When editors were gods

Raymond Chandler on the two faces of magazine editors

"I am well aware that magazine editors, like the Roman god Janus, must of necessity have two faces, one to smile benevolently on the literature contributor as writer and the other to regard more grimly the matter of his remuneration." — mystery writer Raymond Chandler in a 1948 letter to The Atlantic Monthly, asking for more money for an accepted piece. The letter appears in "Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler" (1981). Chandler also had this to say about magazine writing.

 

Malcolm Forbes on the fate of nice guys

"Contrary to the cliché, genuinely nice guys most often finish first or very near it." — Malcolm Forbes, late editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, in his little green book, "The Sayings of Chairman Malcolm" (1978). 

One famous editor's faith in intuition

"I have never had much faith in meetings and opinion polls....I believe that the editor of a magazine must make the decisions, and if the editor operates by intuition, as I do, he or she must be guided by instinct. For myself, I adore decisions." — Carmel Snow, longtime editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar, as quoted in her biography by Penelope Rowlands, "A Dash of Daring" (Atria Books, 2005).

 

A now-forgotten editor on how soon we forget

"[O]ne of the sad things of life is how soon—how tragically soon—even the greatest among us are utterly forgotten." — Charles Hanson Towne, now-forgotten editor of such major magazines as Harper's Bazaar, The Delineator, and the Smart Set, in his 1931 memoir, "This New York of Mine."

How to suck up to editors, 1849

"Editors are fond of relaxation, and many if them appreciate flattery, because it affords them the only lively pleasure attachable to their calling. After obtaining the first paragraph of praise at their hands, you must go out of your way to convince them that you esteem them beyond all others. You must play the 'good companion' with them—invite their wives to your house and declare that their children—if they have any—are cherubs, and if they haven't, that [they] themelves are." — John Pierpont, writing in Holden's Dollar Magazine, 1849.

Editor Elbert Hubbard on fearing mistakes

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." — Elbert Hubbard, founder and editor of The Philistine and The Fra magazines, from "The Note Book of Elbert Hubbard." Hubbard died 97 years ago this past Monday in the sinking of the Lusitania.

 

The editor as defined by Elbert Hubbard, part 2

"Editor: ... 2. A delicate instrument for observing the development and flowering of the deadly mediocre and encouraging its growth." — Elbert Hubbard, founder and editor of The Philistine and The Fra magazines, from "The Roycroft Dictionary." 

 

One famous editor's snarky definition of "editor"

"Editor: 1. A person employed on a newspaper, whose business it is to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to see that the chaff is printed." — Elbert Hubbard, founder and editor of The Philistine and The Fra magazines, in "The Roycroft Dictionary." Hubbard died 97 years ago yesterday in the sinking of the Lusitania.

Tomorrow: Part 2 of his definition. 

 

Why editors are like artists and novelists

"One of the fundamentals of editing is that the editor selects the particular material; that is, the particular activities of the human race that interest him, just as the artist and novelist select the particular material that interests them.... [T]he editor basically must be fascinated himself with the material that will fascinate the minds of his readers." — S. S. McClure, editor of McClure's Magazine, 1906.

The editor's quest: miles of manuscript and the occasional genius

"Next to the desire of an editor to secure the work of men and women who possess valuable literary names is the desire to get hold of a new name—to get the first contributions of the men and women who are to have valuable names in the future. To discover a genius is like discovering a diamond, and uncounted miles of manuscript are hopefully waded through in the search; for an editor knows, or ought to know, that nothing kills a periodical so surely as a 'regular corps of contributors.'" — Dr. J. G. Holland, editor of Scribner's Monthly.

A famous poet gets the magazine editor treatment

"I have been literally overwhelmed by the congratulatory avalanche. Some hundreds of letter are piled upon me. Verses of all degrees—some beautiful, some intensely absurd—but all kindly meant—have been showered upon me, as if I were a Magazine Editor." — poet John Greenleaf Whittier, in an 1878 letter, reflecting on the honors bestowed on him for his 70th birthday.

 

The magazine editor's most useful word

"One of the best qualifications for the editor is the capacity to say 'No!' resolutely and tenaciously." — Junius Henri Browne, writing on "The Trials of Magazine Editors" in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, 1889.