with a paper. The remuneration for paragraphs runs from half-a-crown to three and sixpence. Some papers pay by the inch, and some have a fixed price per paragraph irrespective of length.
My second maxim should help the aspirant in excogitating topics for his brilliant and facile pen. He must learn to see life interestingly. And he must fall into the habit of regarding the whole of human existence as material for “copy.” The idea of “copy” must be always with him. When he jumps on an omnibus, ideas for articles should crowd thick upon him: “How an Omnibus is Built,” for Pearson's Magazine; "The Ailments of Omnibus Horses: a Chat with a Vet. of the London General,” for the Westminster Gazette; “An Omnibus Horse’s views about Policemen,” for a comic paper; “Ways of the Omnibus Thief,” for Tit-Bits; "London Stables: an Inquiry,” for the Daily News; “Stopping and Starting,” a sketch, for the Queen or the Saturday women’s page of the Daily Chronicle. When he spends a sleepless night owing to the entire failure of all his efforts for a month past, he should by instinct consider the feasibility of a scare-article for the Daily Mail about the increasing use of narcotics by urban populations. When his uncle is killed in a great railway accident, he should be moved to write an illustrated article on the differences between ancient and modern railway accidents for the Strand Magazine. And when he is starving because he has been foolish enough to throw up a safe but modest clerkship before securing a position in Fleet Street, he should throw off a bright essay for the Young Man on “How to Live on a Shilling a Day.” If he animates his existence by this spirit he is certain to succeed.
Matters of Practical Detail.
In writing a paragraph or article, always have in mind a particular paper, and aim at pleasing that paper. Do not make the produce first, and then try to select a market for it; but select the market, and make the produce definitely to suit the market.
Paragraphs and short articles need not be typewritten. Articles over two thousand words should, if possible, be typewritten. Without making a fetish of typewriting, one may say that it is never a disadvantage, and usually an advantage, to the journalist. And seeing that the best of all typewriting machines may be bought for half the cost of the best machines of ten years ago, the aspirant might well make an effort to possess a machine of his own. One shilling per thousand words is a fair price to pay for typewriting; in most cases to pay less is to countenance sweating.
When a contribution fills more than one sheet, fasten the sheets together at the top left-hand comer only with a paper fastener. Do not stitch or pin the sheets. It is well to protect the white sheets by putting a sheet of stout brown paper top and bottom. When these get ragged and soiled by postal journeys to numerous editorial offices, they can be changed. Never send out a soiled or torn manuscript; its condition always prejudices an editor against it.
Write on the first page of your manuscript the title of the article, your name and address, and the length of the article in words. Write your name and address also on the back of the manuscript
Many papers print in every issue a few brief instructions to contributors. Read these before despatching your article, and make sure that you have complied with them.
Do not save in special instances, send any letter with your manuscript
Merely enclose a stamped, addressed envelope for its return in case of rejection. Note that some papers which state that they will not return rejected manuscripts, often do return them when a stamped, addressed envelope is enclosed. Always use envelopes, and not book-post wrappers, in order to minimise the wear and tear of your manuscript. If you wish to economise in postage (a serious item to the beginner), leave the envelope open and send it by book-post.
Take care that the envelope which you enclose for the return of the manuscript is large enough to hold the manuscript. Scores of beginners annoy editors by their carelessness in this obvious detail.
When a manuscript has been declined by a dozen editors, waste no further postage on it. Put it in a drawer marked “Frosts,” and after a few weeks’ interval examine it critically. You will then probably be able to discover why it failed to attract. I attach much importance to this examination of failures.
Remember that editors often make their preparations many weeks in advance. It is useless to send in Christmas stuff in the middle of December, or an Easter article at the end of March. The aspirant should buy or construct for himself a calendar of notable events, anniversaries, feasts, holidays, &c., and should keep well in advance of it.
When the aspirant has succeeded in contributing to several well-known papers, he should have their names printed on his card, with the words “Contributor to.” A card so ornamented will often assist him to obtain both courtesy and information when in search of material for articles.
Every serious freelance must have access to a large public library, preferably the reading-room at the British Museum, which is an inexhaustible mine of raw material for the journalist The regulations for the issue of tickets may be obtained from the Superintendent of the reading-room.
The difficulty of obtaining personal interviews with editors or their responsible assistants is greatly exaggerated in the popular mind. These sultans or viziers can usually be seen by the man who is calmly determined to see them. But the aspirant should not approach them unless he has a definite proposal to make, and until he can furnish credentials as to his capacity.
All magazines, many weeklies, and a few dailies send proofs of accepted articles for correction. The correction of such proofs— which have already been corrected by a “reader”—is a quite simple affair, and need not frighten the veriest tyro. In the Appendix (pp. 226, 227) will be found a practical illustration and explanation of the principal signs used in proof-correcting.
In the matter of remuneration, one or two papers pay on acceptance, but they are seraphic exceptions. Some papers pay during the week following publication, and some during the month following publication. The accountants of some papers are not to be relied upon. Some papers, even wealthy papers, will never pay until they are asked, and even then as little as possible. Some papers, and among them several of considerable reputation, have invariably to be dunned before a cheque is forthcoming. If the contributor does not receive a cheque during the month following the month of publication, he should send in an account, giving the title, date, and length in inches of his contribution, and requesting a remittance.
Final Counsel to the Freelance.
I must warn the aspirant that he is bound to fail at first. Article after article will be rejected, and the process of rejection may continue uninterrupted for months. This is, indeed, the experience of ninety-nine out of every hundred beginners. But the aspirant should not be discouraged. He should persevere, and above all he should keep up a regular flow of articles. And while waiting for success he may positively assure himself that success does not tarry, (a) because his articles are not carefully read, (b) because the market is overcrowded with good stuff, or (c) because editors are fools. I need say no more in this connection.
Just as the aspirant is bound to fail at first, so he is bound to succeed in the end if he perseveres and directs his efforts with sagacity. Success, trifling to begin with, will increase; the standard of work will rise; and the time will certainly come when the freelance will cease to be solely a freelance. Either he will get a post on the staff of some paper with which he has gradually connected himself, or he will develop, as dozens of journalists do, into a novelist or some other kind of author. It is no part of this manual to deal with the duties of a staff appointment I therefore pass to the subject of authorship proper, and in particular to the subject of fiction.
Chapter IV
