His early works breaks into two main categories: popular science articles, for Scientific American and juvenile fiction, for St. Nicholas. His first known published work was “The Great Tumble Weed of the Prairies” a Scientific American issue, December 2nd, 1882.

Coryell was related to the Smith family of New York publisher, Street & Smith. Here he came up with a fictional character, Nick Carter, under whom he wrote six novels. The first two being: The American Marquis and The Old Detective’s Pupil which was serialized in thirteen consecutive issues of the New York Weekly. After penning down four more Nick Carter stories, the series were taken over by Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey. Nick Carter became a legendary fictional character with Street & Smith producing new Nick Carter stories into the 1930s.

Coryell died at his summer home in Readfield, Maine. At the time of his death, he was at the employ of Macfadden. According to Macfadden editor Lyon Mearson, Coryell died while reading a manuscript.

Coryell has something of an inverted legacy. He was a creator or co-creator of two highly influential publishing initiatives. He became famous for creating Nick Carter, for which he had only limited involvement. Conversely, he is virtually unrecognized for his significant role in developing the first-person confessional which became a powerful force in magazine publishing.