Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-06-24
The Evening Star Weekly Review Of Books
The Meaning Of a Best Seller Relations Of the Author
and the Publsher--An Argument for Cheaper Fiction.

have a lot of clever writer's n are
adopts at putting human nature, human
speech, human action on paper. And
the more they write the more the peo-
pie want. But why raise the price?
Why not lower It? Instead of going to
S1.25 and $1.35 net, why not go down TO
so ents? This has been h subject OF
considerable discussion here in Amer
lea. In England they are doing 1t. The
American publisher seems to be against
it. Why?
CO
ONE PUBLISHER. INTERVIEWED
on the subject, conceded that there were
secrets in the publishing trade, as in
every other trade. But he said 1t was
no secret at all, that a publisher could
not put out a 50-eent book and make
money on 1t. Let us see. 1t is matter
of common knowledge that after a book
has gone through its original C1.5o)
printing, in the course of a year or two
it is put out again by some other pub
Usher who buys the right at the mod
crate retail price of 40 cents. This Is
called the cheap edition. What IS
meant by Cheap" Paper covers? No.
The same cloth cover, the same illus
trations, the same book apparently
making some allowance for the mod
crate price-all, of course, from the
same plates.
THE PUBLISHER WHO PUTS OUT
this cheap edition does not, of course,
set up the type or make the plates. He
hires them from the original publisher.
But he pays, we will say, IL cents a
book for the privilege. This IL cents
will be divided between the original
publisher and the author. Out of As
cents that leaves the cheap" man, If
we may so call him, SO cents. Out of
his 80 cents he must buy his paper, his
binding, WORK his presses, pay his help.
pay his advertising, land the book and
sell it. or get storekeepers to sell 1t. He
is apt to buy more and sell more thar
the original publisher. Al book that in
its original edition sold 10000 copies will
probably sell to 100000 in the cheap edi-
tion. Many an author, it may be sur
missed, has actually made more out of
his cheap edition than out of his origi-
nal edition. Don't forget one thingA
it is only the best sellers, the popular
books. that ever get to a cheap edi-
ton. They are bought by the cheap
publisher because he knows they are
already in demand
Go
DOES NOT THE RULE WORK
both ways? Why cannot the big
publishers OF novels at high prices
get out a book, a little less hand
some, and sell it for so cents?
The American public is devour-
ing magazines. Why? One reason is
that the American public is willing to
pay 10 or Is cents for a few hours
amusement-it will pay 10 or Is cents
for almost anything at any time. But
it won't pay $1.15. You can understand
that. You have a $780, 900 house for sale.
There are, We'll say, 100 people In the
community who happen to want a $780,
600 house. Your neighbor has a $1,000
house to sell. There are 10000 people
who want a $1,000 house. The chances
are that If you cut the price of books
in twain, you will increase the number
of your customers f1vefold.
The publishers say this logic is all
wrong. Maybe they are right.
At any rate, the price of books is up,
not down.