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Jack London 1216 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, Cal.
May 21 1905
Dear Mr. Johnson:-
Yes, I quite see your point of view in your letter of May 12, and large-ly agree with you. "The White Man's Way" is certainly not a short story with beginning, middle and ending. Now that I look back, I can remember that my reason for sending it to you was that it was not bluggy nor horrible, and that you had stipulated that you did not want any bluggyness nor horribleness.
I'll turn loose and try to do a real short story for you, and you may expect it along in the next several weeks.
Now concerning payment: When I wrote Mr. Gilder a number of months ago, I stated the rate I was then receiving, which was eight (8 cents) per word - rather, that was what I was being offered by the various magazines I was holding off, because at that time I was not doing any short fiction. I have only just now started in to do short stories - a few. In the meantime, my rate has been going up, though I have not been selling anything. This, as you will readily understand, is due to conditions outside of me, and to which I not only gracefully but gratefully yield. For instance, you will remember I made an offer of a short serial to you, some time ago. This same short serial of 40,000 words OUTING recently took, paying me ten cents a word for the American serial rights only. Another instance: Since my statement that my rate was eight cents a word, COLLIER'S has offered me $1,000 an article, for twenty articles about the United States, the subjects to be selected by myself. This offer, however, for a number of reasons, was declined by me.
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Now you have the situation in a nutshell. The question with me is not one of technicality nor legality, but of spirit. If the spirit of our correspondence of that date was of the nature that my rate with THE CENTURY would be unchanging for all the future, or even unchanging for the indefinite future until such time that I should supply a short story, why I am quite willing to live up to it, and as to what the spirit of that correspondence was, I'll leave it to you. If you decide that it was eight cents a word for an indefinite future, eight cents a word goes, and I'll do my very best by the short story and you. Please let me know your judgment in the matter.
Now one other thing: You say, that you ought to have the story exclusively, independent of any English publication. Surely this is not based upon our correspondence of several months ago.
Now in the face of what has gone before in this letter, I am willing to suggest a compromise: Pay me ten (10 cents) cents a word, and I'll forego the English serial rights. In the meantime, while I am writing the story for you, do you let me know what you think of the whole proposition.
Sincerely yours, Jack London
[Written in left margin] 1665 - Good - 15 [?] 54 - 3160
