The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-15

The number of men and women who
believe they are fitted to produce sala-
BILE fiction has been increasing at a
marvellous rate during the last few
years, and to-day they number many
thousands in the United States, I'M
doubtedly. This is shown by the enor-
nous fiction mail of every publishing
house in the country.
Yet with all the increase of literary
aspirants, an increase which has sure
ly outrun the increase in total popula-
ton, the relative number of successful
fiction writers has not gone up. BY
successful fiction writers l do not
mean those who have made fortunes,
but those who simply make fair
living out of it as an occupation. OF
the great success, those who can write
"big money winners. like David Ha-
rum" "Eben Holden" Richard Car
vel' ben Hur'' ITO Have and to
Hold" ETC., there are not more than
a score.
1t may be news to many readers
that the majority of all novels pub
lished do no more than pay for their
publication, but so it is. A surDris-
ingly large proportion do not bring
returns enough to do that even, al
though it is possible to issue a novel
of the standard size, without pictures
for a few hundred dollars.
II should be understood. though,
that the total expense of publishing
a novel is only begun when the type
setting, press work and binding are
finished.
In the old days these items covered
the bulk of the publication expense,
but in these times of intense COMPETE
ton it is not so. Like soap. health
foods and patent medicines, books
must now be advertised extensively
if they are to make money. In con-
sequence every publishing house has
its publicity department, or press
agency, which is quite as well organ
lied as the advertising department of
any great enterprise conducted along
wholly commercial lines, or the press
agency work of any big theatrical or
ganization.
Moreover just the same as the adj
vertising managers of big department
stores and the press agents of success
full theatrical stars are often among
the best paid of all the attaches, so,
also, the publishers publicity men are
sometimes better paid than any but
the top stars among the writer's.
Over and over again the advertis-
ing spent on a given book is twice
as much as the author receives, and
over and over again this circumstance
has led to bitter disagreements. OF
course the publishers justification in
such cases is that without the adver-
Using the book wouldn't sell at all,
which is probably true.
1t is an interesting circumstance
that Vivian Burnett, son of Mrs.
Farnces Hodgson Burnett, and who
served as the model for his mothers
most successful book, Little Lord
Fauntelroy" when a child is attached
to the publicity staff of one of the
best known publishing houses here in
New York.
Young Burnett shows no trace of
"Faunteroyism" now that he is grown
up and out in the world for himself,
save that he is a young man of very
apparent good breeding and excellent
manners. He is of the middle size,
not burly by any means, yet not
fragile, and of good general health.
In a crowd he would pass for a good,
average, wholesome American young
man. He has many friends and he
seems to like the publicity end of
the publishing business immensely.
Duane