Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-21
POORLY PAID AUTHORS
ENGLISH WRITERS IN FINANCIAL
STRAITS.
Some Specimen Prices Offered Able
Scholars by PublisherS-Sim
Profit in Literature.

Paris Correspondence CT the Boston Transcript.
In the course of a recent visit to England
had a very instructive conversation with
one of the most pushing and successful OF
the younger publishers. That things are
sufficiently gloomy In the English literary
world l had needed no telling. Vizetelly
dying in workhouse, Rhoda Broughton
penniless and Justin Mccarthy glad to
take a pension from a tory government
were facts eloquent enough to the slump
in literature from the business point OF
view. but had never fancied that the de-
preston in the market was as great as was
revealed to me by this publisher. He was
telling me the truth and had no reason to
do otherwise. for 1 was doing no business
with him and had no intention of doing airy.
He said that the writers IN England VINO
make living out of fiction writing can be
counted on the fingers of the hand. and
curiousiy enough he mentioned to me as one
of the best English writer's from the COM
mercial point of view Seton Merriman. He
said that there was no market at all for the
american rights of books even by we'll
known writer's. and that as a matter of fact
you seem to get along quite nicely without
much British fiction. The very colonies
have deserted the British author For
merly." he said 1T was quite a usual thing
~ SCI VI OcIS lTOm the colonial agents. when
subscribing a new book, for eight or nine
uozen apiece, colonial edition. Nowadays
one is glad If each agent will subscribe for
one dozen l have an old friend in this
a a. and when he does subscribe for
dozen he says that 1t is only to oblige me;
that he doubts that he will be able to place
the copies.''
Small Edition Of Novels.
The bulk of modern British novels are
issued in an edition of 500 copies, at a dol
lar and half. and the publisher considered
himself lucky If he got rid of that number.
Almost all these copies would go to the
lending libraries; people didn't buy books,
ana that was the reason why the novel
at lower price than a dollar and a half
couId not be made to pay. you don't Sill
copy more at three and six than at six
shillinss: people don't buy books and the
libraries have just got to stock novelties
by authors with a name. The cost of
producing 500 copies of book of average
length is a hundred and fifty dollars. and
when advertising is paid for, see what
remains for author and publisher to d.
vlde tell you never saw trade as 1t is
now At famous literary club, where
J. found the members looking more de-
pressed and aged than l had ever seen
them before (Which is saying a great deaD,
was told by one well-known author that
the only offer that he had been able to
obtain for a sixty-thousand-word novel
was $50 for the copyright, and that several
publishers had even refused to look at the
manuscript. Possibly the length or rather
the shortness of that particular manu-
script, was against the book. for 70.030
words seems nowadays the minimum length
that publisher cares to consider. The
reason of this was pointed out to me by
the publisher alluded to above: eff book
is Short he said 1.-The man who gets Il
from the lending library can read it quickly
and returns 1T all the sooner. Consequent
ly the libraries need fewer copies to keep
fta6fy pNc< ihnrC c,,y>y ltnIp ~
club was shown some letters which had
been received by writer, who is an ex-
cellent French scholar and who has trans
lated several French books with marked
success. from the man who is farming the
translation Of Dumas novels. which is be-
ing undertaken by Messrs. Methuen, a firm
of the richest and best-known publishers in
London.
Offer Of Publisher.
The man In question is a Mr.. A. R. Allin-
son, who was formerly connected with Car
rirgtGn. a publisher of very special iitera-
ture, who finds it to his advantage to carry
on his business out Of England. This new
translation has been widely pulled in the
London papers, and copious reference has
been made to the liable scholars who are
assisting Mr.. Allison in the translation of
the various novels. AS sign Of how things
are going in the literary world in London
1t may interest you to read what terms the
cCIlOT Oi ILLS series IS OUeTlnR TO the able
scholars" referred to In Messrs. Methuen's
puffs.
Il shall be very glad" writes Mr. Allin-
son to the able scholar In question Ito
have the advantage of your services I do
not know. however, whether you will find
the conditions such as to tempt you These
are:
Il. Remuneration at the rate of Is $50
cents) per thousand words printers esti-
ate of length to be taken as final
80. Work to be finished by a stated time
say in this case (for novel of moderate
lengthy September 80.
20. To be issued in my name, as being
generally responsible for the whole series
Il need not add that for series of this
kind good. readable. spirited English style
is of the first Importance.
Accuracy is, of course requisite. but not
Eteralness. A translation which reads like
a translation Is on the face of it a bad
translation. But l need not insist on this
to translator Of your experience and sue
cess"
1 could not help wondering where the poor
devil of an liable scholar" was going to get
his Spirits from working at the rate of
three lines for 1 cent In a second letter
the editor refused to entertain a suggestion
that a weekly payment should be made
against an equivalent amount of copy Yet
there are hundreds of men and women in
London who would jump at the chance OF
tt anslatillg Monte Cristo" or the Three
MuSketeerS" at the rate of $50 per novel