Before a young man throws himself into the ranks of this vast army of writers, let him ponder the situation well. If, under the iron heel of adversity, he is sure he can still love his work for the work's sake and be true to himself, there is one chance in ten that he will make a fair living, and one chance in a hundred that he may become one of the generals.
The Factory returns for 1910 and for part of 1911 are given below. Edwards believes that, in its last analysis, 1911 will offer figures close to the ten-thousand dollar mark—but it is a guess hedged around with many contingencies.
| 1910: | |
| 54 nickel novels @ $60 each, | $3240.00 |
| Short story for Munsey's, | 75.00 |
| Short story for The Blue Book, | 40.00 |
| Novelette for The Blue Book, | 200.00 |
| Moving picture, Essanay Co, | 25.00 |
| Short story for Gunter's, | 40.00 |
| Short story for Columbian, | 15.00 |
| Paper-book rights, | 200.00 |
| Serial story for Scrap Book, | 400.00 |
| Moving picture, | 25.00 |
| ———— | |
| Total | $4260.00 |
| Part of 1911: | |
| 5 paper-book rights, | $ 500.00 |
| Serial for All-Story, | 400.00 |
| Novelette for Adventure, | 250.00 |
| Serial for The Argosy, | 250.00 |
| Novelette for The Blue Book, | 200.00 |
| Short stories for The Blue Book, | 150.00 |
| Short story for Harper's Weekly, | 75.00 |
| Serial for "Top-Notch," | 150.00 |
| ———— | |
| Total, | $1975.00 |
George Ade asked an actress, who was one of the original cast of "The County Chairman," to whom he had just been introduced, "Which would you rather be—a literary man or a burglar?" It is related that the actress, who was probably as excited as Ade, answered, "What's the difference?" And this is supposed to be a humorous anecdote!
The man who tells stories, sometimes fiction and sometimes stories, about the Harper publications, evolves the following realistic story about "The Masquerader," originally published in The Bazaar. Well, it seems that one morning, the editor sat her down and found the following letter, which is truly pathetic and possibly pathetically true: "You may, and I hope you have, some little remembrance of my name. But this will be the very oddest letter you have ever received. I am reading that most clever and wonderfully well-written novel, 'The Masquerader.' I have very serious heart trouble and may live years and may die any minute. I should deeply regret going without knowing the general end of that story. May I know it? Will be as close as the grave itself if I may. I really feel that I may not live to know the unravelling of that net. If I may know for reason good and sufficient to yourself and by no means necessary to explain, may I please have the numbers as they come to you, and in advance of general delivery?" The editor sent on the balance of the story, but it was never revealed whether it made the person well again or not. Edwards imagines that the whirl of action in books would not be good for the heart—or, for the matter of that, the soul.
[XXV.]
EXTRACTS
GRAVE AND GAY,
WISE AND OTHERWISE
Cigars on the Editor: