Life — November 13, 1919 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This single-panel cartoon depicts an editor (center, portly gentleman) advising a female writer on manuscript submission practices. The woman holds a rolled manuscript while the editor instructs her to always use a stamped, self-addressed envelope when submitting work—otherwise she won't get her manuscript back. The woman's deadpan response—"But I don't want it back"—delivers the joke: she's so unconfident in her writing that she'd prefer the editor simply reject it without returning the pages. The cartoon satirizes the publishing world's submission process and, implicitly, women writers' self-doubt about their work. The figures in the background (appearing to be family members) suggest domestic life interrupting professional ambitions. The humor relies on early-20th-century publishing norms now largely obsolete.