Friday, May 03, 2013

1930s Milt Gross Letter


Here's a rarity that someone somewhere saved.

It's a form letter from the 1930s from a certain Betty Hogan of Lake Mohawk, NJ to the comic strip illustrator Milt Gross. I don't know the story behind the letter, but looking at it, it sure looks like this was some boilerplate interview for an upcoming interview that she was conducting.

To what market was your first piece of writing sold? 
Newspaper (N.Y. World 1925) 
To what market was your first fiction story sold?Magazine Smart Set 1929  
Title of story: 
Just a Good Girl Scout 
Book or short story piece: 
Short Story (had [word unclear] any number of short mag pieces bet 1925 + 29) 
Has the first book you sold aimed directly at one market or did you write it first and then choose a market? 
Written directly for a newspaper N.Y. World  
How many years after sending out work was your first writing sold? 
I was on salary as a cartoonist at the time -- It was accepted and printed immediately 
You have my permission to use this information without charge, in an article for writers, to appear in a national magazine. 

[signed]
Milt Gross
Related: more about his short story "Just a Good Girl Scout" from THE MILT GROSS READER.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

"[word unclear]"
done?

Mike Lynch said...

Thanks, "Unknown." That looks right.