
powers OF observation, or long training
IN the newspaper neld--does any one
mink. ask. that all Of those stories were
bad' To think 30 Is sheer foolishness
Now consider the scheme as advertising.
Through this call for stories thousands
came to he interested In the magazine.
Every competitor considered Il incumbent
upon him TO study the magazine in order
20 get a notion as TO It's style It's field,
us needs Think Of the publicity. Were
tho editor taxed with his inslncerlty he
would use the old argument, "Oh, they
an do IT," And, with few exceptions, so
they do
Most OF our magazines and ve.kI,e,
profess themselves willing to consider
contributions from outsiders Some send
out elaborate printed statements OF their
needs for the guidance Of would be con-
trIbutors' Others supplement the printed
instructions with sample copies of the
periodical They do this while their regu-
lar stan Of writer's are furnishing pienty
or copy" for all their wants And every |
issue contains one or more stories FAR
inferior to some of the material offered
by outsiders
''''N'hi VI NuIllnB inc contributions 10
secure the best the editor and his |
readers regard them as farcical and /
the whole system as a gigantic advertis- |
ing dodge.
consider Robert Louis Stevenson's case 4: !
shortly before he made his great success |
with Treasure Island the Century /
Md9detne printed the "Sllverado Squat |
ters' about 10000 words in length. For |
this II paid him the noble sum OF 5000. |
and he was tlckled to death to get IT, |
ihen he came into prominence through |
tne three stories ON which his popularity |
rests and will rest-"Treas sure Island"
Markhelm," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HYDE"
Inc last was published by the Scribners
In January, 1855. In 1887 Stevenson
landed In New York. A daily newspaper
onered him 10000 for IAN article every
week Tor the year" This offer he de-
v ,, Later, IN nj OF absentminded-
ness 1t is said, he sold S. S. Mcclure the
serial rights to his next story McCiure's
Mdpd.tne printed est. Ives" the stupldest
stun stevenson ever put on paper; printed
u because Of the authors name and not
because 1t had any particular merit
NO matter how good a story may he
the editor doesn't want II II II Is sub
mtted by some one unknown to him, He
Is willing TO have II sent IN and he ,s
Wiling to send IL back. because SO long
as you are trying To break into his maya
zlne you are reading his magazine and
''H'' 'lS ~ anu buylnS H.
Personally, | feel that n far better kind
of advertising would be to print the best
stories submitted. regardless of author
SNIP reject the well known writer's
pot boiler and print something from a
young author, bubbling over with fresh
ness ana spontaneity. Such method
would attract far greater number OF {
readers and buyers than the pot boiler
pan IL is commonplace among maya
zine readers that magazine fiction was
never poorer than II is to-day, and this
IN spite or an occasional story OF excep-
tiOndi merit
But the editor would say there is An
other side IN the question. refer 10 m.
act that the party unknown to the edi-
or frequently submits "A story which he
mas stolen or rehashed Magazines have
made themselves ridiculous occa sionally
by printing stolen goods. But IL that any ,
reason why all good work from outsiders | .
should he rejected? Why not require the
unknown author to furnish satisfactory
put him under heavy bonds |
II seems necessary
have stated the situation. MANN
'cripts are accepted frorp members of tho J
stan or from successful novelists. They Z
are accepted according to who writes
mem, ana not according to merit But
would he very unkind 10 leave the I'M
'nown author facing a blank wall. What
= the solution of the problem? What liz
he way out?
II the unknown author has conedenc.
n his work and can't gain tire personal
acquaintance and friendship OF an editor.
ct him become his own publisher. II :
us WORK Is what readers want, they will
ct him know 1t very quickly.
Or better still, let the unknown author
Tub together with other unknown authors
md establish monthly magazine the :
tories OF which will be so fresh and spon- 7
aneous and charming, trammelled by no .
lee and bound by no iron rules. that the =
ublic VIII rush TO buy II. totally for =
citing some OF the pot boiler periodicals. Q
NTH erstwhiie naughty editors will be
eeking mental employment from those I
whose work they rejected.
II you believe In yourself, Mr.. Aspiring }
writer. show the courage OF your con- u
lotions, IL YOU can furnish the real q
hins' you don't need an editor to boost .
ou RouEp Spp.o b
BERKRLEY, Cal, August 81.