The sun., 1903-12-06
Just A FEW POINTS
y ON BOOK SELLING.
An Art ia Which There's More
Than Appears on the Surface
to the New Drummer.


! the thing that the new book boomer
/ needs first of all to have impressed upon
his mind" said the experienced man OF
the fiction publishing house to the man
about to make his first trip on the road.
lis TINT the owner Of a book shop or
the head of q book emporium in big
department store isn't the whole thing.
In almost every other line Of trade, the
| drummer only needs to cuddle up to the
buyer The book drummer, IL he wants
10 be successful, has got 70 get in right
| with the whole outfit. The sellers are
more important to him than the buyers.
You'll find book buyers upon whom
you'll be able to unload plugs by the whole
sale plugs as you ought to know. are
! no-account non-sellers but you'll only
hurt yourself doing that. and get the frosty
| glare the next time you show up, II you
don't put yourself Oh terms with the sellers
in every shop You make.
There ID nothing to be gained by greas-
ing a complaisant buyer into taking a
thousand copies of hopeless plug, If you
don't also get the sellers 30 well inclined
toward you that they will boost the plug
with all their might just as favor to you,
even If they know the plug is something
awful and perfectly impossible from every
point Of view.
If you don't do this. and, on your next
trip, find those thousand dead ones still
, warning on the counter the buyer Is going
to regard you as only about two degrees
reno ved from q green goods man or gold
brick purveyor, whereas II the sellers have.
by hard work, got rid Of even hundred
OF the copies. he is likely to imagine that
the book is moving along all right, par
ticularly il the well disposed sellers report
to him that it's having steady sale,
II didn't have anybody to tell me this
when first started out selling books on
the road. The result was that for the first
six months or so I got in bad TO such an
extent that came perilouslv close to losing
out as & hook drummer. I'd been on the
road in otter iires, and was foolish enough
TO suppose that the drumrner's procedure
in otacr lines war going to At the book
! business.
= I'D walk into big department store
and hAmghtilv ask a gum chewing sales
girl at a book counter for the head Of
tho department.; I'd pay no attention
to the girl at all; but when she directed
,us TO tho main guy I'd begin to work my
winning ways on him Surprising I'd
want to get No. order out of him for
Ole Of the books on my list.
"'Miss Tooloo the head OF the book
department would say to the girl with
i whom I'd been chesty IN asking for the
been going latelyH
me a Victorious s CLEAN out }l. Of the Corner; corner
Of her eye. Can't give it away.
and she'd cut ME out OF an order for.
maybe, 500 copies.
Anything doing with "The Punk
Cigar"? the head of the department would
ask her, naming another book for which
wanted No. order.
They won't take EN- with gold do liars
for soov'nrs.' the girl would reply. and I'd
be shredded out Of another order, And
tha. s the way it would go-knocking all
down the line and empty order books just
because at first wasn't wise enough to per-
With the folks who actually meet the cus-
toners and sell the books.
Then in time I got wise and then got
orders so fast that the firm was In con-
books were behind time. acquired the
habit of sweeping In and doing the bonnet
removing act to the salesgirls before I'd
eveSthiuk Of asking for the head squeeze,
""D1 You know ia say to a likely look
travelling about on the trains lately. OF
whom was reminded by that description
In our book. "A Womans Crowning Glory"
and now I've got il it g you and none other.
Member how tho author dwells upon the
soft wavy masses of chestnut hair. the deep
brown eyes?'
I and 40 on. Oh. there isn't anything
IKE thet one for busiress. only you want to
be dead certain that you can get away with
It and that the girl won't think that you
are stringing her. Few of 'em will think
that, though, and it's money in the bank
for the book drummer. like wheat In the
barn for the farmer. to get top salesgirl
to imagining that she bears any kind of
resemblance to heroine in book.
Here's something that everybody's
talking about and going wild over she
say Of the most veritable plug on your list
to the large tribe Of women book buyers
who have the habit Of relying upon the
other verdicts in purchasing their reading
matter.
aThe men who sell books in the stores are
just as easy to get around, and it's just as
needfu to get their good graces AZ it is TO
enlist the good will of the boss
81 don't see how you find time TO read
'em an you say to the male book salesman.
why, you know more about the contents
of the books on my list than I do myself
| Just overheard you talking with that
woman about "The Junketer's Journey"
and ] II swear you mentioned things that
didn't know the book contained, fellow
who goes to such pains to be able to talk
with so much intelligence to customers
about the books he's selling Is bound to get
there sooner of later.
"Or something like that. OF course, you
have to he able to tell at glance how big
a sweet bol,fs they'll swallow but. at that,
you'll find Il surprising how susceptible
salespeople of. both sexes in the book busi-
ness are to the gentle connerino languages -
"That books pretty deep for most of
enn, eh?' said once to dapper little sales
man with fluffy pink hair, lavender mus
tache and large baby blue eyes. Shoots
over their heads IL bit, maybe? Well, that's
all the more reason why you want to take
it home and read tits away above the
average taste. but you'll understand and
enjoy It, Here. III give you an autograph
copy, and dug into my sample case and
| gave him copy Of one of the deadest plugs
| / ever handled, with the authors name
| Inscribed on fyleaf.
"The fluffy haired little salesman took
| the lob home with him that evening and
STAYED up until O'Clock in the morning to
/ finish it., and the next day he was referring
! to il to every customer he hraced as "a
| powerful thipg-sad, but tremendously
| strong and ilnpressive-author exhibits a
! deep knowledge of the inner workings OF
; the human mind and 80 on, until by night
! rau ~, n; obbae nad stack of The t,lIp was