7 OCTOBER 1899, Page 38

How to Write for the Press. By an "Editor." (Horace

Cox.) —The author of this book claims to speak from a very con- siderable experience. He has contributed to publications of all kinds, and his success should be no small encouragement to the aspirant, for does he not write on p. 119, after giving various details upon the subject of pay, "having condescended upon this data" ? One need not be very exact, it would seem, to be wel- comed by magazine and newspaper editors. Possibly, if he uses terms somewhat oddly, he may mean a compliment when he speaks of the "anonymous scribblers" of the Spectator. We, the " scribblers " aforesaid, are "never tired of disparaging the productions of popular journalism." Happily they have some- thing better to do. On the whole, the "Editor's" experience and instructions to his clients do not impress us with the desirability of the occupation which he would recommend. Here is an extract from a letter which meets with high praise as a trustworthy narrative : "I wrote altogether one hundred and thirty-four articles, of which seventy-eight were accepted, leaving a balance of fifty-six Of the accepted contributions forty-three got home at the first trial, eighteen at the second, ten at the third, eight at the fourth, one at the fifth, two at the sixth, and one at the seventh." It is only fair to say that the book contains much useful information.