
audiobook
The Fiction Factory
Contents of Chapters.
"A LITTLE GIFT"
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
A seasoned wordsmith opens up about the gritty reality of turning a typewriter into a steady paycheck. He recounts the moment he left a secure clerical job in 1893, swapping a reliable salary for the uncertain rhythm of nightly and Sunday writing sessions. The narrative follows his two‑decade journey through lean periods, sudden windfalls, and the relentless pressure to churn out stories that satisfy both publishers and readers.
Interwoven with candid letters, practical tips, and behind‑the‑scenes glimpses of his “fiction factory,” the memoir balances the craft’s artistic side with the hard‑won lessons of the business. Aspiring authors will find useful guidance on pacing, market demands, and the delicate dance between quality and quantity, while veteran writers can enjoy the humor and honesty of a life spent turning raw ideas into finished prose. This engaging account offers a rare, unvarnished look at the everyday labor of making literature a livelihood.
Full title
The Fiction Factory Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfully Being the experience of a writer who, for twenty-two years, has kept a story-mill grinding successfully
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (292K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Demian Katz and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University (http://digital.library.villanova.edu/))
Release date
Nov 25, 2014
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1867–1933
A fast, prolific storyteller of the dime-novel era, he wrote westerns, adventure tales, serials, and plays for a mass audience. He is also remembered for Plotto, a plot-generation guide that later became a curious classic for writers.
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