A Short Story o c\j o By LESLIE W. QUIRK CAROLINE E. LE CONTE X 1 ~/" / *5*-t*o-7 *vv^ - ' HOW TO WRITE A SHORT STORY How TO WRITE A SHORT STORY AN EXPOSITION OF THE TECHNIQUE OF SHORT FICTION BY LESLIE W. QUIRK THE EDITOR PUBLISHING COMPANY 150 Nassau St., New York City 1906 . A/ i4~J*~+ COPYRIGHT, 19041 BY EDITOR PUBLISHING COMPANY THE OUTING PRB86 DEPOSIT, N. Y. 5 words. Blank City, N. Y. THE REVOLT OF UNCLE JOHN. By JAMES DARKEN BANNER Just beneath the title of the story should be placed the name of the au- thor as he wishes it to appear in print. If he is writing under a nom-de- plume, an affectation countenanced neither by good sense nor good business ability, it should be placed here. A soiled manuscript tells its own story of previous rejections, and invites others. The Preparation of Manuscript 65 "You are not taking an unfair advan- tage of an editor," says Albert Bigelow Paine, " when you renovate your much- traveled manuscript, or recopy it on clean paper. You are taking an unfair advantage of your manuscript when you do not do it, and you are insulting the editor, who does not care where your story or article or poem has been, so long as it is presented to him invitingly." The paper on which the story is cop- ied should be of good texture, light in weight, but not transparent. A size about 8J by n, folded twice, has a great many advantages. Never fasten the sheets of your manuscript together in any way. They should be loose, to be shuffled as the editor finds need. Two sizes of envelopes should be pur- chased, one to fit within the other with- out folding. A stamped, self addressed envelope should accompany every manu- , script. If the name and address of the writer are on the first page, no explanatory note is necessary. As a matter of cour- tesy, however, a very brief one may be 66 How to Write a Short Story sent. It should be somewhat along the following lines: Editor, Blank Magazine, New York City. Dear Sir: The enclosed manuscript is submitted with the hope that it may be found available for publication in The Blank Magazine, at your usual rates. Never display your lack of common sense by any of the petty little tricks common to the writers who believe their manuscripts are not read. If an editor finds the sheets of your story lightly gummed together, he will not take the trouble to separate them. Neither will he sort out pages not properly numbered. He cannot afford to waste time on writers who stoop to such detestable actions. He knows they will never be able to please him with their work. Your manuscript will be read if it is worth while and properly prepared. If your first page is dull, your second may never be read. But if you have good material, served up in such a way that the reading is more of a pleasure than a task, your manuscript will be con- The Preparation of Manuscript 67 sidered on its merits, whether it is signed by Rudyard Kipling or by John Brown. I have had the pleasure of reading manuscripts by such writers as Jack London, Albert Bigelow Paine, Charles Battell Loomis, and a great many of the best authors of the day; and I say unhesitatingly that their copy, without exception, was the neatest and most correct that ever came under my eye. These men have won their positions in current literature by pure merit, and their example in the preparation of copy is worth following. VII THE PLACING OF THE STORY CHAPTER VII THE PLACING OF THE STORY I RANK the ability to sell a story nearly as high as the ability to write one. Unless you can dis- pose of your manuscript, after you have spent hours over it, your work counts for nothing. I have seen a great many young writers, some of pronounced abil- ity, who have given up the literary pro- fession because they were unable to sell their work. For this reason, I say that the selling is well nigh as important as the writing. To place a story to good advantage, you must know the market through and through. It is not enough to know that the leading ten-cent magazines use love stories. You must know wherein those found in McClure's differ from those in Munsey's, in Everybody's, in The Cos- mopolitan, in every other magazine that 72 How to Write a Short Story has a personality. You must know the shades of difference that separate The Youth's Companion and St. Nicholas; Harper's, and The Smart Set; The Wom- an's Home Companion and The Ladies' Home Journal. When you begin to de- tect the points in which the editorial needs and whims differ, you are in a po- sition to become acquainted with the literary market. If you write stories, it is your business to make a systematic and thorough study of magazines that use short fiction. You must learn to note whether action, complications, character drawing, style, humor, or any one of a dozen other qualities is responsible for the accept- ance and publication of every story you read. If you find stories that lack plot altogether, you must discover what fea- ture takes its place. It is only in this way that you can become fully ac- quainted with the magazines. Too many young writers consider the ease with which a story may be written, rather than its adaptability for any mag- azine. A great number of students in The Placing of the Story 73 high schools and colleges write fiction which is praised by classmates and teachers, and which may really be good from an artistic standpoint, but which is entirely out of line with the needs of any magazine. I have seen stories that were offered to such publications as The Youth's Companion and St. Nicho- las, in which the boys played pranks that would shock the good mothers and fathers of proper children. These stories were about boys, however, and for