Autograph letter signed : [Hollins College, Roanoke, Virginia], to Samuel Vaughan, 1970 May 25.

Thanking him "for the money and for your kind & reassuring words. Much & sincerely appreciated;" discussing, at length and in detail, his contract with Doubleday, and assuring him he will continue to write; saying "There ain't enough money or any of the things that go with it which can ever begin to pay or reward the doing of the thing. It may not be much (who knows?), but what appears in print will be all I've got for now...That's my pride, my privilege, my pleasure;" talking about his ability to keep writing despite all his academic commitments; saying "Because when you're working full time teaching, and your novel keeps, over years, getting farther & farther away, you get to do their thing, write the criticism, scholarship, etc. that keeps you earning a regular paycheck. And the rest might as well be for fun & games. At least so one won't detract from the big & real job. You know? But -- and this without pride or modesty either -- there really are a good number of things I can & could & maybe will do in writing. I keep learning;" suggesting he might move to Maine, "hole up & knock out some long-delayed works;" returning to a discussion of the provisions of the contract; talking about the freedom of a writer saying "And I wouldn't surrender that freedom easily. After all, except for emergencies, I couldn't care less about $ or reputation either. When either or both can help is when a writer is quite young indeed, young at his craft & trade. But after that it can't make any difference, not really."