The way to keep posted on the current needs of the various companies is to study on the screen the pictures of the different producing firms; to read in the trade-journals the synopses of all the releases that you do not have the opportunity of witnessing; and to keep in touch with the announcements made by the manufacturers themselves in the weekly and monthly journals mentioned in [Chapter XIV].
"Where and How to Sell Manuscripts," by William B. McCourtie, issued by the publishers of this book ($2.50), contains a frequently revised list of over 5,000 markets for literary material of all sorts, including photoplays.
Keep a record of every script you send out. Here is one simple form for a manuscript book or card index:
| Title | Sent to | Returned from | Date | Sold to | Date | Price |
Do not let the printed rejection slip humiliate you. Really great writers get them, constantly. This statement is equally true of both fiction and photoplay writing. It would take too much time and money for an editorial staff to write personal letters to all who offer unsolicited manuscript.
Never write petulant or sarcastic letters when your offerings are rejected. You may need the good-will of that editor some day. Although personal pique seldom actuates him, he may be frail enough to be annoyed when his well-meant efforts are assailed.
In conclusion, we urge the writer to remember the words of Dr. Johnson:
"All the performances of human art at which we look with praise or wonder are instances of the resistless force of perseverance; it is by this that the quarry becomes a pyramid, and that distant countries are united with canals."