Editing Life-Line (section)

==Writing history==
Heinlein was motivated to write the story by an editorial in ''[[Wonder Stories|Thrilling Wonder Stories]]'' magazine, in which [[Hugo Gernsback]] wrote that he wanted to foster new talent in the field, and that "We shall endeavor to present one amateur writer's story in each forthcoming issue [...] until further notice."<ref>{{cite book|last=Gifford|first=J. Daniel|title=Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's Companion|pages=110–111|isbn=0967987415|publisher=Nitrosyncretic Press|date=2000}}</ref> ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'''s rate at the time was 0.5¢ per word. After Heinlein had written the 7,000-word story, he submitted it first to a rival magazine, ''[[Astounding (magazine)|Astounding]]'', which paid 1¢ per word. ''Astounding'' bought the story, and at their higher rate, Heinlein was paid $70 ({{Inflation|US|70|1938|fmt=eq|r=-1}}).

According to [[Virginia Heinlein]]'s introductory biography of her husband in ''[[Grumbles from the Grave]]'', upon receiving the check for the story Heinlein reportedly said, "How long has this racket been going on?" Later, Heinlein's authorized biography included a version of the story in which ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' had advertised a $50 contest.<ref name=Patterson>{{cite book|last=Patterson|first=William H. Jr.|title=Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century, Volume 1: Learning Curve, 1907–1948|date=2010|publisher=Tor|isbn=978-0-7653-1962-3|pages=215–216}}</ref> The first known version of this story appeared in a 1985 interview published in ''[[Xignals]]'', a science fiction newsletter.<ref name=Patterson /><ref>{{cite book|last=Heinlein|first=Robert A.|title=The Nonfiction of Robert Heinlein: Volume II|edition=Virginia|volume=38|publisher=Virginia Edition Publishing Company|date=2010|isbn=9781897350430}}</ref>

"Life-Line" was later collected in ''[[The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein]]'' (1966), ''[[Expanded Universe (Heinlein)|Expanded Universe]]'' (1980), and in a [[Baen Books|Baen]] edition of ''[[The Man Who Sold the Moon (short story collection)|The Man Who Sold The Moon]]'' (1987).