A 13-page letter, written by Oscar Wilde and discovered recently in the back of an old wardrobe in England, contains some interesting advice for writers.
Addressed to an aspiring author, the message cautions writers not to rely on their craft for their livelihood.
"The best work in literature is always done by those who do not depend on it for their daily bread," Wilde wrote, according The Telegraph's feature on the find. "Make some sacrifice for your art and you will be repaid but ask of art to sacrifice herself for you and a bitter disappointment may come to you."
In spite of his own advice, Wilde made his living in the journalism and literary world in England in the late 1800s. He sold essays to a variety of journals and was an editor of a magazine called The Woman's World. Wilde also sold some of his plays and collections of essays and poems to magazines and book publishers. His novel The Picture Of Dorian Gray enjoyed "an immense sale" both in the U.K. and the U.S., according to The New York Times.
In 2010, a series of love letters written in the 1880s by Wilde to an editor friend named Alsager Vian were discovered and auctioned off for more than $45,000, according to The Independent.
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