The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-03-02
BOOK ACENT'SART
ACCOt Mt OF HIS TRIBVLATIONS AND
TRIlMPHS
One Who Knows the story Well Tells
1t for Those Who See Only the Vex-
attOns of it-SOme of the Agents
Winning WPys-Nany Of the Great
Men of Our Country Were Once
Agents-Few Ever Take 1t Tn As
serious Business Proposition.

Serious Business Proposition.
And there is an art in selling books. To
get at that art. to show the trials and
NlclSSltudeS of the small army of people,
both cultured and uncultured engaged in
this particular line of business is the pur-
pose and scope of this article.
The occupation of the itinerant book
seller makes extraordinary demands upon
every energy of the individual engaged in
IT, In every human being there is a nat
ural shrinking from making the initiative
advance toward stranger. Not only
must book agent do this. but he must
establish himself in the good graces of
the stranger and it must be instantaneous.
Next. interest must be aroused the sense
of humOr tickled, feeling of harmony
set up between the agent and his sub
ject.
one of the most successful book agents
on the road is fine PIANIST. artist to
his finger tips His process of making a
canvass peculiar to himself and like all
successes, on broad lines. musician is
easily discovered. If there is a musical
instrument in a house ne Is sure to be
drawn toward it. as the needle to the mag
net. He charms a few immediate peo-
pie with the all powerful magic of music.
They in turn charm others with the re-
port of his skill; after that the four
winds of heaven take it up. He after
duces his line of business The charm
he has wrought still fingers with them
and they are already en- rapport with him
the first and most important point a can
vasser has to make.
The presentation then of his particular
books is easy matter. The greed of
possession does the rest. Music, how
ever. cannot be conjured up on any and
every occasion, and 50 there are a null
titude who must be touched in some other
Ia tha LAT
wittily told. and to be effective it must
go off as spontaneously as the tizz of the
champagne bottle.
However. we cannot all be musicians.
and it requires almost as much talent -
be Il story teller Without these two helps,
the charm of manner is most effective.
and, failing that, the knowledge OF human
nature, character reading from a glance
at the face, that index of the soul
Nerve" in it's present acceptance of
the term. is a good thing to have failing
those higher qualifications, or judiciously
mixed with them, but used alone in all
its ndkedness, it is that which brings
contumely upon book agents as a class.
OF all creatures. the ''nervy" woman
book agent Is the most to be dreaded.
Her sex grants her impunity with gentle
men and in her dealings with women, she
dcceives them by some Matched up scheme.
or actually browbeats them into buying
her special line of books. 1t is OF this one
mat we say, w ell, bought ueI UOOhS "
get rid Of her" This excuse has passed
into proverb. Happy possessor of nerve:
The next agent that comes that way gets
a very frosty reception and if she hap
pens to be serving her apprenticeship, 1t
may be Knockout blow for her.
In this, in nearly every other phase
of public life, the man solicitor has the
best of it. That is his success comes
easier. Whatever line of business a man
elects to engage in. the public approves of.
as being his legitimate method of earning
a living.
When the man book agent enters of.
fee a factory, a store or work shop, no
is accepted at once as one of themselves,
a co-laborer He can go right ahead with
his canvass without feeling that any ex-
is necessary. If he happens to go
among women-well, there is always the
charm of opposite sex, electric, invoun-
tary. because it is nature. 1t is in the
essence of things that man is holder than
woman and the fear of repulSe is not
so overwhelming to him. The male priv
ilege of wooing is his, whether he is WOO
ing for love. wooing the almighty dol
lar out of the pocket feminine. At times,
he is wooing the latter under guise of the
former, and then again there is the happy
coincidence of killing two birds with one
stone"
The very elements array themselves
against woman in outdoor work. A good
appearance is absolutely essential to
woman book agent. and the knowledge
that she is presentable is long stride
towards success.
A drizzling sky. muddy streets, red
nose and pinched features, wind-blown
hair and hat awry, will bring dismay to
even rosebud face. or the classic beauty
with soulful eyes of lambert depths. OBJ
serve right here that the arduous life of a
book agent is seldom chosen by the IA
vored ones of mother nature.
In any of those places where a man feels
himself to be in his element a woman is
at a disadvantage, and fully realizes it.
Just so much of an effort it takes to
overcome her timidity or reDugnance to
feeling herself out of place. just that much
loss of power there is when it comes to
making impressive canvass. "Woman's
inhumanity to woman makes countless
bookwomen mourn"
If the mistress of 2 house would take
into consideration the fact that every
woman who comes to her door with some
thing to SELL was not only honestly but
painfully, trying to earn her living, she
would never refuse to open her door, o,
having opened it, coldly shut it in her face
She is not always wanting to force you tC
buy, but is simply seeking her opportunity
DO not refuse her that 1t may be just the
thing you want and would not think OF
getting otherwise, or even know of. 1t Is
one of the many ways of advertising.
One woman GA years old has the proud
record OF having, undlueu reared ana eQu-
Gated her four children, by her labor as
book agent AS she told me her story OF
real herosm thrills of emotion stirred my
soul to it's depths. Twenty years of hard
ship and endurance with so grand motive
And the dear old saint is still canvassing
to suppls. the necessities of life to an in
valid and dying son.
To the full-fedged, veteran book agent
he who can balance the poor luck of today
with the good luck Of yesterday. or the pos
sible bonanza Of tomorrow, there is dis.