The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-08-03
TAKING CHANCES ON 4
BOOK,

simply childish.
Il permitted myself to become un-
necessarily vexed with a writing man
who came IN here to see me only yester-
day. Last autumn we published piece
of fiction Of his. It was his first book.
Quite unexpectedIy-that is, we of the
firm didn't expect it, even if the author
did-the book made a big success from
the outset.
Inside of three months we sold be-
tween $4,000 and 1000 copies of it. These
big sales, of course, put the young man
alties during the first three months
were about $4,000.
| He had never had anything like so
| much money in bulk before, and /
/ grieve to say that he lost his head.
He had passion for horseracing. Now,
| $4,000 is a right tidy little sum of
money if devoted to the ordinary uses
! and comforts of life, but it isn't such
| a terrible lot Of money wherewith to
crafty a passion for horseracing.
Virtually all of this writing young
| mans $4,000 royalty money on his first
book went into the satchels of the
| bookmakers. Just about this time the
sales of his book began to sag some.
He noticed this, for he was very
careful in his scrutiny of our sales
accounts. He figured that it would be
good thing for him to get from under.
He needed some more money, and so
he came to me and offered to sell his
interest in the book for a pat $4,000.
ST advised him not to do this. told
him that books had a queer habit of
getting their second wind and coming
again, SO to speak, and that he stood
a pretty good chance to make lot
more than $4,000 out Of his book if he'd
only be patient and wait for his royal
ties. |
But, no, he couldn't see it. He had |
it all figured out that his book had seen /
its little day, and that he'd rather be |
putting it on US if he got $4,000 out of /
us for his interest in it.
1--WE gave him the $4,000, and he sign |
ed away his right to any interest in /
his book. 1t was bit of a gamble with |
US, too, you are to understand, yet we
had a fair right to presume that a
book that had sold $4,000 copies in three
months would, even If the sales were
letting down some, go on winning out
at least enough. to make good for the
So, 900 we were paying out to acquire
complete title to the book.
well, the thing fell our way Not
long after we had given the author
the $4,000 he was so eager to obtain
for his interest the book began to sail
along again quite wonderfully. I don't
mind admitting, either, that we
did bid of extra advertising
and booming for the book as
soon as we had got hold of
the complete title to it, and, of course,
this helped to give the piece of fiction
It's second wind.
EST we've sold 10000 copies of his book.
and it's still going ahead at a most | !
profitable clip for US, although I never
could see that it was much Of a book,
It that.
'sThe writing young man, of course,
heard how well his book was doing
lfter he had disposed of his interest,
nd it gruelled him.
Yesterday he came in here to see q
me- After beating about the bush for T.
while he shambled to the point.
'Said he'd heard how well his book it
ad been going since he'd sold out, and
sked me whether, in view of that, s.
idnt think it would be only the fair p
f the rakeoff. A straight case of the Il
ably act, you perceive. Il
" Why should do that?' I asked him. lo
You sold me the book, and it's mine
ow, isn't it?' ell
"Oh, yes, he was willing to admit ~
hat the book was mine, all right, but G,
hen he'd sold out his interest he'd had W
O idea that it was going to continue &C
D bound along the way it had, and he w
nought that as long as he had chiselled
imself the way he had, why Ian
And yet said 1, when you sold out c,
, me for $4,000 you were convinced SC
nat you had away the better of the al
argain, weren't you-rather thought w
nat I'd be coming out at the little end 90
f the horn on the transaction, didn't lii
ou?' w
well, he'd thought at the time of
cling out that the $4,000 proposition al
ouid be a fair shake all around, he in
Lid, but as the sales had turned out he
!, big since, why ed
His attitude was so childish that I
ecame a bit warm over it. In my y,
armth 1 fell into parable.
=" Look here 1 said to the young W
lthor you know a good deal about
orseracing, don't your he
IS L wish L didn't he replied, some
hat nlournfully. W.
& All right, said 1. Now, supposing ga
at last fall you had sold to me a two ar
,ar-old colt that had won a number he
big stakes for You, but had gone on
ife lame from over-racing-so lame in
ct that you had concluded that the on
1t wouldn't develop into good three III
ar-old, and so We're perfectly willing of
sell to me at your own figure. in,
= Surprising had taken that colt and
tched him up and sent him to the
ces this spring, to find that he made ~
cd for me right along and won quite o
lot of money for me. Would you, IN