CAREER AS AN AUTHOR.
Glazier in search of a publisher for "Capture, Prison-Pen and
Escape."--Spends his last dollar.--Lieutenant Richardson a friend
in need.--Joel Munsell, of Albany, consents to publish.--The
author solicits subscriptions for his work before
publication.--Succeeds.--Captain Hampton.--R. H.
Ferguson.--Captain F. C. Lord.--Publication and sale of first
edition.--Great success.--Pays his publisher in full.--Still
greater successes.--Finally attains an enormous sale.--Style of
the work.--Extracts.--Opinions of the press.
Still very young, and knowing nothing of the trade of the Publisher,
Glazier found his way to the Empire City, and, manuscript in hand,
presented himself before some of her leading publishers--among them, the
Harpers, Appletons, Carleton, Sheldon and others.
To these gentlemen he showed his manuscript, and received courteous
recognition from each; but the terms they offered were not of a
character to tempt him. They would publish his book and pay him a small
royalty on their sales. His faith in his manuscript led him to expect
more substantial results. The subject of the work was one of absorbing
interest at the time, and if he had handled it properly, he knew the
book must meet with a commensurate sale. He therefore determined, if
possible, to find a publisher willing to make it to his order, and leave
him to manipulate the sale himself. He was already in possession of
many unsolicited orders for it, and although knowing nothing of the
subscription-book business, determined that, when printed, his book
should be brought out by subscription.
Meanwhile, he was, unfortunately, like many incipient authors, without
capital, and could not therefore remain longer in New York for lack of
means, having literally nothing left wherewith to defray even his board
or procure a lodging. He was, consequently, compelled to leave if he
could obtain the means of doing so. He had arrived in New York with
sanguine expectations of readily meeting with a publisher, but
discovered, from bitter experience, as many others have done, that
authors and publishers not unfrequently view their interests from
divergent points. Courteous but cool, they offered the unknown author
little encouragement, who, but for this, would have made the metropolis
the starting-point in his successful literary career.
At this juncture he called on Lieutenant Arthur Richardson, an old
comrade of the "Harris Light," who had also been his fellow-prisoner,
and was then residing in New York. To him he confided his difficulty in
finding a publisher for his book, and his extremely straitened
circumstances, at the same time stating his strong wish to return, if
possible, to Albany, where he was known. Without ceremony and without
conditions Richardson generously handed him twenty dollars, and, with
this godsend in hand, Glazier at once returned to Albany.
Arrived in the capital of his native State, he lost no time in calling
on the bookmen of that city, and among them, fortunately, on Mr. Joel
Munsell, of 82 State street. This gentleman, well known for his
learning and probity throughout the State, and far beyond its limits,
combined the profession of an author with the more lucrative one of
publisher and bookseller, and was pre-eminently in good standing as a
worthy citizen and man of business.
Glazier introduced himself, and once more produced his fateful
manuscript for inspection. Mr. Munsell glanced at it through his
glasses, and candidly admitted the subject to be one of great interest,
adding that he also thought the manuscript was carefully written, and
spoke in general complimentary terms of the author and his production.
Glazier, elated with this praise, at once asked to have the work
stereotyped and made into a book of some four hundred pages, with ten
illustrations. Mr. Munsell would be only too ready to fill the order,
but politely suggested, as a preliminary condition, an advance of two
hundred dollars! Our author modestly confessed, without hesitation, that
he was not worth two hundred cents; had no means of obtaining such a
sum, and could therefore advance nothing. The worthy old gentleman was
startled, and answered that such was the custom of the trade. He then
inquired if Glazier had any friends who would endorse a note for the
amount at thirty days. The reply was that he had none; that he would
exert himself to obtain a small sum from army friends, and if he
succeeded, would hand it over to him; that his only capital at present
was his conduct and character as a soldier, for testimony to which he
would refer to his late commanding officer, "and," he added, "faith in
the success of my book." He further offered to solicit subscriptions for
the book himself before publication, and report the result to the
publisher.
[Illustration: Interview With Joel Munsell.]
