Free Grumbles from the Grave by Robert A. Heinlein, Virginia Heinlein Page A

Scribner's, 1950. Cover art by Clifford N. Geary.
     
    The training of cadets for the Interplanetary Patrol takes place in Colorado, in space, and on actual patrol. Following some violent physical tests to see whether an aspirant is able to undergo the rigorous environment of space, the cadets go to training in the school ship.
    They learn how to handle themselves in free fall in addition to the required academic subjects. Senior cadets take the younger ones in hand to teach them the traditions of the Patrol.
    As a part of their training, they go as very junior officers on a patrol ship, and Matt and Tex run into an adventure in Venus jungles . . .
    * * *
    July 18, 1947: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
    Miss Dalgliesh and I agree with you on Space Cadet, but I won't write it until later this year.
    February 17, 1948: Lurton Blassingame to Robert A. Heinlein
    No danger of Scribner's turning down Space Cadet.
    August 1, 1949: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
    There is a correction to be made in Space Cadet, which I have already given Scribner's for the second edition; it occurs to me that it should be made in the Norwegian, Italian, and Dutch editions. Will you relay it for me? It is quite simple: on the very last page there is a line of dialog: "Never lead with your left." It should, of course, read, "Never lead with your right."
    Editor's Note: This mistake resulted from the manuscript's having been read by me, Lurton (who was left-handed), and several editors at Scribner's (none of us knew anything about boxing).
    January 5, 1951: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
    I have written Miss Dalgliesh about the TV scripts [ Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. ] Did you read them? If so, you know how bad they are; I don't want an air credit on that show (much as I appreciate the royalty checks!) and I am reasonably sure that a staid, dignified house like Scribner's will feel the same way. It has the high moral standards of soap opera.
    RED PLANET

    (46)
    Red Planet, Heinlein's 1949 juvenile for Scribner's, began the conflict between Heinlein and his editor Alice Dalgliesh.
     
    Jim Marlowe, a teenaged Martian colonist, takes his pet Willis, a Martian bouncer, away to school with him. The headmaster impounds Willis, since pets are not allowed at school. Jim rescues the bouncer, and he and his friend Frank run away from school,taking Willis with them.
    After a wild cross-country trek which includes a visit to a Martian building, the three are able to thwart a plot to prevent the colonists from making their annual migration. Thanks to Willis's ability to record exactly voices and words that he has heard, the colonists revolt against the plan, not wishing to live through an extremely cold Martian winter in high latitudes.
    November 18, 1948: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
    Enclosed is a copy of notes for a new novel [ Red Planet ] for Miss Dalgliesh, plus a copy of the letter to her . . . Read the letters, read the notes as well, if you have time. Advice is welcomed.
    The decision to postpone the ocean-rancher yarn [ Ocean Rancher was supposed to be the third book in the Scribner's series, but it was never written.] called for a revision of my writing schedule. These are my present intentions: while Miss Dalgliesh is making up her mind, I intend to do one short story, 4,000 words, intended for adult, slick, general market, with Post, Colliers, Town and Country, This Week, and Argosy in mind. I should be able to show this to you by the middle of December.
    If Miss Dalgliesh says yes, I will write the boys' novel next, planning to complete it before January 31. While she is looking it over, I expect to do another 4,000-word slick, following which I will revise the novel for Miss Dalgliesh. That should take me up to the end of February.
    March 4, 1949: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
    There is actually no need for you to read this letter at all. It will not inform you on any important point, it will contain