Literary Editor

( Originally Published 1913 )

ON the staff of a great newspaper is, at least, one literary editor, who is responsible for the book reviewing, and who writes or clips the literary matter appearing, in the paper. The handling of so-called miscellany may be given to him.

Although several literary editors began as reporters, probably the majority of them did not serve apprenticeship in the ranks, but were engaged because of their reputation and literary ability. They are usually liberally educated, most of them being college graduates, and several of them are writers of some reputation. They should be intimately familiar with books and general literature, and with the characteristics of literary writers, both past and present. Their style need not be journalistic, and they are allowed considerable license.

The book and magazine publishers send copies of their books and periodicals to the newspapers, addressed to the literary editor. He writes the principal reviews himself, but delegates most of the work to his assistants, who are usually outsiders.

Literary editors, on the staffs of great news-papers, receive salaries from two thousand to even four thousand dollars a year. The outside re-viewers are not paid, as a rule, more than five or six hundred dollars a year, if on salary; and from two dollars to twenty-five dollars for a single review.