The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-08-31
Quillen Gets Fortune
Writing for Payers

would like at times 10 De a lrdSeu-
ian; a wanderer who stays at home
instead of taking to the Long Trail.
His name is Robert Quillen. But
his friends-and every man, woman
calls him Bob; he is the same Rob-
ert Quillen whose humorous, whole
some, human articles you read now
every Sunday in many of the big pa
pers under the heading, Folks Back
Home"
I believe am the first newspaper
or magazine correspondent to whom
Quillen has ever given an interview.
The thing I wanted to know most of
all was how he has succeeded in the
writing game.
What is the secret of your sue
cess?" asked him.
He smiled-a warm, lovable smile.
81 guess I ought to strike a pose
and say something that sounds big
he answered. s'But the truth is I
worked, worked, and then worked
some more. Success is measured by
a fellows willingness to sweat"
After all, though, the real story
of Vuillen's success as writer is the
story of the world beating a path
way to his door, the world being per-
sonifed by the editor of the Saturday
Evening Post.
For twenty years Robert Quillen
wrote fiction. Wrote hundreds of
stories, long and short. And never
to this day has he sold single one
Of them. The same Saturday Even
ing Post which later gave his "Small
Town Stuff to its millions of read
ers rejected several hundred Of his
fiction stories. And then in round
abount way the Post discovered that
for years Quillsn had been writing
homely, philosophical little essays in
the form Of editorials for the Foun-
tain Inn Tribune, weekly newspa-
per owned and edited by him. The
Post discovered too that those same
editorials would be delightful to its
readers.
Then Robert Quillen had arrived!
It happened this way:
Some five or six years ago George
r. Koester, editor Of the Greenville,
S. c., Piedmont, picked UP copy
of the Fountain Inn Tribune and
read one Of Quillen's editorials. He
Immediately decided that the Pied
mont needed Quillen, so he sent for
him.
He told Quillen to write para
graphs and editorials. Quillen said
he couldn't write paragraphs. FL
nally it was agreed between them
uhat he was to continue to edit and
publish the Tribune and was to write
editorials and paragraphs for the
. Piedmont too.
Almost Immediately the Literary
Digest began to quote his paragraphs
and in few weeks Richmond pa
per wrote to the Piedmont and want
ed those paragraphs. So Quillen syn
dicated them to the Richmond paper.
Within six months he had become
one of the most widely quoted para
graphers in the United States.
Then one eventful day, the editor
of the Piedmont received letter
from George Lorimer, Of the Post.
The letter said in effect that the Sat
urday Evening Post wanted Quillen
among its contributors. Quillen ad-
mits that when he was shown the
letter he nearly tainted.
"The only thing had to send them
was a batch of editorials for next
weeks Tribune, so named them
Small Town Stuff and sent them
in, confidently expecting rejection
slip, the same sort I had got from
the Post any number of times be-
fore when / sent them story. But
ia this case the rejection slip proved
ta be a check. And along with the
check came q letter saying the Post
wanted Small Town Stuff every
week. iSss.> s...Asas..-
s'It was the same material 1 had
heen giving the readers of the Foun-
tain Inn Tribune for the last ten
years. I'm still giving it to them.
/ haven't tried to write it to them
down to Fountain Inn or up to Bos-
ton"
From that time on Quillen's rise
was remarkable. In the short pc
riod of Is months his income jump
ed from about $4,000 to $4,000
year-and it is still jumping. When
the Post made Small Town Stuff"
"a regular feature, Quillen signed a
contract with large Chicago syndi-
cate tn handle his paragraphs. At