Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-06
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
Editors, Some Of EN-, Are Tempera.
mental Cusses, but, Taking One +
Thing With Another, Heaven
VIII Protect the Work.
Ing Scribe
by SARAH ID. LOWRIE

Of these are studying somewhere-Columbia.
Harvard or Chicago - the technique OF
carcfree at that stage, and very critical and
severe and given to sweeping genernlittes,
such as: The only editorials worth reading
in this country are, etc, etc. or we
have no real humorists, except Lcncock,
and he's just take off man, but there 3
n now chap OIL the, etc., etc.
Then later on when they really are writing
and getting "sent back I meet grave
youpg persons who would rather perish than
be serious about their writings. or who are
less sweeping in their judgments and much
more clever.
And later still I meet those that have
Persisted and who are conducting the Con.
tributors' Department Of this, and the Idle
Hour Department of that, and are said to
have movie scenario about to be ac-
ceptcd. and are very knowing about who
gets what for his books, and who Is the
best paid syndicated writer in America. and
whose job 1t is to edit and cut gobs. out OF
the stories accepted by the Saturday Eve
ming Post, ETC., etc.
DUT the writing people who interest me
- most are those who do not write at
all. but who, like A. Alvin Adcc, OF the
state Department, are the real shapers or
the destiny of their concerns; those IN
the publishing houses who. no matter who
Is called editor or publisher or owner. are the
real nrhitrators. those who accept and those
who refuse.
| did not know that they existed when ]
generally out---of bookish places Of
business and magazine Offices. And I was
often puzzled because the editors looked and
talked SO little like their periodicals.
Neither did ] then at nil gauge the cumula-
tive power Of the firms readers.
I remember the first thing l ever wrote:
which was. of course. biographical novel
and autobiographcal at that. sent to the
nearest publisher. the Lippincotts, because
they were publishing n magazine with a
and crude story by n beginner had had
tremendous vogue. and. though / felt that
mine was neither crotc nor crude, it was
the work of beginner. and I thought
maybe the Lippincotts. hcartened by their
great sale of the first. might try another un.
known.
received note in about a fortnight
asking mo to call at the editors Office and
ask for their Mr.. Forster" l did so and
after little interval worried. red haired
recognized the red ribbons that tied it. He
greeted mo abscntly and continued to tumble
through the manuscript. lie shook II. he
wet his thumb and turned over leaf after
leaf and talked very, disjcntedly in n
patcrnal yet bcwildercd fashion about the
book. And then, after an abstracted pause,
he handed it back to me with the remark
that it was good but not publishablc.
TWAS unused to the printed slips bearing
i that unyicding fiat which ono generally
gets. and I supposed in my innocence that
all rejected manuscripts caused some one Of
Mr.. Forstcrs position a continual pain OF
refusal. SO l nodded solemnly and went
| forth.
Perhaps n year later I gave myself the
discipline of rcrrading that first effort. 1t
was very bad in spots and very good in
others. and perfectly surprising all
through. for I had forgotten every word Of
it but the most surprising thing OF all was
| n letter dated year back from the Lippin /.
| colt publishing Office saying the reports OF
the readers had been on the whole so favor
able that the advice was to publish 1t nftcr
the consent of the writer had been obtained
! TO certain obviously necessary changes: one
was happy ending instead Of crepe on the
door. The sheet with these observations
| had gotten stuck somewhere in the interior
of tho manuscript and had not been dis
lodged even under the jrrkings of "our Mr..
Forster" and. failing to find it and being
uncertain as TO his instructions. he had
given it up as probably n mistake all around.
| By that time. of course, ] was writing a
now novel and did not care what happened
TO the old one. Needless TO say, the new
novel. not being autobiographcal was devoid
of interest of a crude sort, and being de-
! viscd as n tale to ndorn Il. moral, had nc
interest of an original sort. so ! was not
suumonod 10 talk If over Will, any one
M. Eors+or
TN FACT, in my youth--that IT, In my
i early twcntics-my only real opportunity
" 49, ~. ,f , roIi,,r. n,,or who cboS,
"'u ton r.'" wr;tcr on he Cbi,drcn's Colmm,
,mi,bont cvcr having seen scrop Of m,
writing.
He just called mo up over the phone AM
asked me to take the job because his wifi
had told him I was n cheerful soul and h
liked persons about him TO be young an,
cheerful. Beyond telling me never to us
slang or dialect and never threaten 10 lenv
his employ or he would take me Of m,
word hc gave me no instructions and NJ
cr;ticism. and think never rcad n wor
thot 7 wrote
k,nI that came nv way. in the shane Of
nhanco d,nnnjnp into NV Ian was n hoo