The New York herald., 1922-04-30

W. WCtho .dSO we uioCuSscu
Il the author and his earnings
from his pen from its serious side.
= A.Gshter note is sounded in My
Maiden Effort" which was issued
several months ago. The book was.
made up of the personal confessions
OF 125 American authors, collected
by the Authors League of America,
and published with the imprint OF
Messrs. Doubleday, Page and Com
pany. There is nothing in these
confessions to provoke the tear of
sublime pity. They do not stir
thoughts of Chatterton in his gar
ret, or Poe in his Fordham cottage,
or Murger, weakened by semi-star-
vation, being carried off to the hos
pital. On the other hand, they
serve only to visualize certain pros
porous looking and exceedingly we'll
fed authors of today.
TN printing the confessions the
L chronological order is fol-
lowed and in discussing them
lightly we shall follow that method.
For example, the first to speak is
Mr.. Samuel Hopkins Adams, whose
latest novel is Success Com
pared to Mr.. Adams's experience,
the five pounds that Milton received
for Paradise Lost" was overpay-
ment. Mr.. Adams actually lost
money on his maiden transaction.
When an undergraduate at Will
Jams he agreed for a consideration
of So, to write for classmate a
poem that the latter was to send
to his inamorata. Thee classmates
roommate, finding a copy of the
poem, submitted it as his own in a
college competition. 1t took the
first prize of $40. Mr.. Adams's ef-
fort in the competition, which 9th
erwise would have won, received
the second prize of IS. Therefore
Mr.. Adams's love poem meant net
loss Of 81. Nor was there any
soothing sentimental reward. The
classmates inamorata subsequently
married a minister.
THIRTY-FIvE dollars was the
i payment for Mary Austin's
first story, which was accepted by
the Atlantic Monthly. Ray Stan
nard Bakers (the David Grayson"
of Adventures in Friendship"
Adventures in rontentment," &c.)
first successful effort was a poem
for which he received a years sub
scription OF the magazine by which
1t was accepted. Ra,pN Henry Bar
bour was rewarded by 81 from Pack
for his first literary venture. Gelett
BURGESS first contribution was ac-
cepted. He accepted IL himself for
his own magazine, which was two
inches square. Then, determined
that he would find some one else to
print one Of his poems. he sent an
inquiry to a Notes and Queries col
umn and in a "follow.up" letter sup
piled the poem TO answer e in
quiry. TO this day. says J Bur
CESS. that Is the only sur. ~ of
getting = Hsanuscript prin To
be surs a. paid for IT,"
EoR @ks=ty snd Franks Ad-
IL venture bis first contribu-
tion to literature. Ellis Parker But
Ter received City cents, all in one
cent postcards. Robert w. Cham
ber's first essay in authorship was
on a more ambitious scale. II was
the very charming novel of short
length called I'm the Quarter" He
wrote it to mitigate the ennui OF
being obliged to live, for a while, in
Germany. After repeated rejec-
tons 1t was bought by a Chicago
publisher, who issued it in paper
form, and, ultimately paid the au-
thor $3.50 for selling rather large
edition and then several other edi-
tions. Like many other men of let.
ters Irwin s. Cobb's first ambitions