medium. To these writers, therefore, only Chapters II and VIII of my book can possibly appeal.
Nor can much specific technical advice be offered to the second kind of authors—those who want something definite to say because they can write. Fiction is a distinct craft, with a vast body of tradition behind it, and governed by a number of more or less precise canons. Accordingly a certain amount of instruction can be imparted to the aspiring novelist; whereas to the aspiring general writer little can be said that is not vague and ineffectual, for the reason that canons for his guidance do not exist and never can exist. I shall be content to discuss briefly the principal branches of non-fictional writing which are open to an author who has no definite “line,” but who possesses a lucid and agreeable style and is anxious to turn it to account.
1. Memoirs.
I regard this as the branch of general writing which at once affords scope for the highest intelligence and yields the best monetary return. The British Museum and other great public libraries are full of what I may call “personal-historic” material which is capable of being worked up—that is to say, selected, co-ordinated, and modernised—for the delectation of twentieth-century readers. The business does not demand elaborate expert knowledge, but it demands an instinct for getting at facts, a sharp eye for the “human interest,” a sense of dramatic effect and a vivacious style. "Human interest” is always a sure card to play in the game with the Mudie-subscriber, and I do not know that any one need be so “superior” as to despise it. For example, a general writer who did in really good style a book under the title Love Stories of Great Statesmen, would certainly find a publisher for it, and would almost certainly find a monthly magazine to issue it serially—and this despite the fact that the subject is of the tritest. But it would be necessary to do the thing with picturesque* ness and vivacity. There have recently been issued two volumes which are superlative examples of the “memoir” department of general writing. I refer to Mr. Austin Dobson’s Sidewalk Studies, and “George Paston’s” Sidelights on the Georgian Period. The prefix “side” in both titles well indicates the restrictions of this kind of work. Aspirants who have a tendency towards the historical, a predilection for delving into antique magazines, biographies, and diaries, should read these two admirable books and learn to what distinction the art of research and compilation can be carried. There is always a market for discreet gossip about historical persons, places, and things, or about classes or groups of persons—for “footnotes to history,” to use Stevenson’s phrase. Many books in this vein are published every year, but the raw material is as boundless as the market for the finished goods. Possible subjects crowd into the mind. The field will never be exhausted.
When the aspirant has devised a subject, he should plan the scheme of the book and, having written a specimen chapter, should submit it to a publisher, by whom he will be either encouraged or discouraged. If he can discover no publisher willing to regard his idea in a favourable light, he should abandon it and search for a better.
As I have stated in Chapter I, the “memoir” book is usually issued at a tolerably high price, and therefore on the royalty system it is more remunerative, in proportion to circulation, than a novel.
2. Popular Biographies.
Popular biographies, both of dead and of living persons, are a prominent feature of modem publishing. There are numerous “series” of biographies; some series are entrusted to writers specially equipped for their task, others might obviously have been written by any persons with a tolerable style and a ticket for the British Museum Reading-Room. The aspirant with a turn for biography should examine the publishers’ lists. Most firms who issue series are prepared to consider suggestions for additions to those series. Nearly every dead celebrity has been dealt with, and most living ones. But the demand for new works is constant; the field may and must be tilled over and over again. At the present moment popular biographies of artists are in vogue. (See No. 6.)
3. Books about Towns and Districts.
Another fashion of the day is the illustrated monograph on a famous town or district Messrs. Macmillan’s “Highways and Byways” series, Messrs. Dent’s two series of “Media;val Towns,” and Mr. Baring-Gould’s topographical volumes offer striking examples. Very few of the books in this vein which have come under my notice can be considered really expert productions, and there is no reason why the ingenious aspirant with an idea and some tangible proof of his ability to write, should not add to the growing piles of historico-topographical gossip. A writer with a desire to travel might pass three months in Timbuctoo, and make something more than his expenses by a book called Highways and Byways of Timbuctoo. I do not mean this suggestion to be taken au pied de la lettre.
4. Adventurous Travel-Books.
In old days the book was a minor result of the adventurous journey. In the present age, however, the adventurous journey is frequently undertaken solely in order that a book may be written about it. A few years ago the travel-book was at the topmost height of a truly extraordinary vogue. But quite recently that vogue has to a large extent diminished, and travel-books are by no means what they were. Nevertheless they still loom large in the announcements of publishers. Dr. Johnson noted more than a century since that they were, as a class, very badly written, and the criticism still holds good. Not the peril of the adventure narrated, but the interest of the narration, is the principal factor in the success of a travel-book, and travellers for literary gain should meditate carefully upon this truth. As travel-books are usually issued at a fairly high price, a moderate royalty combined with a moderate sale results in a quite passable monetary return.
5. Books about Princes.
There is a steady demand for collections of anecdotic gossip about royalties and royal scions of all countries and nearly all ages. The material for such volumes is plentiful, and one or two astute writers have developed the gossip of thrones into a regular department of book-making. These books require the minimum of literary skill As a rule they are extremely bad in their technical aspects. No doubt a good one—well written, discreet, and free from the more atrocious manifestations of flunkeyism —would achieve a very satisfactory reception. Many books about kings and queens begin their career by serialisation in a magazine.
6. Miscellaneous Monographs.
Enterprising publishers are always ready to consider original suggestions for books, no matter what the subject. Sports and pastimes, social topics, and national institutions, seem to be continually in season. The publishing world is waiting, for instance, for a really diverting anecdotic book on the newspaper press in the nineteenth century. Non-technical compilations about the motorcar will infallibly be needed in the immediate future. The inventive mind will easily devise many similar notions. It should be stated that the financial reward of most monographs, and of practically all books which are suggested by the publisher himself, or which form part of a series, is limited by the fact that the publisher prefers to pay down a lump sum for them. This rule applies particularly to Nos. a, 3, and 6 of my divisions. The price of short popular biographies runs as low as £25.
7. Children’s Books.
Children’s books have lately shared the decline of travel-books. A few years ago they were a “craze,” and every one was reading them, except children. They became tediously brilliant beyond the comprehension of the youthful mind. A reaction is now in progress. All children’s books may be divided into three classes — imitations of Alice in Wonderland, pure fairy tales, and plain non-witty stories about children for children. The first class is at a heavy discount; the second is exceedingly difficult to write; the third offers the best opening. The average remuneration for
