The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-07-21
THEAMERICAN BOOK BOOM
1T Is MAINLY THE RESULT OF MUCH
JUDICIOus ADVERTISING.
English Publishers Are Slow to Learn
the Trick, but Are Gradually
Getting Their Eyes Open.

puDlShing world.
One story. David Harum," has sold no
less than sos, 900 copies. "Eben Holden
was snapped up at the rate of 1l2.C00 copies
in a calendar month. Richard Carvell'
has circulated $4,000. by Order of the
Company and when the World was
Young sold between them $4,000 copies
Tales which claim a hundred thousand or
SO are barely worth mentioning. One new
book, The Crisis" has issued a first edi-
ton Of a hundred thousand.
Not long ago American publishing was
a respectable, conservative business, car
ried on in a very similar fashion to pub
fishing on this side of the Atlantic Then
smart men from the West came in, and
some of the oldest business houses found
that the competition of these new rivals
was cutting the ground from under their
feet. Harper's had to be reconstructed
Appleton went into the hands of the re-
ceiver. Men like Colonel Harvey and Mr..
s. S. Mcclure took a hand in the game. and
things began to hum.
Colonel Harvey is a very quiet, but very
smart editor. He made his mark as a
newspaper man on the most progressive
newspaper in New York city; then he took
to finance and made a fortune over street
- NV VIII lIOiC at Aito OoNh IN
took over control of the old house of Har-
per's, and their machines have since been
insufficient to cope with the new business.
Mr.. Mcclure is the greatest hustler in
America. One incident will sufficiently
show the kind of man he is. Some time
ago he came on a visit TO England, reached
Southampton i'm the morning, hurried up TO
London, did a heavy days work in his Of
hces OF the Strand, boarded the even
ing train to Liverpool, working all the way,
York.
The new publishing methods nave left
behind the old ideas of dignity and re-.
straint in literature. Books are treated,
not as sacrosanct pages for distant ven
Grafton, but as business goods, to be pushed
tised after the fashion of a patent pill.
me biggest houses have gone most in
Macmillan & Co, of London, are a steady
and conservative firm whose every act
seems nodded by an unalterable precedent.
milan. Company, Of New York, boom things
In a way that might make Barnum envious.
lheir advertisement of The Crisis take
up whole pages in even such a back-century
paper as the Nation.
A BOSTON RECIPE.
Mr.. Lord, of the Lothrop Publishing
/ Company, of Boston, one of the most sue
cessful and prudent OF the newer houses, is
now in London. In the course of a talk
with him about the boom he said: The
foundations of this new boom have been ad-
vertising, and the use of department. stores
as distributing agents. it has not been
by underselling. The books are usually
put at a dollar and a half each g shillings),
published price, and the average price asked
by the biggest dry goods stores is 50 cents
AS Id The prices paid 10y the wholesale
buyers vary. but may be put at about IS 20,
or much the same as the wholesale price of
d 6s book in England.
The boom has been almost wholly in
two things-high-priced works of art and q
few novels. A small number of stories sell
very largely indeed. But the average tale
sells no better now, If as well, as ii did
some time ago.
You can never tell which book will
catch on and which book will not. 1t is
largely a matter of caprice. But most of
the successful stories have been along these
lines. They have dealt with life Of a kind
about which the reader knew something.
The popular tales have been nearly all
American stories or stories of English life.
Continental fiction stands very little chance.
You take a quaint character, such as is TO
be found in many country parts; you build
around him all the anecdotes you know re-
lating to his kind of life, and there you
have your story. These popular tales may
not be very complex. but they are whole
some, bright, and in some cases largely au-
tobiographical Clean realism is their noJe.
The authors have learned the secret of
looking around them, and using the kind
OF people they see. Ten years ago the
manuscripts submitted TO American pub
fishers were mostly 'mushy,' and of little
value. Now, though every one seems to
have taken 10 writing recently. the average
of merit is very much higher i'm every way.
CHANCE FOR FOREIGN PUBLISHERS.
We advertise. The whole country is pla-
carded about new books. And the posters
are made as artistic and attractive as pos
sible. The Saturday literary supplement Of
the daily papers is used for advertising pur-
poses, although some OF us think that bet
ter advantages are got by advertising in the
ordinary parts of the newspaper than in
special literary supplements. But you never
spend 9l.000 for the publishing of a book
until you see that that book has already
caught on the public taste.
THE department stores now form the
great distributing centers. These stores
buy up very large quantities OF one book at
once. They arrange ii In piles so that every
one who enters the door must see it. and
one place alone will perhaps get rid of a
thousand copies in d short time. The net
result of 1t all is that the circle OF readers
OF books has been multiplied five-fold. Peo-
pie who never read books before to anv eX-
tent are now regular buyers. The authors
are oenefltec Tor ninety out OF every one
hundred of the books are published on
royalty. and the royalties are steadily ris-
ing. The firm which nrst introduces this
American publishing method into the Eng
Isn DOCK world Viii have a fortune. But
none OF the older firms can 90 il on account
OF the attitude of their Publishers and
Booksellers Association.
Mr.. }. Z. Holder Williams. of Messrs
Holder K Stoughton. and assistant editor
or the Bookrnan. has just returned from a
business visit TO America, greatly inn
pressed by The new methods of bookselling
employed there. Where the English pub
Usher spends a hundred pounds IN adver-
Using a single book and he does not often
do that Mr.. Holder Williams declared,
the American publisher spends thousands.
Not content with merely taking whole
pages II the. newspapers for one single
novel, he placards the street cars, and you
see his posters on the boardings.
COMPELLING SUCCESS.
There are several distinct reasons for
the recent record sales of fctior in Ameri-
ca. The public Immediately reached is much
larger. | was amazed to see orders for over
a thousand copies of a new novel from one
single store in such a city as st. Louis, for
instance. Then the opening of book depart
ments in the large dry goods stores, while
Ii has meant practically the abolition OF
the bona-ide bookseller of the old days
has enormously increased the numbers OF
book readers. These stores buy the one
book of the hour in great quantities., and
make il a feature of the days sale, along
with the latest lady's .shiTtwaist.' On the
day OF the publication OF Mr.. Winston
Churchill's new novel. TIL Crisis. there
must have been a pile of at least five hun
dred copies in Wanamaker's big store in
New York.
But this book OF the hour sale has its
great disadvantages. TIL novel OF the sec
ond-ciass writer, however considerable the
merit, has little or no chance. Although the