Editors

Note: Mark Twain was a paid public speaker during much of his career. In this piece for Harper’s Monthly, he explains how he used drawings as memory prompts instead of notes.

“That is an editor. He is trying to think of a word. He props his feet on a chair, which is the editor's way; then he can think better. 

“I do not care much for this one; his ears are not alike; still, editor suggests the sound of Edward, and he will do. I could make him better if I had a model, but I made this one from memory.

“But is no particular matter; they all look alike, anyway. They are conceited and troublesome, and don’t pay enough.”

—Mark Twain (1835-1910), writer, lecturer and recovering journalist, “How to Make History Dates Stick,” Harper’s Monthly Magazine, 1914.

• Editorial Comment: And this editor appears to be in a straitjacket, perhaps to aid in dealing with writers.... 



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“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard