, 1886-10-27
A PUBLISHER TALKS
OF HIS EXPERIENCE WITH AUTHORS
WHO HAVE WRITTEN A BOOK.

A Manuscript Worth Having is Like n
Grain of Wheat in a BusheI of ChaT.
Books Issued at the Authors Ri-k.-The
Criticism of Experts.
GLOW do we determine whether n
manuscript is likely to suit our pur-
poses? Well,m continued the publisher,
THAT is n pretty broad question. There
are so many things to be considered and
such a diversity OF conditions hnt per-
hnps no two cases are handled in precisely
the same way. Now, suppose you We're
an author with n manuscript. Unless you
hal some previous experience, the chances
are that when walking into my Office md
taking a seat by rly desk you would feel
rather shaky in the neighborhood of your
knees. You throat would also need con-
siderable clearing, and | would have to
be quite affnble and polite before YOU
would begin to feel at all easy in mind or
body. After smoothing down the tkorny
path to the extent of at least %endeavoring
to make you feel Mt home, | would under
TAKE TO find out whether you were the
kind Of man who would be likely to write
n book of the kind you ere offering ne.
| would also undertake TO discover
whether you wrote he manuscript Ec-
cnusc you had something to say, or simply
for the purpose of making a book that
might possibly sell inc thus add to your
income md reputation.
A GRAIN OF WHEAT.
'Y on see, there Is so much p~erfunctory
book nGking In these days that n manu-
script worth having IS very nuch Ike a
grain Of wheat in a bushcl OF clnfr.
Soma publishers order u new book from
"a NH ttrtfAr rrgffu winch nc flaw@ ~g.II
order n pair Of trousers, but my own 10
ton IS that unless a man Is SO full Il
his subject that he can't help writing his
book won't amount to very much when
1t is written. A manufacturer can weave
any given number of yards of cloth TO
order, mud an architect cnn build n house
to correspond exactly with the size of
your bGnk account, but when II publisher
says to some penny-a-liner, here, / want
a book OF 700 pages on The Rise md lGll
pf Republican Principles in Europe or
some othar abstract question of thGt sort,
YOU cni lie very sure that when written
the book will not be really worth reading
much less printing and publishing. When
a mau comes to me whose ideas have evi.
dentlypvcr10wed into n manuscript | feel
that there Is some promise in his work
and Ilsk lin TO leave the manuscript.
The clerk 1T the next desk enters the
narne of the work md other necessary
facts Ia IL register aud then the package
goes into the vault, where 1t remnins un-
til ! Ct II find time to rcad enough of the
work 70 fully appreciate its drift. This
don | can determine upon n reader who
Is Likely to 90 1t justice, and the writing
goes into his hands for careful and
thoughtful reading and examination. On
the cOnpletion of his work he returns
the Manuscript, together with his crit.
cism written out in full. The same pro.
cess IS gone through with in important
cases several times.
A CAsE l POINT.
"Some manuscripts | have had exnm-
inel by half n dozen experts, and then
aftcr comparing their opinions, | have a
very fair End comprehensive idea OF the
merits and dement's of the book. Here
IS a uasc in point, being a manuscript ill
the way from Vermont. 1t was read by
nvc or six experts, und, on comparing
fheir opinions, | found that they had ell
picked upon the same weak spots, and ct
tho anne time each had discovered just
about the same amount of merit in 1t.
The manuscript was returned 10 the nu-
thor, together with these criticisms, and
he was told that after the changes were
duly made his work would be duly pub
lished.
Perhaps you were not aware OF the
fact. but it Is a fact, that u great man
books carrying the imprint of well
known publishers are not issued at their
risk. Books that promise n ready sale for
my reason are issued usually ut the cx-
pense of the publisher, who pays n royalty
10 the author. II there is any reason to
doubt the complete success of The venture
the author IS required to contribute 10
the expense Of prin;>lg, md in some cases
he is obliged to pay the entire cost. |
sometimes have men come to re with
manuscripts who claim that they can sell
500 copies to their own friends. In ono
such case | told the gentleman that |
doubted whether he would sell fifty cop
les on any such basis. lie was at first
inclined To be Offended ut such TN ont
spoken opinion, but cooled of, and hay
ing such confidence in the potency of hia
name in the town where lie Lived he rs
sumed the entire risk Of publishing the
book. Now, how many do you suppose
he sold in the territory where he expected
to sell five hundred2 OF course you can't
guess, but as a matter of actual fact he
sold just twenty-five copies The publ.
cation Of n book is purely n business mat
ter. If the book is wanted people will
buy it; If they do not want il very few
will buy it simply because they know the
author. | have sold ovcr eighty thou
sand copies of n book by n man whose
name had never been heard of beyond n
small circle, but, o see, the boob had
something in II. N-ChicanO Herald.