Question

1 Hoping that it would help make his dream a reality, Matt took a primary course in writing and subscribed to writing magazines. He quickly realized that writing was not an ordinary job. For one thing, there was no specific requirement in order to write. Even with a college degree, there was no guarantee that a person would be able to write a story and then sell it. Degrees didn’t create the mind and the soul of a writer.

2 Matt also knew that there were thousands of other writers who were trying to get published. He knew from reading writers’ magazines that rejection was the norm for most hopeful authors. Many who were rejected became so discouraged they quit trying. Matt realized that if he was going to succeed, he had to grow a thick skin.

3 But above all, Matt understood that he had to set aside time each day to work at his craft. So even after long days at the factory and evenings on the ball field, he spent most nights at his typewriter. He wrote dozens of stories ranging from romances to horror tales and one-act plays.

4 Cay knew from the very beginning that her husband wanted to be a writer. She never questioned his dream and supported everything that he wanted to do to achieve that goal. She left him alone when he was writing, even though it often meant not seeing him for hours at a time. Like Matt, she hoped that in time he would be able to support them by writing.

5 One day in the summer of 1941, Matt saw an advertisement in a writer’s magazine. Greenburg Publishers of New York was seeking submissions for a book of one hundred one-act plays. Writers would be paid a flat fee if their plays were accepted. Matt decided to submit Escape, the best of three plays he had written. To his great delight, Greenburg accepted Escape, and soon after sent Matt a contract. He would be paid five dollars, or he could accept payment in the form of the book when it was published. Five dollars was a nice fee, but for the sale of his first published work, Matt chose the book instead.

6 When Matt received the book with his play in it, he called for Cay to join him. Together, they flipped to the table of contents. There it was: “Escape, by Matthew F. Christopher.” He and Cay were thrilled to see his name in print. They both hoped that the play was the start of a long line of published works.

How did the time period during which Matt began his writing career affect his experience in the selection from Behind the Desk with Matt Christopher: The #1 Sportswriter for Kids?
A
Authors wrote stories in a style that was new to people at the time.
B
Many authors moved to New York to pursue their writing careers at that time.
C
Getting a story in a printed publication was how authors made money at that time.
D
Authors were paid a lot of money for their writing at that time.

Answer 1

C

In the 1940s writers made money by getting work published in print—Magazines and book publishers paid flat fees for accepted stories or plays (Matt was offered $5 or a copy of the book).