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REMEMBER J|uglj?8.CnUf MAGAZINIBS I REMEMBER Some Pulps, Their Editors, And What It Was Like To Write For Them by Hugh B. Cave PULP VAULT PULP STUDY NO. 2 Tattered Pages Press 1994 Chicago, Illinois CONTENTS Chapter 1 4 Chapter 2 14 Chapter 3 23 Chapter 4 31 Chapter 5 38 Chapter 6 45 Chapter 7 54 Chapter 8 61 Chapter 9 71 Chapter 10 80 Chapter 11 91 Chapter 12 100 Chapter 13 108 Chapter 14 117 Chapter 15 125 Chapter 16 134 Chapter 17 145 Chapter 18 155 Chapter 19 164 MAGAZINES I REMEMBER is published by Tattered Pages Press, 6942 North Oleander Ave., Chicago, IL 60631. Published March, 1994. Copyright 1994 Tattered Pages Press. Text copyright 1994 Hugh B. Cave. Cover copyright 1994 Kevin Duncan. Chapter 1 of this book has previously appeared, in slightly different form, in Pulp Vault #10 (May 1992) and is copyright 1992 by Hugh B. Cave. Chapters 2 and 3 of this book have previously appeared, in slightly different form, in Pulp Vault #11 (June 1993) and are copyright 1993 by Hugh B. Cave. Hugh Cave, circa 1935 Hugh B. Cave CHAPTER ONE The other day, while looking for something in a dead-letter file, I came across some letters written by a certain young pulp writer named Hugh B. Cave to another young pulp writer, Carl Jacobi. Carl and I began a correspondence in 1930 when he liked a story of mine in Short Stories and dropped me a line, in care of the magazine, to say so. Since then we have exchanged many, many letters, yet still have never met face to face! I don’t have Carl’s early letters to me, worse luck. They were all lost in a fire, along with copies of some 800 pulp stories of mine and all the records pertaining thereto; the dates on which they were completed, who bought them for what magazine, how much I was paid for them, and when they were published. But I do have my letters to Carl because he saved them, bless him, and his friend R. Dixon Smith, who has been looking after his affairs for the past few years, kindly sent me copies of them. Here, then, are some bits and pieces from those letters that may offer background information on certain pulps I was writing for at the time. Remember, please, these words were written when their author was a feisty young squirt in his very emly twenties earning about $5,000 a year—big money in those days!—as a hard-working, full-time pulp fictioneer. April, 1931: More power to you with Ghost Stories. You’ll draw some very decent criticisms and comments from Wheeler; he is a really sympathetic editor. Incidentally, I have a story coming in the next Ghost called "The Affair of the Clutching Death." I like to write horror, and another of my stories, "Creatures of the Blood", is even now at Wheeler’s office. This last is a creepy vampire thriller—too horrible, I think, to get by.* *(Retitled "The Brotherhood of Blood", this was my first sale to Weird Tales. Editor D.E. Wheeler of Ghost Stories must have turned it down.) August 1, 1931: There are rumors that Far East is ttiklng over Star Magazine. Anyway, Star is through with the current issue. Man Stories is quitting, I believe, but will resume later at a dime a copy. Short Stories, with Maule bossing the works, is poison to all regular writers. Bedford-Jones writes to me and says he hasn’t sold them a Magazines I Remembei thing since Maule took over the reins. So you detected a new style in my Areosv yarn, "Steal a Dog’s Bone." Argosy has a style of its own and one must comply with it. Their short story market is not worth much-one and a half cents a word. August 18,1931: Bad news for both you and me. Our old friend Ghost Stories, after being turned over to Hersey, is now finished. I don’t know how that will hit you, but I had just landed a contract* with Stuart Palmer to do a yarn an issue at good rates. ‘(Palmer had succeeded Wheeler, and this couldn’t have been a contract. It must have been some sort of invitation to submit a story a month.) Hugh B. Cave Hugh B. Cave As for the rest of the dope: Man Stories will appear no more under that title. In the late fall it will reappear however, twice a month, at a dime a copy. And I’m optimistic enough to believe that Sam Bierman will make it pay. Man Stories has used some mighty fine stories lately. When it reappears,* I’ll have the complete novel in issue number one-a Borneo yarn called "The Flaming Skull." The second issue will have a novelette of mine with the not-so-good title of "Tex Takes a Hand." Both of these are bought and paid for. *('Man Stories reappeared as Popular Fiction in November 1931, and my story in issue number two was rentuned "Texas Bred" by editor Bierman. That same second issue, by the way, contained a plagiarized story of mine, "Young Courage," by someone who called himself Rupert Knowles.) You want a title for your Baluchistan yarn? How does "The Balu Break" appetd to you? Titles...are important. I had a story about a year ago which was, as my stories go, about middling good. I called it "Way of the Jungle" and tried Adventure. It didn’t go. I sent it to Top Notch with a change of title, calling it "Jungle Judgment" simply because Top Notch in those days favored the justice theme. But that magazine was overloaded, and I tried the thing on Short Stories. If there’s one thing Horn (editor Roy deS. Horn) hates, it is a trite title. So "Way of the Jungle" and "Jungle Judgment" were definitely out. I let the yarn hang fire around here for a week until I devised a trick name for it. Then I sent it—"Six-Leg Nerves"—to Horn, and he bought it. November 13,1931: Bates (Harry Bates, editor of Strange Talesl is a good fellow, but takes his job seriously and...balks at little things all the time. Get in thick with him and you’ll have a great market— always a stiff one, but always eager to read and criticize. And here’s something important: Bates thinks he is the last word on facts. Any kind of facts. He really is a mighty well educated man and knows any number of things. But if he tells you something in a story is wrong—CHECK UP ON IT. If you find you’re right, send him a polite letter with proof. Some time ago he told me there was no such thing as a seasnake. I sent him newspaper clippings.* (The story referred to here was "Stragella," and the idea for it, including the snakes, was suggested to me by Clayton’s own Dr. Douglas Dold, who was an authority on snakes!) I think the finest yarn Bamber (editor Wallace Bamber of Far East Adventure Storiesl has used to date is "Cadets of Gascoyne" by Marmur (Jacland Marmur, who wrote many stories for Adventure and Short Storiesl. That was as smooth and sweet as cider. And 1 wonder if you’ve ever read any of J.D. Newsom’s yarns featuring those two Foreign Legion hellions. Withers and Curialo. If not, by all means do. They’re the neatest, funniest things in print Magazines I Remember today. Adventure features them constantly; Short Stories occasionally. If you can do Westerns. Triple-X is a wide open market for short lengths. If you know the war and army. Battle Stories needs material badly. Bierman fPopular FictionI is keeping an eagle eye out for shorts that are "different". Undated letter, apparently late 1931: I’m glad you’ve got started with Bierman. I wrote to him, of course, and told him about you. TERROR TALES, July 1935 Hugh B. Cave He replied by return mail that he would give your stuff a personal reading and hoped it would be suitable. You have a good chance of crashing him if you will study his book rather carefully. His most important requisite right now is careful writing-good writing-and he will accept the old plots if they are presented in an interesting, outstanding manner. A gripping tale of occult evil and a marvelous musical invention—by the author of "Revelations in Black" By the way, I’ve sold two of Bates’ rejections to Weird Tales, myself, and also a complete novel to Oriental Tales. Lord knows when the checks will come through. I’m rather worried. The funds