Passed his bar in Philadelphia and practiced law there for several years.
Adapted his short story "Madame Butterfly" for the stage at the urging of David Belasco. Belasco and Long would collaborate on the production and Giacomo Puccini later transformed it into an opera.
The first performance of the opera "Madame Butterfly" (in Milan) went so badly, that Puccini would later say "I died a bit so Butterfly could live".
Much of what he knew of Japan came from his sister, who along with her husband had been a missionary there for over 50 years.
Considered himself a sentimentalist and a feminist and was proud of it. In many of his stories the lead character was a woman.
Was disappointed that "Madame Butterfly" overshadowed the success of later plays like "Adrea", "Kassa" and "The Darling of the Gods".