Part 28 (2/2)
The envelope containing the article should be addressed to the ”Editor”
of ais gained by addressing him or her by name If a writer knows an editor personally or has had correspondence with hiard to a particular article, it may be desirable to send theletter is not necessary, for the cover page of the ives the editor and his assistants all the infor of only a few pagesenvelope; bulkier manuscripts should be folded once and sent in a raphs of sizes up to 5 x 7 inches may be placed in a le piece of stout cardboard for protection When larger photographs, up to 8 x 10 inches, accompany the article, the manuscript must be sent unfolded, with two pieces of cardboard to protect the pictures Manuscripts should never be rolled
HOW ManusCRIPTS ARE HANDLED In order to handle hundreds of e editorial offices have worked out systehtly, are essentially the same
When a manuscript is received, a record is made of it on a card or in a book, with the name and address of the author, the title and character of the contribution, and the time of its receipt The same data are entered on a blank that is attached to the manuscript by a clip On this blank are left spaces for comments by each of the editorial assistants who read and pass upon the article
After these records have been iven to the first editorial reader He can detere or thether or not the article is worth further consideration Of the thousands of contributions of all kinds submitted, a considerable proportion are not in the least adapted to the periodical to which they have been sent The first reader, accordingly, is scarcely more than a skilled sorter who separates the possible from the impossible All manuscripts that are clearly unacceptable are turned over to a clerk to be returned with a rejection slip
When an article appears to have merit, the first reader looks over it a second tins with his initials
The manuscript is then read and commented on by other editorial readers before it reaches the assistant editor The best of the contributions are submitted to the editor for a final decision By such a system every meritorious contribution is considered carefully by several critics before it is finally accepted or rejected Moreover, the editor and the assistant editor have before them the comments of several readers hich to compare their own impressions
In newspaper offices manuscripts are usually sorted by the assistant Sunday editor, or assistant azine editor, and are finally accepted or rejected by the Sunday orcontributions, editorial offices follow various methods The co regret that thehienious editors have prepared a number of form letters to explain to contributors the various reasons why their manuscripts are unacceptable The editorial assistant who rejects an unsuitable article indicates by number which of these form letters is to be sent to the author A few editors send a personal letter to every contributor Soest soht be acceptable If a manuscript has est that it be revised and subain
KEEPING A ManusCRIPT RECORD Every writer who intends to carry on his work in a systematic manner should keep ahis articles to the best advantage Either a book or a card index may be used The purpose of such a record is to show (1) the length of time required by various publications to make a decision on contributions; (2) the rate and the time of payment of each periodical; (3) the present whereabouts of his manuscript and the periodicals to which it has already been submitted
It is important for a writer to kno soon he may expect a decision on his contributions If he has prepared an article that depends on timeliness for its interest, he cannot afford to send it to an editor who normally takes three or four weeks to make a decision Another publication to which his article is equally well adapted, he may find from his manuscript record, accepts or rejects contributions within a week or ten days Naturally he will send his timely article to the publication that makes the quickest decision If that publication rejects it, he will still have tih to try it elsewhere His experience with different editors, as recorded in his manuscript record, often assists hie
The rate and the ti When an article is equally well suited to two or more periodicals, a writer will naturally be inclined to send it first to the publication that pays the highest price and that pays on acceptance
A manuscript record also indicates where each one of a writer's articles is at a given moment, and by what publications it has been rejected For such data he cannot afford to trust his memory
A writer may purchase a manuscript record book or e or card is placed the title of the article, followed by the number of words that it contains, the number of illustrations that accompany it, and the date on which it was completed On the lines under the title are written in turn the names of the periodicals to which the manuscript is submitted, with (1) the dates on which it was submitted and returned or rejected; (2) the rate and the time of payment; and (3) any ree or card is shown on the next page: ___________________________________________________________________________ |Confessions of a Freshman 2,750 Words 4 Photos Written, Jan 18, 1919| |-------------------------------------------------------------------------| | |Sent |Returned|Accepted|Paid |Amount|Remarks | |-------------------------------------------------------------------------| |The Outlook |1/18/19 |1/30/19 | | | | | |The Independent |1/31/19 |2/10/19 | | | | | |The Kansas City Star|2/12/19 | |2/18/19 |3/12/19 |950 |4 a col| | | | | | | | | |____________________|________|________|________|________|______|_________|
ACCEPTED ManusCRIPTS Contributions accepted for publication are paid for at the time of their acceptance, at the time of their publication, or at so their acceptance or publication Nearly all well-established periodicals pay for articles when they are accepted Some publications do not pay until the article is printed, a method obviously less satisfactory to a writer than prompt payment, since he may have to wait a year or more for his money
Newspapers pay either on acceptance or before the tenth day of the rows out of the practice of paying correspondents between the first and the tenth of eachmonth
After a manuscript has been accepted, a writer usually has no further responsibility concerning it Soalley proofs to the author for correction and for any changes that he cares to make It is desirable to make as few alterations as possible to avoid the delay and expense of resetting the type Corrected proofs should be returned promptly
Unless specific stipulations areaccepted by a periodical becomes its property and cannot be republished without its consent Usually an editor will grant an author permission to reprint an article in book or paazines and sohts to an author's work
SYNDICATING ARTICLES By sending copies of his articles to a number of newspapers for simultaneous publication, a writer of special feature stories for newspapersIt is made possible by the fact that the circulation of newspapers is largely local Since, for exao papers are not read in New York, or Minneapolis papers in St Louis, these papers anized newspaper syndicates furnishmatter of all kinds
The saazine, but a single subject may be used for two entirely different articles intended for two azines If two articles are written on the same subject, different pictures should be secured, so that it will not be necessary to send copies of the saricultural journals with a distinctly sectional circulation do not object to using syndicated articles, provided that the journals to which the article is sent do not circulate in the same territory
If a writer desires to syndicate his work, he must conforood copies as he intends to send out and raphs to accompany each one Second, he must indicate clearly on each copy the fact that he is syndicating the article and that he is sending it to only one paper in a city A special feature story, for instance, sent to the _Kansas City Star_ for publication in its Sunday edition, he would mark, ”Exclusive for Kansas City Release for Publication, Sunday, January 19” Third, he must send out the copies sufficiently far in advance of the release date to enable all of the papers to arrange for the publication of the article on that day For papers with azine sections that are made up a week or more before the day of publication, articles should be in the office of the editor at least teeks before the release date For papers that make up their Sunday issues only a few days in advance, articles need be submitted only a week before the publication day
SELLING ARTICLES TO SYNDICATES The syndicates that supply newspapers with various kinds ofspecial feature stories, are operated on the sa of articles by the writer himself That is, they furnish their features to a number of different papers for simultaneous publication Since, however, they sell the same material to many papers, they can afford to do so at a comparatively low price and still make a fair profit To protect their literary property, they often copyright their features, and a line of print announcing this fact is often the only indication in a newspaper that thethe best-knospaper syndicates are the Newspaper Enterprise association, Cleveland, Ohio; the McClure Newspaper Syndicate, New York; and the Newspaper Feature Service, New York A nu Post_, the _Philadelphia Ledger_, and the _New York Tribune_, syndicate their popular features to papers in other cities
A writer may submit his special feature stories to one of the newspaper syndicates just as he would send it to a newspaper or anizations usually pay well for acceptable manuscripts It is not as easy, however, to discover the needs and general policy of each syndicate as it is those of papers andtheir articles when they are printed in newspapers