The Fiction Factory: Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfully — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
The Fiction Factory: Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfully
John Stuart Mill · en
For them Edwards has written upwards of five hundred five-cent
libraries, a dozen or more serials for their story paper, many serials
for their boys' weekly, novelettes for their popular magazines, and a
large number of short stories. For these, in the last eighteen years,
they have paid him more than $35,000.
Nor, during this time, was he writing for Harte & Perkins exclusively.
He had other publishers and other sources of profit.
As an instance of helpfulness that did not help, Edwards once
attempted to come to the assistance of Howard Dwight Smiley. Smiley
wrote his first story, and Edwards sent it on to _The Argosy_ with a
personal letter to Mr. White. Such letters, at best, can do no more
than secure for an unknown writer a little more consideration than
would otherwise be the case; they will not warp an editor's judgment,
no matter how warmly the new writer is recommended. The story came
back with a long letter of criticism and with an invitation for
Smiley to try again. He tried and tried, perhaps a dozen times, and
always the manuscript was returned to the patient Smiley by the no
less patient editor. At last Smiley wrote a story about a tramp
who became entangled with a cyclone. The "whirler," it seems, had
already picked up the loose odds and ends of a farm yard, along with
a churnful of butter. In order to escape from the cyclone, Smiley's
tramp greased himself with the butter from the churn and slid out
of the embrace of the twisting winds. "Chuck it," said Edwards;
"I'm surprised at you, Smiley." Smiley did "chuck it"--but into a
mail-box, addressed to Mr. White, and Mr. White "chucked" a check for
$12 right back for it! Whereupon Smiley chuckled inordinately--and
came no more to Edwards for advice.
V.
NICKEL THRILLS AND
DOLLAR SHOCKERS.
The word "sensational" as applied to fiction has been burdened with
an opprobrium which does not rightfully belong to it. Ignorance and
prejudice and hypocrisy have conspired to defame a very worthy word.
Certain good but misguided people will turn shudderingly from a nickel
novel and complacently look for thrills in a "best seller." Often
and often the "best seller" is to be had for 95 cents or $1 at the
department stores. Not infrequently it spills more blood than the
nickel thriller, but the blood is spilled on finer paper, and along
with it are idealized pictures of heroine and hero done by the best
artists.
As a matter of course the dollar dreadful is better done. The author
probably took six months or a year to do it, and if it is well
advertised and proves a success he reaps a modest fortune. On the other
hand, the nickel novel is written in three days or a week and brings
the author $50. Why shouldn't the dollar book show a higher grade of
craftmanship? But is it less vicious than the novel that sells for
five cents? To draw the matter still finer, is either form of fiction
vicious?