Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-04-18

A Few of the Most Popular Novel
lists Are Making Fortunes, but the
Work Hardly Pays the Rank and
FiIe-Some Authentic Figures.
| Novel writing as a trade has not
shown any material financial improve
ment in the last fifty years, says the
London Mail. The enormous increase
in the number of readers has been
counterbalanced by the extraordinary
increase in the number Of publications.
and also in the number Of writer's.
Thackeray, for example, received so
guineas part for the periodical issue
of Vanity Fair" 1t appeared in nine
teen numbers, one OF them being q
double part, so that altogether this is
sue brought his 1000 guineas. Nova
days, though Mr.. ipIkng received f5,-
600 pounds for the serial rights Of
''kim," few writers receive as much
as Thackeray, although it must be re-
membered that his publisher held the
entire copyright for a certain short
number of years.
For 'Esmond" Thackeray had 1,200
guineas, and The Newcomes" yielded
about $4,000, while his editorial con-
nection with the Cornhill is said to
have been worth $4,000 a year-an in
come that will certainly compare with
that of the editors of any twentieth
century monthly publication.
''Pickwick" brought Charles Dickens
| f2,5O0 and a share in the copyright
after five years Nicholas Nickleby"
was worth 1850, and "Barnaby
Ridge" $1,000 for the copyright till six
months after publication. 1t is inter-
esting in view of the 100000 copies
sold of The Master Christian" the
| o,O0O of The Eternal City," the 5O0,
600 of Richard Carvel," and the SO,-
coo of The History of Sir Richard
Calmady," to note that the original
sale of Great Expectations" was 30,-
600 copie5!
In four years George Eliot received
Fl 600 from Adam Bede," but "Romo-
la brought her $1,000, from the Corn
hill, and ''Middlemarch" was, on the
whole, even more profitable, the Amer
lean edition alone being worth FL 200
to the authOress. Charles Reade re-
ceived f30 for Peg Wofhngton," but
that was at the beginning of his ca
reer, and Griffith Gaunt, or Jealousy
attained to FL 800. Anthony Trollope,
steady and persistent writer, made
from his books gross sum of ETC, 900,
or some $4,000 a year. "The Claver
ings" brought E2,SOO, ''The Small
House at Abingdon $4,000, and "Can
You Forgive Herr" f3,525.
Charles Kingsley sold 'Alton Locke"
for ESQ to Messrs. Chapman and Hall,
a sum certainly less than a twentieth
of the financial return his daughter,
Mrs. st. Leger Harrison lucas MaleD,
will receive for her latest novel. In
1856 Messrs., Routledge gave Bulwer
Lytton 100000 for a ten years copy
right of the cheap edition of his nov
els, and at the end of that period they
paid $1,000 for another period of five
years, and made contract on the
same terms at the end of the second
period.
Going back to the beginning of last
century it is interesting to remember
that while Scott received large sums
for the Waverley Novels, Jane Austen
earned during her lifetime less than
f70O in all for the work of her pen.
Macauley was one Of the first au-
thors to receive payment on the royal
ty system, that being his arrangement
with Messrs. Longmans for his his
tory, and George Eliot also had a SINH
lar arrangement with BlackwoOds for
some at least of her novels.
An author now receives as a rule
from 10 per cent-in the case of an. un-
known writer-to 25 per cent-in the
case of an established favorite-on the
gross retail price of his book. He also,
Of course, receives large sums for the
serial rights. AS a matter of fact, in
the case of many writers the receipts
from the serial rights often exceed the
royalties on the complete book. Ap-
proximately it may, therefore, be con-
cluded that in the case of a novelist
ike Miss Marie CoreIli, with an enor-
nous and constant public, one book.
although she never serializes it, will
bring at least 100000 in ALL a figure
which is also probably reached by
many of the books of Mr.. Kipling and
Hall Caine.
When one reads the statement that
successful book is selling at the rate
Of between 1000 and 1000 a week, it
is safe to assume that the author is
receiving between f100 and f15O a
week for it, and SO on. OF course
these figures only apply to at the most
half a dozen novelists. Another twen-
ty, however, will receive from f40O to
$500 for the serial rights of their
books, and make on an average half
as much more by their royalties. 1t
may also be safely reckoned that out
side the ranks of the first thirty writ
ers novel-writing nowadays hardly
pays.-Chicago Record Herald.
OVERLAND TO CALIFORNIA.