“Mr. Riley,” I said, “I came here to see you to-day in behalf of the
thousands of people who are seeking to make progress, or gain a start
in business or professional life, and I suppose that the tastes of some
of them incline to the literary field. Can’t you give me your idea of
the prime requisites for success in the field of letters?”
“The most essential factor is persistence,—the determination never to
allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragements
that must inevitably come. I believe that he is richer for the battle
with the world, in any vocation, who has great determination and
little talent, rather than his seemingly more fortunate brother with
great talent, perhaps, but little determination. As for the field
of literature, I cannot but express my conviction that meteoric
flights, such as have been taken, of recent years, by some young
writers with whose names almost everybody is familiar, cannot fail
to be detrimental, unless the man to whom success comes thus early
and suddenly is an exceptionally evenly-balanced and sensible person.
Many persons have spoken to me about Kipling’s work, and remarked how
wonderful a thing is the fact that such achievements could have been
possible for a man comparatively so young. I say, not at all. What
do we find when we investigate? Simply that Kipling began working on
a newspaper when he was only thirteen years of age, and he has been
toiling ever since. So you see, even that case, when we get at the
inner facts, confirms my theory that every man must be ‘tried in the
fire,’ as it were. He may begin early or late, and in some cases
the fight is longer than in others, but of one thing I feel sure,
that there is no short-cut to permanent, self-satisfying success in
literature, or anything else.”