"Robert A. Heinlein - Grumbles from the grave (Non Fiction)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

it more umph. The story, by practically all that’s good and holy, deserves our


7
usual unusually-good-story 25% bonus. It’s a corking good yarn; may you
send us many more as capably handled.
But—for the love of Heaven—don’t send us any more on the theme of this
one. The bonus misfires because this yarn is going to be a headache and a
shaker-in-the-boots; it’s going to take a lot of careful rewording and shifting of
emphasis.
I genuinely got a great kick out of the consistency and logic of the piece. You
can, and will, I’m sure, earn that 25 % bonus for unusually good stuff
frequently. I ‘m very much in the market for short stories and novelettes. This
piece can’t appear until after E. E. Smith’s “Gray Lens-man” finishes, so I’d
like more stuff in between whiles.
December 15, 1939: John W. Campbell, Jr. to Robert A. Heinlein I was
wrong, evidently, in believing you had difficulty
working out “Lost Legacy” [published in Super Science Stories as “Lost
Legion” by Lyle Monroe], but you are definitely wrong in suggesting that “If
This Goes On—“ is, or has any tendency to be, hack. It has flavor, a
roundness of background that makes it lovely.
EDITOR’S NOTE: John W. Campbell, Jr. started writing pulp science fiction
stories while still in college. He was a large, tall man who threw off ideas like
a sparkler and was addicted to various hobbies and hospitality to authors.
Some of his hobbles were photography, ham radio, and dianetics.
Robert did not admire his writing style and objected strenuously to the
various changes JWC made in Robert’s stories. Despite their differences in
personality and style, the two men became good friends after Robert began
writing for Astounding. John turned down a number of Robert’s stories after
the first one had been published. Those were changed slightly and later sold
to other pulp magazines. Whenever John considered a story particularly
good, he was allowed by the higher-ups at Street and Smith to give the writer
a bonus. Rates, in those
days, were very low, and the bonus added nicely to the writer’s income.
Each month Astounding carried a reader poll, which rated the stories which
had appeared in an earlier issue. Those stories vied against each other for
placement in the “Analytical Laboratory.” Robert’s first story, “Life-Line, “ was
second in the reader poll three months following publication.
During the three years Robert wrote mainly for Astounding, he often placed
first and second (using his own name and a pseudonym) with his stories. He
quickly became John’s leading writer.
The stories which appeared in Astounding had blurbs written by the editor,
both on the contents page and at the beginning of the story. Robert
complained that John often gave away the point of the story in these blurbs.

8
However, Robert learned much about the art of writing from John.

January 23, 1940: John W. Campbell, Jr. to Robert A. Heinlein
Now, the idea I’d like to have you mull over a while before giving me a