Mr. Munsell, pleased with his appearance and ingenuousness, hinted at
the purchase of the manuscript, but the proposal being respectfully
declined, inquired, if the writer undertook to sell the book himself,
would he "stick to it." "Yes!" was the emphatic answer, "until
everything is fully paid for."
The reply of Munsell was equally prompt and decisive: "I have never in
all the years I have been in business published a work under such
circumstances, _but I will get that book out for you_." Glazier thanked
the worthy man, and expressed a hope that he would never have occasion
to regret his generous deed; he would place the manuscript in his hands
forthwith.
He then set out to solicit subscriptions for his work, and without
prospectus, circular, or any of the usual paraphernalia of a
solicitor--with nothing but his own unsupported representations of the
quality of his projected book, succeeded in obtaining a very
considerable number of orders. These he hastened to hand over to Joel
Munsell, who was now confirmed in his good opinion of the writer, and
the promising character of the venture.
Thus our young soldier-author was fortunate enough to find a publisher
and a friend in need. A contract was drawn up, and feeling that his
prospects were now somewhat assured, he ventured to write to his
comrade, and late fellow-prisoner, Captain Hampton, of Rochester, New
York, for the loan of fifty dollars. This sum was promptly sent him, and
he at once handed it over to his publisher. Mr. R. H. Ferguson, late of
the "Harris Light," also generously came forward to the assistance of
his former comrade and tent-mate, and advanced him one hundred dollars
to help on the work.
It may be stated here, that the friendship of Ferguson and Glazier dated
from before the war, while the latter, a mere youth, was teaching school
near Troy, in Rensselaer County, New York: that together, on the summons
to arms, they enlisted in the Harris Light Cavalry; together went to the
seat of war; that both fell into the hands of the rebels and had
experience of Southern prisons; and that both effected their escape
after the endurance of much suffering. Finally, their friendship and
common career resulted in a business connection which was attended with
considerable success, Mr. Ferguson having become the publisher of some
of Captain Glazier's subsequent writings. Captain Frederick C. Lord, of
Naugatuck, Connecticut, also contributed to Glazier's need, and enabled
him by the opportune loan of twenty-five dollars to defray his board
bill while waiting anxiously upon Munsell in the reading of proofs, and
soliciting subscriptions in advance.
To return to the first work of our young author, now in the hands of
Joel Munsell, of Albany, which was entitled "The Capture, Prison-Pen and
Escape;" the first edition consisted of five hundred copies, which
Glazier by his energy disposed of in a few days, handing over the
proceeds to the publisher. At the end of six months he had called for
several editions of his book, and sold them all through the
instrumentality of solicitors selected by himself, some of them maimed
soldiers of the war, paid Mr. Munsell in full, and had himself three
thousand dollars in hand. Success is the mother of success.
Having prospered thus far beyond his expectations, he was anxious to add
to his store. Visions of large sales over other territory than his
native State of New York presented themselves to his eager mind; the
book was purchased by the public as soon as it was published; reviewers
spoke in enthusiastic praise of its merits. It was not a pretentious
work--the author was simply a young man and a patriot. But passages of
great beauty and of painful interest pervaded it, alternated with vivid
descriptions of battles in which the writer had himself shared. A
veteran author need not have been ashamed of many of its glowing pages.
Lofty patriotism, heroic fortitude, and moral purity, characterized it
throughout.
The account given of the sufferings of our soldiers while in the
prison-pens of the South, and of his own and his comrades' while
effecting their escape to the Federal lines, are so vividly portrayed,
that our feelings are intensely enlisted in their behalf, and our minds
wander to their dreary abodes--in thought sharing their sufferings and
their sorrows.
Encouraged by his success in this new vocation our young author
resolved, for the present at least, to postpone going to college, and
devote himself to the sale of his book, by the simple agency before
mentioned. This resolution cannot be considered surprising when we
reflect upon the great amount of prosperity he had met with, and the
prospect before him of attaining still greater advantage from a business
upon which he had, by the merest accident, ventured. The college scheme
was at length finally abandoned as the business continued to increase.
