and must
know how to say it. To these qualifications must be added tireless
industry, boundless patience, and a determination to succeed in spite of
all obstacles.

Let us suppose that our author decides to write a book for boys, and to
make it a mining-story. But he has never been down in a mine, nor even
seen one. He knows nothing about mines from personal experience. Under
these circumstances it is clearly his duty to visit the nearest mining
region, and remain there long enough to become familiar with its life,
its scenery, and its incidents, before he attempts to describe them.
From such a trip he returns to his workshop with a thorough knowledge of
what he desires to write about. Before beginning the actual work of
writing he must plan his book, decide how many chapters it is to
contain, and what shall be their length; lay out, either on paper or in
his mind, the general scheme of his story; select a name for his hero,
and, if possible, decide upon a title; for it is better to fit a story
to a title than to fit a title to a story.

In these preliminaries the author has invested a month or more of time,
and has expended a certain amount of money. In other words, he has paid
for the stock of goods upon which he hopes to realize a profit. Now he
is ready to enter upon the building of his book.

As writing is among the most tiresome and exhausting forms of labor, it
should never be allowed to occupy more than eight hours of each day, and
the best results are reached in four or five hours, followed by a change
of employment, recreation, out-of-door exercise, or complete rest for
the remainder of the day. Every book should be written twice, the first
draft being made on soft unglazed paper with a No. 2 pencil, while the
second is a revised and punctuated copy, written in ink or type-written
on sheets of a medium size. The neatness of a manuscript has much to do
with its favorable reception at the hands of an editor or a publisher's
reader. Some authors do not write at all, but dictate to a stenographer
or an amanuensis; but this requires extra practice, and is generally so
expensive a method that it can only be adopted by those who have an
assured market for their work, or are not obliged to earn a livelihood.

At length our book is written; a fair copy of the original rough draft
has been made, and provided with chapter headings, title page, and table
of contents. The precious manuscript is put into a box the exact