The sun., 1919-06-29

magazine or a newspaper. Delane OF
the London Times, had the right idea
when he said that Whatever. appears
In the Times should proceed from the
Initiative Of whoever holds. my place
That may sound like conceit, but it's
simple common sense. Editors and
crowned heads are the only people in !.
the world, bar a certain historic, ex-
ception, with the right to say we.
Editors should be the only despots.
II the editor doesn't make good, what ,
the publisher needs is q new editor,
not a. dozen editors. No human affair
Is strong enough to stand the mistakes
OF two men,"
Nj. Lorimer is most accessible The
reason why is summed up In this
statement: ... D..
81 see everybody who has any real
business with me. You never know
what you are going to miss. 1t Is
better to see a hundred of the hope
less than to miss one hopeful. That,
of course, does not mean that an edi-
tor can spend time with the men
who want to read their manuscript TO
him or listen to every interminable
borc who has n panacea for world ills.
Tile great writer Is like the great
doctor--sure OF only one thing--his
own limtations--and he writes bet
ter and longer than he talks.
All the time a keen search Is going
on In the magazine world for the new
writer. This wall that the unknowns
nave no chance comes from men who
are not unknown, TO the editors at
| least They are known to us by their
works, which We have all read, and
| they are bad. There are many reasons
why any editor should be at the front
door waiting for the unknown who can
| say something. One is that he infuses
freshness into the magazine-as vital
to II as pure air to the lungs. Charles
Battell Loomis used to say that for
every manuscript written there was
a waiting editor--the only problem n
writer had was to find the editor.
The "BiR Name" FalIacy.
Zone OF the greatest fallacies In
making magazines" Mr.. Lorimer con-
tinued. us the big name fallacy.
When you get good story under a big
name you have the ideal combination.
But when you have the big name and
n bad story you simply disappoint the
high expectations OF your readers. 1
should always prefer a good story by
an unknown man to moderately good
story by Kipfins. OF course a big name
stands for achievement and the ability
to achieve again. That is why the un-
knowns keep seeing them in the maya
zines. But every now and then some
very sad manuscripts comes from the
great. and once they get that fatal dis
ease Of the author, decisions Of gran
deur. and think that the public is going
to swallow anything they write, 1t is
all bad. The most telling successes
that we have ever had have been with
stories by unknown and anonymous
writer's. Sooner or later those authors
I have become big names
| Commissioning stories is a bad
practice-bad alike for the author and
the magazines--that America has I'M
ported from England. Tying DIP au-
thors on contract Is a worse one that
We have developed at home. The FIRST
means that magazine is being edited
haphazard by fifty men instead OF con-
sistently by one. The second means an
private graveyard,
at Is the first business of an editor
to make other men write. not to write
himself. There are three places where
new authors show oftenest. First. they
happen in the daily mail. In this way
came TO us Montague Glass. George
Randolph Chester, Peter Is. Kyne and
host of others. They came un-
heralded, unknown, without letters OF
Introduction. pull or acquaintance OF
any sort They pushed open the door
or the editorial room with n two cent
stamp. got prompt hearing, prompt
acceptance, a check and an invitation
TO call again. For it is not only the
first business of an editor to make men
write hut 1t Is the first business OF his
readers 10 find every possibility. The
objectionable sin is letting n new man
OF promise get away, The value OF
his readers TO an editor depends alto
Gether on their ability TO discover new
talent, either developed or potential
IF they find no new writer's they
can hunt a new job. so the young
author can bc assured that he is the
object of their tenderest solicitude.
IA second source Of new magazine
writers is the daily press. The de-
velopment Of promising men j.
watched by us, From time to time we
invite them to try their luck with US
So it came about that Irwin Cobb
David Graham Phillips, Samuel G
Blythe, VIII Payne and many Others
renowned the steady job and the
weekly pay envelope to browse in peri
odical pastures.
The Rewards OF the Writer.
"a third snprca ~ e,,ppl,- &c e.,