"The Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape" ultimately reached the enormous
sale of over four hundred thousand copies; larger by many thousands than
that most extensively circulated and deservedly popular book, "Uncle
Tom's Cabin," had ever attained to, inclusive of its sale in Europe.
The first book written and published by Willard Glazier is of a
character to surprise us, when we consider the antecedents of the writer
up to the date of its publication, December, 1865. Enlisting in the
ranks of a cavalry regiment at the age of eighteen, during the exciting
period of the civil war; a participant in many of its sanguinary
battles; captured by the enemy and imprisoned under circumstances of the
greatest trial and discouragement, his position and surroundings were
not a very promising school for the training of an author. The book he
produced is, in our judgment, not unworthy of comparison with the
immortal work of Defoe, with this qualification in our author's favor
that "Robinson Crusoe" is a fiction, while Glazier's is a true story of
real adventure undergone by the writer and his comrades of the Union
army.
His style in narrating his adventures is admirably adapted to the
subject; while the simple, unpretentious manner in which he describes
the terrible scenes he witnessed, and passed through, enlists the
reader's interest in the work, and sympathy for the modest writer
himself. By the publication of this book, Glazier stamped his name upon
his country's roll of honor, and at the same time laid the foundation of
his fortune.
As a specimen of his easy flowing style we give part of the opening
chapter of "Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape:"
"The first battle of Bull Run was fought July twenty-first, 1861, and
the shock of arms was felt throughout the land, carrying triumph to the
South, and to the North dismay. Our proud and confident advance into
'Dixie' was not only checked, but turned into a disastrous rout. The
patriotic but unwarlike enthusiasm of the country, which had hoped to
crush the rebellion with seventy-five thousand men, was temporarily
stifled. But the chilling was only like that of the first stealthy drops
of the thunder-gust upon a raging fire, which breaks out anew and with
increased vigor when the tempest fans it with its fury, and now burns in
spite of a deluge of rain. The chill had passed and the fever was
raging. From the great centres of national life went forth warm currents
of renovating public opinion, which reached the farthest hamlet on our
frontiers. Every true man was grasping the stirring questions of the
day, and was discussing them with his family at his own fireside, and
the rebellion was just as surely doomed as when Grant received the
surrender of Lee's army. In a deeper and broader sense than before, the
country was rising to meet the emergency, and northern patriotism, now
thoroughly aroused, was sweeping everything before it. Everywhere
resounded the cry, 'To arms!' and thousands upon thousands were
responding to the President's call.
"It was under these circumstances that I enlisted, as a private soldier,
at Troy, New York, on the sixth day of August, in a company raised by
Captain Clarence Buel, for the Second Regiment of New York Cavalry. It
is needless to make elaborate mention of the motives which induced me to
enter the service, or the emotions which then filled my breast; they can
be readily conjectured by every loyal heart."
The Press, throughout the North (and West, as far as its circulation had
reached), spoke very highly of the production and of its author, all
bearing the same testimony to its excellence and truthfulness. The
Albany _Evening Post_ says:
"'The Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape' is the title of an intensely
interesting work, giving a complete history of prison-life in the
South. The book is at once accurate, graphic and admirably written.
It is full of adventure, and quite as readable as a romance. A
person who reads this volume will have a better idea of what it
cost in the way of blood, suffering and courage, to preserve the
Republic, than he can now possibly entertain."
The Cleveland _Daily Leader_ writes:
"We have had the pleasure of reading this book. It describes, in
the most graphic and interesting style, the prison-life of Union
soldiers in the South, their plans of escape, and their various
trials and hardships there. The history contained in the book is
very valuable. The Press, all over the land, speaks very highly of
it, and we can do naught but add our commendations to the rest."
The New York _Reformer_ exclaims:
"From the title-page to its close, the volume is full of fresh
incidents, attracting the reader on, from page to page, with
unbroken, though at times with melancholy, at others indignant, and
at others wrathful, interest."
[Illustration: Calvary.--foraging Party Returning To Camp.]