Shortly after the publication of his story, Dent was contacted by Dell Publishing in New York City. They were willing to offer him $500 a month if he would write exclusively for their magazines. Dent, stunned by the good fortune, took some time considering the offer, but eventually accepted. The Dents relocated to New York, arriving January 1, 1931. Dent quickly learned the trade of the pulp author, teaching himself how to write quickly and with few rewrites. After Dell imploded its pulp line in May 1931, Lester retreated to Missouri to regroup. Soon, he was back in New York, writing for the other pulp chains.