MSS. SOLD ON COMMISSION.
In consequence of many urgent requests, the Bureau has opened a commission department, and will undertake the sale of manuscripts, when desired, on the following terms: Every manuscript must be submitted in the regular way, and accompanied by the fees for reading. If the author wishes the Bureau to act as selling agent, and the manuscript is found to be worth work in that line, the author will be required to make a postage deposit of an amount sufficient to pay the cost of mailing the manuscript to and from six or seven publishers, with an additional charge of ten cents for each time that the manuscript is sent out, to cover expense of registration, stationery, etc. When the manuscript is sold, any unexpended balance of the postage deposit will be returned to the author, together with 75 per cent. of the amount received from the publisher, the Bureau retaining 25 per cent. as its commission. The Bureau will not assume responsibility for loss or damage during handling or transmission of manuscripts, or for the failure of publishers to make payment, but every precaution will be taken to prevent loss. Address:—
THE WRITER'S LITERARY BUREAU,
282 Washington st. (Rooms 9 and 10),
P. O. Box 1905. Boston, Mass.
WRITING FOR THE PRESS:
A Manual for Editors, Reporters, Correspondents, and Printers. By Robert Luce. Fourth edition (seventh thousand); revised and greatly enlarged. 96 pp. Cloth, $1.00.
"Writing for the Press" is a practical handbook of the art of newspaper writing, written by a practical newspaper man. There is no "padding" in it; almost every line contains a useful hint or suggestion about the proper preparation of newspaper "copy," and a wonderful amount of information of use to writers is crowded into its carefully-written pages. The work is the result of the practical experience of the author as desk editor on the Boston Globe, and was written in the main from notes made while handling MS. there and elsewhere.
Four editions of "Writing for the Press" have been required. For each edition the work has been revised and enlarged, so that it has grown from forty-two to ninety-six pages,—yet, it is believed, without the addition of a useless sentence. New matter has been added partly to make the book more useful to newspaper writers, and partly to bring within its scope all other writers. Therefore, those who bought copies of earlier editions will find it desirable to buy copies of the fourth edition as well.
That literary workers of every class will find "Writing for the Press" exceedingly helpful, both for study and for reference, is shown by these subject-headings: The Preparation of Copy; How to Write Clearly; Grammar, Good and Bad; Use and Misuse of Common Words and Phrases (with several hundred examples); Mixed Metaphors; Slang; The Use of Titles; Puzzling Plurals; Condensation; Points on Proof-reading; Addressing Editors; Getting into Print, etc. The book is one that every writer should keep upon his desk for constant reference and study.
Newspaper editors, who are naturally the best judges of the value of such a work, all commend Mr. Luce's book. For instance, the Boston Advertiser says of it: "It is a remarkably compact and useful little manual, full of the wisest and most practical suggestions in regard to the mechanical requirements for the proper preparation of manuscript; the right use of doubtful and frequently misused words; punctuation; matters of style; and errors of arrangement." The Critic says: "It is full of sound advice and practical suggestions."