Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-05-24
ORsON PRATT

often refused that when Fleet street
publisher offered her 800 for the manu-
script she accepted Il with thanks. Mr.
Motley's "Rise Of the Dutch Republic
was rejected by more than one pup
Usher; and Fieldings Tom Jones was
utterly ignored until It's author mad
won fame with his dramas.
Miss Glider, writing OF the royalties
paid 10 authors by publishers, says that
while 10 per cent is the ordinary rate
there is hardly a publishing mouse
which under certain circumstances
does not pay more. Those who begin
at 10 soon raise to u, Is and 20, and, IN
some exceptional cases, to % per cent
Miss Glider adds: 1T seems to me that
a sliding scale Of royalty is only fair'
for the publishers expenses are COM
paratlyely small after the first few
thousand copies of q book are sold
Twenty-Five per cent u.s. l nave no
doubt, more than a publisher can pay
and make anything for himself put
sometimes, for the sake OF getting an
author on his list, he Is willing Just 70
make expenses. / have, however, hearu
OF several firms that declare by all that
is sacred that they will never pay 20
per cent again, no matter VINO the
author may be. Lord Roseberys man
Of business exacted rs per cent Tor MS
book on Napoleon. For that reason,
although IL was an unillustrated book
and not a large one, 1t retailed Tor ~
net"
William s. Walsh, the observer OF
The Era, writes, in recent number
OF that excellent maga2ine
There are many famous instances In
literary annals OF books that appar'
entity fell still born from the press, but
were Unexpectedly revived into an
enormous vitality. am not talking
OF the great masterpieces OF the worlds
literature-to whose level the world had
10 be educated by the books themselves
before their mastery could be appreci.
ated-but Of more ephemeral works OF
fiction. Gen. Lew Wallace's ben Hur'
Is a typical instance. Another Is Black
more's Lorna Doone." II took a year
for the general public to discover the
popular qualities OF each Of these nov
els. Then they suddenly leaped from
the dusty recesses where shopworn I'M
salables are consigned into the open.
often, In single day. ten, or even
twenty. times as many copies were sold
as had been disposed OF during the en-
tire first year after publication. IL
would sem that similar experience
may fall 10 the lot OF George Doug
las "The House With the Green smut
ters." This grewsome but powerful nov
ell was published early last fall In
and England. II was favorably review
ed and favorably received from the
start. In this country the critics and
the public fought shy OF II for many
months. There were some favorable
notices indeed One critic, remember,
who had read II in advance sheets, an
,icipated the actual publication with a
highly Mandatory review and still re-
tains his first enthusiasm. None the
less, the book went very slowly at first.
All at once, under the stimulus, per-
haps, OF British appreciation. the public
and the bulk OF the reviewers In this
country woke up 20 the fact that here
was new author worthy OF attention,
q new book destined 10 create stir
SO recently as Feb. New York pa
per, which prides itself especially on
being up TO date. reviewed The House
With the Green Shutters" as The
Book Of the Week" And II had been
published more than six months pre-
yiously.
An English correspondent OF the Era
OF Philadelphia, writes as follows:
1T Is very curious 10 note how the
persecution OF literary man always
Affects the sale OF his books. Up TO the
present time Maxslm Gorky has moi
succeeded In obtaining the recognition
from the English public which his
merits undoubtedly deserve. this, per
haps, because II takes . long while FOL