The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1888-11-08
TIE BOOK BUSINESS.
THE FINANCIAL RELATIONS OF EU.
THOR AND PUBLISHER.


Plates and Printing-Fress Notices-Per
Cent. Oh Salcs-Thc Subscription system.
Nc firm accepts ii book and buys it in man.
usciIpt, unless it is sue that it will prove re-
muneratiye. Several of the larger firm. gre
also publishers OF monthlies The custom is
to buy manuscript that can first be used in
the monthly or weekly, and then sent out in
book form. lu this waX there is a saving in
the expense Of the magazine, and SO wide adj
VcItlsemcnt given the story, OF other serial,
that 1t IS sure TO sell we'll when published sep
arately. But the poor chap who pays for his
own plates and printing gets very little adj
yertlsing. The firm holds i - hn l. 1rs5
duty to push It's own books. Il aets ~ per
cent. for handling Jones Essays and Re
views" that handling consisting i'll advcrtis-
ing, mailing to purchasers and distribu-
ting to the press But you may be sure that
little advertising viii be done as the
author VIII submit to endure. y sure way
of determining which Of the books pub
lished by any firm are its own property
and which the property of authors, is to note
which receive by the firm, the most extcn-
sive advertising If a book is very thoroughly
and persistently pushed, it is owned by the
publishers. OF course there is q difference III
firms, and this discrimination is not often
carried 50 far that the firm can be charged
with dishonesty. But the 30 per cent. charge
in reality requires, and should secure for the
book, a very earnest push. Every reasonable
effort should be made to get it before the
public, and keep it there. As rule it is
thrust forward for q couple of months, at the
most. | still allow an exception to a few
firms After that it is never spoken Of by the
publishers. or the slightest interest taken in
it, except to alphabetically ioCate it i'll their
catalogues. If it reach q second edition, i'll
spite Of their hinderanccS, there is seldom
any note taken of it by the publisher, but his
50 per cent goes on.
Let us count up on q specie basis \ book sell
ing for $50 VIII cost the author, for plates
and printing lO00 copies, from $500 to 5000.
He now OWLS the stock with the plates, and
can do as he pleases with it. He can proba-
bly, do nothing without further aid of the
publisher lie hires him to handle the book.
This includes sending to the press for criti
cism, say 1910 copies. Fifty copies more Will
be absorbed in the way of furnishing those
distinguished people whose opinions will be
of value You may deduct 200 copies from
vour first edition, :'Eandled' without any
cash return. But You get Your press notices,
sometimes ValuelcSS AND nOnSCiISlc3l, some
di,Ics anita 9onistic, but nceifuL AOur 500
volumes left presume to bc sold, Whlcl
will net SIP 600; YOU will receive 5000 toward
defraviug the cost Of publication. In nine
cases out of ten Your book does not sell SO
copies IN ten Years. You can pocket your
loss and earn your bread some other way.
But il Il second edition Is dc:nanded, YOU still
leave one half the sales with Your publisher
and set oUr of the possible @l,5Oo, 500 ou
will now be recompenseQfor the original out
lay. and have from $500 to $aOy over. 1hc
! ''if" however, is very large.
The other plan, whereby the publisher
gives an author ten or other per cent On
sales. is fairly and pcturesquely shown up by
Nj Hawthorne. Let us look at this little
closer. \ book. novel or otherwise, tha5 is
Of readable value, costs not less than six
H months close work And there Il few
+ books put Oh the market each year that enl-
J body the research, experience and Thought or
I MANY years Suppose volume to have cost
its. writer one year of thinking, study and
COMPOSING Copying and proof reading may
bc added as the positive torture part OF The
/ worl-.hc anncndix Of fire. He then begins
to get his 10 cents a copy sold. on may
take Your figures from thSp point from t1aN-
/ thOrnc At the end of the first year after
! issue he gets 500. "Or, II the edition be the
t unusual one of 5000, the authors share viii
. ..yt NJ
to dispel the visions of asprants to author
ship. The successful novelist5 pocket from
500 to 500 year You will do much bet
ter raisinr onions at 81 per bushel i'll COnnec-
: ticut bottom lands or even corn III the river
I bottoms of Kansas. 1t is folly to fling Your
self among the Bohcmians with only hopes
/ and expectations to pay your board bill
Not one author i'll 800 is enriched; not over
one i'll / Q gets o competence, while with many
it is out of pocket to publish.
/ For sure profit the subscription system of
fers most advantages. That is, the book by
agents IS carried to and urged on purchasers
while in the other cases it is left on the Shell
to wait for purchasers The subscription
book often reaches $1,000 copies; not seldom
10000 or -. 900 and i'll some cases Of specla
notoriety, it passes to and above lOOOJO
There are many things to be said III favor %
! this system. but with rave exceptions II .S tt>
publishcr who reap the harvest. He buy!
brains. and rctails them i'll Il market OF hi:
own making. 1t is simply question viii
an author whether he can do better thar
make the sale If he receive 10 cents 6
CODY on the sale of 10000 copies, he receive:
! his :. COO The custom is to allow the per
ceutace to diminish until -, 900 copies ol
more are sold, and then lapse altogether.
There are many forms Of contract entered
iuto between authors and publishers OF co
operative sort. Some firms arrange rs fol
lows: The writer Of n book shall pay for th'
making OF the plates, the publisher doing the
press work and binding, with advertising
In this case the author, not owning stoCi,
receives what copies he desires for private
use at u large discount, say 90 70 10 per cent.
and royalty Of 10 cents on ali copies sold
OF course this plan is capable of any anoun
OF notifications. It Is not likely, however
in any form. TO enrich the writer Of book
This leaves US the final, and not at al
agreeable fact that he who writes boz.
must seek something else besides cash returns
The equivalent IS often more than suftc.en
in the honor received.-'E. ?. T." il Globe
Democrat.
Forgot to Stamp Them.
Chicago business men, during the first hal
of this wear, mailed over $685. worth c
checks and notes without stamping the Ell
velopes. Its mighty easy to lick on q STAN
and powerfully easy 10 forget to.-Det'o.
Free Press
NJ. bahama, a French scientist, claims t
have discovered organs OF sight IL the veg,
| fabla growth called p9ndOrlt,a