Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-07-08
10Y OF NOVEL WRITING.
Writer Waits for Postman With Pub
-'lisher's Statement.

Does thet author of book that sells
have to STEP up to the captains offs
flee to gefs his wages? Does he have
to sign sSalary roll? Does he make
out a weekly or Il monthly pay slip?
Not at all. He just waits for the
postman. Every six months his pub
fishers send him statement showing
what his book is doing and along with
it comes check for such royalties as
may be due. 1t sounds like money
dropping out of the air But it does
not seem that way to the author. He
remembers the work for which these
semi-annual returns are the conapen-
sation. He remembers very probably
a struggle which took place before he
won standing among those having
the right to expect royalties.
a writer has to be something of a
veteran before he can cease to regard
his publishers statement as staining.
an event; before. ne can regard the
eashing of his check as common
place. For that matter. most writer's
have to become well seasoned before
they cease to view with pride. Tie
appearance in neat, new binding EFF "a
fresh product Of their talentst III
deed, the writer knows of one aut43T
who, With 10 story books already tp
his credit, is as pleased over his latest
work, i'll fresh-lrom- the binder f6ffi.
as he was over the first. In such sag
isfaction is one of the rewards OF aus4
thorship ut TO be reckoned in cash. g
Royalties are. of course. the portfonsl
of the receipts from the sales of.
books which publishers turn over to
the persen who merely write the chap
ters. In the case of an author just
beginning, they may constitute 10 per-
eeiit. As writer gets 10 be estabX
lished his royalties increase. He Inaff
get Is per cent, then 20, and, If h9s
succeeds in forming a large and sur
reading constituency, even. Is per cfri
Ii a first effort proves TO be- a spha)
nomenal success, publisher cah ~
as generous as he chooses.
The figures just mentioned mean1
that a new writer may get Is cents for
every copy sold of sl.50 book. while
d reignng popular fdvorite may get
BIZ. cents per book at the same selling
price. And an established author has
another advantage, he can draw a
lump sum of money in advance to be
There is outside OF the royalty lines,
a GALAXY of bright particular stars
who get special rates of payment
such as Conan Doyle's 80 cents a word
for Sherlock Holnges stories. Kip
ling's - cents work for KIM" and
Booth Tarkington's % cents word fdGi
his recent works. Besides, there arGi
payments for serial rights. such NJ
the $1j,000 which Lady Roses Daughs
ter brought to Mr.. Humphry Wardi
before it got into book form in Amer-I
lea. The course of compensation fort
really successful writers has been up-i
ward; so distinctly upward that publ
fishers have been heard to complain
that the authors were getting all the
1t has been computed that
Alice Rice Hogan received out of roy
alties on Mrs. Wigs" the equivalent
sum of s. a word-there being 10000 |
words in the story. The ascending |
scale is impressive which has such |
figures at one end. with Millions SIS |
total for Paradise Lost" at the other. |
Between these extremes are Reade's |
$3.50 for Put Yourself in His Place |
for American publication and such |
prices as $3.50 for The Newcomes," !
and $500 for Henry Esmond.. paid to |
by American publishers.
All these particulars SAVIOR OF what
sincere souls refer to deprecfatingly
as "commercialsm in literature
Probably it is unfortunate that there
must be consideration of lucre in let
tiers But the misfortune begins with
the fact that authors. being mortal.
must live while achieving immortal-
it,. They even feel advances insthe
cost of living They are quite honest
in acknowledging tile value. which
royalties have in their eyes. Pressed
to the point. almost any one isL them
would follow after the franRness or
Mrs. Burnett who writing her first
piece when she, was II
years old. declared to the EDITOR that
my object is enumeration.
There is virtue. surely. in such hon
esty. So long as any VIRTUES is also
in the works Of the writer's. let us be
glad that. besides its own
reward it can participate in the har-
vests reaped by the best sellers. =