this reason their writers imagined them fitted for the publications to which they were sent. They had absolutely no chance of acceptance, and a study of the magazines would have shown the folly of submitting such manuscripts. Not only must you know the market but you must know your own work. You must be able to distinguish between a story adapted to Harper's and The Century, and one that is fit only for the newspapers and syndicates. You must judge your own work honestly and with- out prejudice. A story fresh from your brain will 74 How to Write a Short Story sound better than one that has been laid aside for a day or two. You will be able to pass upon its merits more im- partially if you put it away until your enthusiasm cools. You will also find that it is good practice to read your stories aloud to some other person before you submit them to any magazine. The defects and crude portions will become discernible in a way they never would otherwise, particularly if your hearer is capable of criticising. A good critic is of inestimable value. I would rather have an unbiased, hon- est opinion of my story, from some one who was capable of judging it, than all the praise in the world. As a matter of fact, the friends who laud your work usually do not appreciate either the de- fects or the merits. An unprejudiced criticism of your story will benefit you more than anything else in this matter of choosing a market. The question of timeliness is one that should be studied. A story that fits the season has a much better chance of ac- ceptance than one which may be used The Placing of the Story 75 at any time and is of equal literary value. Readers expect a Christmas story in the December magazine, an Independence Day story in the July number, and sea- sonable fiction at all times. A great many writers overlook this fact alto- gether. Christmas stories are usually weak in plot; they have been done with a regularity that has exhausted all ideas. A fairly original Yule-tide story, offered during the summer months, or a good Fourth of July tale, submitted during the first quarter of the year, stands a very good chance of acceptance. If you will remember that stories should be sub- mitted from three to six months before the issue of the magazine in which they should appear, you will be stealing a march on less experienced and less ob- serving writers. In considering the type of character of stories, a second side of the question of timeliness also plays a part. Like clothes, stories follow the fashions. Yes- terday dialect stories were the style; the day before romantic fiction; the day before that, bald realism. To-day the 76 How to Write a Short Story stories that border on history claim recognition. To-morrow the style may change. By keeping a close watch on what is in vogue, you can more easily please the editor. Some one has said that there is a place for every story, good, bad or indifferent, that is written. To a great extent, this statement is true. At the top stand the best magazines; at the bottom, the little pamphlet publications that do not pay for contributions. Between these ex- tremes lie hundreds of magazines, papers, syndicates, etc., that purchase stories. Just below the best magazines are the literary weeklies. The religious papers and magazines brighten their pages with fiction. The juvenile publications pay excellent prices. The household and domestic journals run serials and short stories. Even the class publications give space to fiction. Hundreds of news- papers throughout the country offer good markets. The several syndicates pur- chase liberally and pay well. For no class of work is the market as wide as for the short story. The Placing of the Story 77 You will meet rebuffs in placing your work, lots of them. You will grow dis- couraged, no doubt, before you dispose of your manuscript. But if you have not the bull-dog tenacity to stick to it, to meet each returning manuscript with a smile, and to go on hoping and be- lieving in yourself, you have no business in the literary profession. Nor should rejections discourage you. "The story, or the article, or the poem," says Albert Bigelow Paine, "may come back again and again. The author may rewrite it over and over; but if he perseveres, and the offering is genuine, it will find its place and welcome at last. I have had stories and poems returned to me as many as fifteen times, only to place them at last in a better market than I had hoped for in the beginning. The author who gives up after one rejection, or two, or ten, is unworthy of the name." THE END A Journal of Information for Writers IT PUBLISHES: Contributions of prominent authors Articles on story writing Articles on versification Articles on marketing manuscripts Hints on preparing manuscripts Notes from editors stating needs Notices of all new publications Notices of all suspended publications Notices of all timely editorial needs Lists of magazines that want manuscripts Complete monthly report on literary market Answers to literary queries, departments, etc. Also conducts a literary bureau under direct supervision of Leslie W. Quirk, in which is offered expert criticism of manu- scripts, advice as to strengthening, cor- recting, revising, mastery of technique, etc., together with a list of magazines, syndicate, or newspaper markets for which each is best adapted. Estab- lished 1895. Sample copy of The Editor, containing more information for writers than any school offers, and full particulars of literary bureau, will be mailed to any address for ten cents. Editor Publishing Co. 150 Nassau Street New York City 02079 JV&78455 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY