and may be so treated. The invisibility of editors is mainly a legend. If
you call at a newspaper office and, presenting your card, ask in a firm
voice to see the editor, the probability is that you will see him, or some
one else clothed with authority. You may be requested to state the nature
of your business, in which case you will make the nature of your business
as vague and enticing as possible. Possibly the editor, if he is timid,
will invent the story that he is engaged; possibly he may really be
engaged; in either case you will ask for an appointment, or wait; a
personal interview is worth waiting for. If you are refused an appointment
and also told that to wait would be useless, say that you will call
to-morrow or the next day in the hope of the editor being then disengaged.
In any event, be pertinacious; and do not fear to worry the man. By
pertinacity you will eventually see him.

Having at last got sight of your editor, treat him considerately. Since
you have conquered you can afford to show mercy. Explain yourself tersely,
and let your visit be brief. Strive to impress by your directness and
business-like thought and action.




Chapter IX

Notes on the Leading Types of Papers



In a previous chapter I have emphasised the urgency of examining with care
and regularity all the principal papers. Nothing is more important to the