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American and British authors whose work Miss Wick markets are Elinor Ju
Mordaunt, Faith Baldwin, Fulton Oursler, Achmed Abdullah, George is
F. Hummel, Nat Ferber, Grace Perkins, Austin Parker, H . W. Lanier, m
Amber Lee—to say nothing of countless others. The list is not so long, si
however, that it is not selective. Miss Wick prefers it to be so—one of
her most insistent rules being that her agency must remain "personal." w
no
And aside from her profession: Jean Wick has found energy and ad
time to be visiting lecturer at the Bread Loaf School of Creative Writing th
(1927, 1928); to be the author of "What Editors Buy and Why"; to m
be the American representative of John Hamilton, Ltd., London; to no
—but the list is lengthy. pl
pe
"Won't you tell me a little about how you carry on your work?" Fi
I asked when my amazement upon hearing of her accomplishments had th
subsided. Miss Wick quickly and kindly explained. She reads and
criticizes personally the manuscripts which come to her. is
am
" I f the story is marketable," she said, " I say so at once, attempting pe
to give the author a better idea of the market values of this and future
work. he
fo
" I f the story needs revision, I point out its defects, giving reasons. ha
"When ready for the market these scripts are handled as are those by m
my authors who sell regularly, subject to the same commissions. th
an
" I cannot teach anyone to write by correspondence. I cannot re- ch
make an impossible script by suggestion. I cannot make every manu-
script marketable. I do not guarantee sales. I f a manuscript does not T
lend itself to revision another may be substituted.
T
" I f a rewritten manuscript, even when reshaped in accordance with
my suggestions, does not come up to my selling standard, I will not submit lo
it. co
at
" I know from experience that I can help the arrived writer and the
one who wants to learn. Fe
bl
" I am always interested in the work of those who are taking the
writing profession seriously."

And thus does an author's agent labor!
I glanced at my watch. The unwelcomed moment of departure
had all but arrived. But I had just one more question to ask-—the
most important of all, perhaps. I had only courage enough to put it m
a low voice. "Tell me, Miss Wick, won't you, what some of the things
are you say to young writers."

Jean Wick's eyes—it seemed scarcely possible that her graciousness
could increase much more—sparkled sympathy and enthusiasm. Her
advice was severe—yet extremely sound, authoritative, and wise.

"First, I should like to say to all those who have a desire to write,
she replied, "that it takes as long to learn and is as hard to become a
writer as it is to become a doctor, or lawyer, or musician. The art
of writing should be considered as much in the light of a career as is
any other profession. I have absolutely no patience with the would-be
author who says 'Oh, well, some day when I have time I shall sit down
and write a story or a novel'. I t is much more than a question of time.