The New York herald., 1869-08-28
HOW PUBLISHERS DEAL S,Ta AuraoRs.


ONWARD OFFICE, 1f9 NASSAU WkEEr,
NEW YORK, August 20, Ies8.
TO rBs EDITOR OF THE HERALD:-
MY calling upon you some days ago was solely TO
pay my respects to gentleman whose kindness TO
me on my former visit to America had not forgotten
through twenty years OF q somewhat checkered and
ousy ilie But during my BRIEF ana to very pleas
anttntervew, matter was mentioned In which feel
more than Ordinary interest, while your views gwen
upon II were so cons0nant with my own that Ieei
very desrous OF again seeing and hearing YOU upon
the subject The point In our conversation to which
allude Is that relating to publishers ana II you can
summon patience to peruse this somewhat extended
epstle you win see what good reason | have for
holding views In consonance with your own.
l have. as you are doubtless aware, written a
great many books-neary forty In all-and. whether
good or bad, have pronted publishers both in Eng.
land aud America to q very large amount, some
hundreds Of thousands OF dollars. But you are per-
haps not aware that /. the writer OF these books
have not even made living BY them; and but for
miserable maintenance during the past twenty years
OF my NE 1t IS true some OF thus has been due To
sns 10 TOO s.1 with
Al an advanced period OF my llfe-with much
to America. Believing myself respected by
large majority Of the American people,
to enter upon new and more propitious era Tin in.
tended II TO be q useful one found my works on
some s qs OF them 's o. o.
having beon procured for patry sum. On discOv.
ering that had some intention OF producing myself
ton made haste to offer me .royalty" upon the
editions already IN their hands. Feeling unable TO
to as did s Sns onss
lFlelds, OsQood Co.. entered into contract on
ts a sse and IN w the other g. W. sre
houses the royalues-accordihg to price and time
at ranging rates; but IN two years would average
about fifteen cents per copy on each book sold. AS
thsre are between thirty and iorty books 1t looked
like q little income against old age. and possible
reached the true Plymouth Rock and Land Of
Promise. And 1t seems that just ths have
snip is to be wrecked whis the laSd behind i is aS
prove literally Land OF Promise aud nothing more.
TO be explicit. At the time OF signing the contract
with Fields, Osg0Od Co., in November last they
gave me o statement Of what copies of my works
they had on hand, and paid the royalties on them
dated July IL, In which | am informed that they
have not yet had occasion TO go to press again.
beys They are Usually sold in sets r. lor
school presents &c. and for this reason run pretty
square or the counter. Now, one Of these books,
aud one OF the most popular, Is set down IN their
statement OF November counting only iOrty-twO
copies on hand. 1t follows, therefore that In
period OF over eight months, during which my
name has been more than usually conspicuous before
the American public my books belonging 10 Fields,
@ es Vl s nsn e soa
sets Of them itself since December. WHAT does this
discrepancy means think Eeed not enlarge upon
As for Carleton, he has rendered me no account
whatever. Furthermore, have bound myself to
give him other and new books as return for the
granting the royalty on the old. am To labor ali
the remainder OF my life with no hopes Of being re-
Anehr ase the liberty of laying
before you, and shall beg for your Kind couuseI
upon it T,eIas osgood Co. acting as ny friendly
f400 (nearly $3,000) from publisher named De
witt as payment on De Wits part for early proof
sheets OF some OF my novels OF the other series, now
In the hands OF Carleton. They have been compelled
to acknowledge the receipt OF thus money In tne
teeth OF De Wits allegation made to me since my
late coming TO America. OF this E400 only forty
pounds reached me. ! came TO the United states
fqrg De w 70 as sne s r hn
have since seen him and his account books and they
have given me very different opinion OF niG as also
OF Messrs Fields, T1cknor, Osgood and that ik. on
my receiving De Wits statement and making It
known to the Boston firm, an evident excitement
see me about It, quick as te!egraphlc despatch. He
would go back, he said, to Boston ana have all then
the man who attended to ali such TRANSACTIONS; and
l saw that II any nav should be found that could
to sna pDpf IN his co "0"
In due time statement was bolstered up and
De wits money had been forwarded to 81 me % in Eng
land. The bolsering was done In this wise:--Al the
novs noyes Ie series pnSed bv 81
aud OF which they could no doubt show receipts by
bills OF exchange and endorsed checksl have been
set down to the account Of payments for De Witt.
And yet, with all this cooking Of accounts, they
have not been able to square the yards there being
still an acknowledged deficiency OF nearly &l0O.
had various letters from them wilhelm England
telling me that De Witt would not pay ANYTHING,
but threatened them II they sold my early sheets 70
any other house (which had repeatedly urged them
to dol that he would bring out cheap reprint Of
their series Of Doy's books. These letters were,
fortunately, lost In the ruin and disruption Of my
estate in England.
Since receiving Fields, Osgood 4 Co.'s statement
have not said word to them about IT, but have kept
to myself even the cOnsclousness Of being wronged.
l at once determined TO bring tne anair before
a Tribunal either OF the law or public Opin.
ion, ana nave only been waiting till should
he strong enough to do this. Alas feel that am
Dut growing weaker; and it Is this feeling that
prompts me to approach you as seeker OF your
counsel.
May ask, then, for another interview and an op.
portunity Of laying this case more fully before you
know tnat you can-and when you have heard 1t
Gil have no fear but that you WILL do something to
see me righted
with a thousand apologies for this intrusion upon
you. | am, dear Mr.. Bennett, yours, very faith.
fully, MAlNE REID.