The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-16

tFopit INV Nhcoeh N'o
was steadily in demand for series and
noyelettes al 3 cents and 2 cents per
word respectively. And as i made each
one OF the series at least 10000 words.
and as each novelette, was no less thai
$4,000 words. / got $3.50 per instalment
for series and no less Than $l,OoO Tor
novelettes. 80
To MAX $3.50 took about n week (f
you count changes made To order and a
few rcjections). To make $1,000 took
less than a month.
1t Just SO happened nat my more
than mortal series" hero had caught on.
Soon l was getting $3.50 and $500 for
tales about him. Imagine n youngster
commanding such prices for mere MARIA
tons tales Of impossible feats tn my
Case containing some real local color ut
Is true) and some slight attempts at
characterization.
But I never permitted another volume
Of my hero's feats to be republished.
despite publishers offers. Tho same
goes for the few serials / wrote. l pub
lished my first serial in book form soon
after my frat book. The rest he I'M
bedded in the nles of certain magazines.
l remember Ralph T. Hale Chen OF
the Bobbs- Merrill Company coming TO
Baltimore, where / then lived. and
spending an afternoon trying to
me ! should touch up each one OF my
serials. as / had Ion the first. also some
novelties. and have them reissued In
book form. as Vance and Mesdames
Bower n Rinehart were doing. with
whom ] shared serial honors at the
time.
But ] thought not.
81 expect to be able to write real
novels some day." / said. And IL Will
be too hard To convince anybody they
are real with u long string OF phantas-
magorias on my list. Anyhow. l haven't
the heart TO polish peanuts. n peanut
Is a good reliable bit of foOdstun. 30 Is
this stun I'm doing now. But " fs no
better for any purpose Whatsoever. ever
II one spends days polishing its shell
like a lapidary."
what / said was something like that.
anyhow
waited four years before publishing
my next. book. A Enemy 10 Society,
a piece OF work that was miles in adj
vance OF the other two. But even that
was marred by serial requirements. l
introduced a totally unnecessary "love
i~ntercxt' and n number OF artificial
scenes purely for serial purposes. But |
had not the courage to refuse $1,000 for
the serial rights. and so allowed myself
TO be convinced. that said heart In
terest" and said artificial scenes were
necessary.
Then / suddenly stopped decelvine
myself. ] had written plays which did
not bend their necks to any serial yoke
| would do my mex novel without even
thinking of an editors existence.
| did TO and have at last the knowl'
edge that 7 have done something that
can stand the English test Of a novel
the test OF being damned because II is
American"
There is not an American writer OF
- phA ttl1
not bear me out that while for his
~pocketbook no can I'll afford 10 dis
regard seriallzation, for his best work
he can III afford not TO.
M one skilled in the editors code
can skim through an otherwise signif'
cant novel and show you where hurtfuI
., characters. scenes and dialogue have
been Inserted Cor helpful ones el!mi'
natcd). With magazines paying the
huge prices they do nowadays twice rs
much as when | was a steady contrib
utor), IL requires a real sacrifice, some
times a sicrlhce that brings a wei
known man actually close TO poverty
TO do novels that have no serial chance
For to do a novel "a real novel) re
quirts no less than a year OF steady
work \ year ot 36S days. ten TO twelve
hours a day. | was considered a rapit
writer: | have written 10000 wor,
stories IN a day yet II took me two an'
ore-half years to do ODDS Man" &
200 900 word book.
I suppose wrote a million words q
get that 100000 in It's Anal finished
shape, however.
-, And the worst OF Il all IL that on
loses ones knack for the rubber STAN,
type OF story the magazines, in the main
want. once I was able to leave of
working on serious plays TO write re
vu.s' like The Passing Show of 1872,
broadway 10 Paris" sc. but | doub
my ability to do so any more.
p Say. rather. l doubt my ability &
& make myself see the necessity OF doini
such work. For. by keeping away from
certain themes, a writer may retain hi
, selt-respect and still do short stories 70
q the magazines, IL he carefully select
\ the time and place for writing and sell
r lng.
To return TO our original subject maj
ter. outside OF exceptional eases o
writer's with well established clientele
r the magazine desires to acquire Church
ms for i~nstarce), outside OF ~eNccptionl
comedies dixie III. R.") and novel
whose scheme permits m ignoring o
the tortuuus in human affairs Gike "Th
I Turmoil'), outside of exceptional wei
worked up advertising plants Xix
= susan Lemon ilu u lew otl'l IN
captions, the chances are ten TO on
, against good" serials being good nov
Y els.
u And good novels when published ser'
: ally are often not good novels thank
10 the cuts. | remember when "Tono
I. Bungay" was published serially in thi
u country. AT least 100 pages from tn
o centre Of tho book We're eliminated a
a one fell swoop all trace OF young Por
derevo's first marriage, and the liaiso
u following H.. were entirely eliminated
y So that the FIRST love stuff' with IN
Honorable Miss Normandy could begi
and end the book.
e When they VIII DO that with II. {
: Wells, tho first English writing novels
Of the day. you will SEQ that II gre
name does not pacIfy the bourgeois
\ who pay 10 cents per copy not whe
their "ldeers'' of what ought to he al
threatened.
which makes it difficult for him Wi
lusts for the Egyptian purple OF mag
zine prices land who has the abili'
To- command high ones). That IL. II !
n would give to life and letters the be
that is in him.