Show iN THE WORLD OF BOOKS Eooio Interesting Information About tho Psj of Various Story Writers Special Correspondence NEW Tone Jan 12It has been recently recent-ly announced iu public prints that Mr Frank R Stockton is the only American writer of fiction who is able to live entirely upon the income from his stories This statement is not quite true For some years Edward Eggleston has earned from I his stories a sufficient income to support him and enable him to devote his leisure to historical studies Mrs Burnett would I be able to live handsomely on what she receives for her stories although she has added largely to her income by some journalistic jour-nalistic work and by her dramatic vent tires Gen Lew Wallace could have supported sup-ported himself nicely onthe incomahe has received from the sale of BenHirr Batas Bat-as a rule nearly all of the writers of fieti < m would make a scant living if they were dependent de-pendent upon their receipts from magar Wines or royalties on the sale of their books r N f 3 fi J b f m 1 tl q b I I t I I x I11iJ FRA1TK B BTOCETOK Mr Stockton for many years derived the largest part of his support as a reader for publishing houses and it was not until he was well on in the prime of life that he caught the public fancy with the story of Rudder Grange and the shorter tale entitled The Lady or the Tiger Mr Howells whose repute is perhaps greater than his popularity with the masses mass-es would be unable to live upon the receipts re-ceipts from any of his books if ho was notable not-able to dispose of them to Harpers to be first printed serially in the magazine of that house Even then his income would be small for a man of his tastes and social necessities So he was very glad to accept a proposition for journalistic work as one of the subeditors of Harpers and for this service he receives a larger annual sum than any of his books has ever < brought him himEdgar L Edgar Saltus in the height of This Dopu f K i rarity was able to earn something like S3COO a year although it is doubtful whether these figures can be maintained unless he devises some new sensation But he is not dependent upon his literary income and in this respect is like hfs bosom friend Edgar Fawcett Of course the foundation for Mark Twains wealth was laid when he wrote The Innocents Abroad and it has been increased by some of his other publications But by far the larger portion of his wealth has come from his dramatic ventures from his business investments and from his profits as partner in the house which published Gen Grants memoirs Bret Harte lives entirely upon the income in-come from his writings He receives annually an-nually about 15000 but xhis is due entirely tirely to the fact that his stories are sold to an English syndicate and are published simultaneously in many journals in this country and in Great Britain Miss Mar free Miss Sarah Orne Jewett and Mrs Barr receive fair sums every year for their work but it does not cost them so much to live as it does some of the men named above and Miss Murfree is independent of any literary income The largest sums earned by female writers of fiction in this country were by Mrs Stowe and at a later period Mrs Bur ictt Mrs Stowes fortune would have been enormous had she entrusted her income from Uncle Toms Cabin to some competent com-petent business man For had she insisted upon a fair rovaltv for all dramatic nriv productions have been very great Fortunes have been made in the play of Uncle Toms Cabin but Mrs Stowe has never received a penny from the stage representation On the other hand Mrs Burnetts great prosperity is due almost entirely to the play of Little Lord Fauntloroy She was quite famous as an author before this delightful story appeared but her story of That Lass of Lowries which brought her her first fame was of merely momentary moment-ary profit Nor did she receive a great deal for Little Lord Fauntleroy when it appeared as a serial But her profits on the sale of the book were large though small in comparison with the fortune which came to her from the dramatic representation rep-resentation When she began to draw something like n thousand dollars a week royalties from the play she then told her friends that for the first time in her life she appreciated andenjoyed wealth It was said at a public dinner recently that one famous writer of fiction whose name was not mentioned would hereafter abandon magazine and book publication and wouldfurnish his stories to the news papers through the medium of syndicates The reason asserted was that this author fonnd that he could realize at least ten times the money from such disposition that he could get from magazine and book publications It was thought this might refer to Mr Howells for he is announced an-nounced to be a coming contributor to tho newspapers but a sort of half denial has comefrom those who are authorized to speak for him Yet the statement should occasion no surprise for it is evident evi-dent that a revolution is at hancLin the manner of publishing romances and works of fiction Ten years ago a daily newspaper would have thought itabsurd to publish a serial story and perhaps theniost distinguished editorin the United States declared some ten years ago that the publishing of fiction was not journalism Yet his own paper iq I now running two serials and every newspaper news-paper of consequence in the land is an eager bidder for the works of the greatest authors Therefore it seems likely that the newspapers will in a short time usurp the place held by the magazines for so many years as the medium through which stories of famous authors are put before the public R T BDWAIIDs |