The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-08

FRONT 10 NTltets 80 N'''~'
In other words. the publisher did not
get out n first edition which would pay me
royalties enough to cover the advance
This is a frequent trick and one that few
writers can successfully meet. Owing to
the mixed up fashion In which the deals"
are carried through. usually with an In
termediate agent who must curry favor
with the publisher. the author finds that
the average cost IA volume to him IL some
thing over 800.
! am what is called a successful writer
OF fiction. | get good prices. my work APP
pears In magazines every month, ana
| have a clientele that commends respect
My income from periodicals rises as high
! as $4,000 a year ! get more for one
short story than 20 per cent or the nov
elists receive for a book.
I should like to make few remarks
which may help others to see whore the
bread and butter is. First. there are sew
eral magazines In America which viii
pay from $4,000 TO $4,000 for the serial
rights OF IA good novel have known OF
| novels that brought as high AS $4,000
| Just for these rights. and | presume that
| certain authors OF great reputation com
mand MS high as $4,000. This IN more
than a best seller could possibly earn to-
| day, except In exceptional cases.
1t IL natural TO ask why "A magazine
can pay an author more than any pub
Usher can. The answer Is simple. The
book publishing business Is run on the
same principles that the old Erie Canal
was. The Erie Canal IL now the home OF
| the sunnsh and the frog. by pure force
OF an impetus given IL years ago the book
publishing business Is still going In this
country.
The fault lies Ia the distributing Of
printed books. Let us take a concrete
! case Marie Acetanllid Jones writes Lost
Angels" She has already done pretty
well in the magazines and she receives
| a $3.50 advance from Frog & Fish. who
contract with her on the basis OF 10 per
cent. for the first 5000 copies and 10 per
cent. Oh all over that. the net price to be
si25. Frog e. Fish print and bind 1000
| copies. leaving Marie IN debt $50 IN all
are sold Then they go to the jobbers and
| dispose OF what they can. The tUbbers try
out the booksellers and. having "A dozen
clients. divide the business among them.
| As the booksellers outside OF New York
| and Chicago can be counted on the fingers
and toes. there Is little show for an author
who cannot get on the news stands. ! be-
lievs the average sale OF novel is less
than 1000 copies.
Now there are three excellent ways Of
dist ribution. worked out and elaborated
! by men I'm other businesses the drug
store. the cigar store and the news stand
| In 10000 towns the drug store IL the
centre Of the best business and In 10000
| ClueT tONHs lilt cigar rlbI' - NdNtilllh
| to people with money and usually a
taste for reading Does Mr.. Frog or Mr..
| Fish utilize this ready to his hand
| medium? No. sir. The event II a nat
ural one: the magazines have discovered
| that for is cents they can supply the
steady. normal demand for lon> novels.
| They have found that they can pay more
| than the old fashioned publisher The
| consequence Ii that the publisher as
such. will either vanish or reform.
No writer can AFFORD 10 ignore the
| present day magazine | know that eS-
| c"ptlons will he quoted against me but
they prove the rule. ] do not count
| those who write pure literature Neither
| ] nor any other popular author can claim
a place In that class. HaviIg to make
our livelihood by our typewriters We must
| perfOrce accept the condition that no so-
CALLED standard magazine will either ac-
\ kno Wedge us or pay Us.
For example again Have you ever seen
a story by popular author In "A high
priced periodical? Could Jack London
sell to a 80 cent magazine? lie could
not since he has become the best known
writer OF the day. The reason? lie has
never written a quatratn. nor done sweet
dalliance IN "a club. Not placing myself
in the same rlass as AIr. London | can
yet claim to JelOng to the same school
And that means that we have to depend
on the Saturday Erenin0 Post, Ainsico's
W
edge that these publications have an
enormous circulation among the best OF
us Americans. ! confess that they pay
better than the highest priced magazines
would dream OF doing. But Nr. Page Is
right. even in his jest. The United States
won't admit that n writer Ii entitled tc
any credit unless he pleases the small and
inbred minority.
There Is nothing pecvish in my attitude
Pm quite satisfied with my lot Every
month sees an advance in the magazln,
business, the Cosmopolitan still pays pro
dlgious prices and we can afford to lei
the book contracts go. The women'i
papers have fallen In line and send enor
nous checks to those who write profes
sIonslly, and even the newspapers FIRE
qusntly pay hundreds for the use o
, stories almost forgotten by their writer's.
The conclusion Is that the book bust
ness is dead 50 far IN fiction goes. An'
the writer should be thankful. He ~
longer has to wait year for his littl'
moneys. nor suffer the patronizins air
Of gentlemen who desplse Des Moines
Iowa.
Then we have the movies! And the!
pay the writer more for single stor!
, than any publisher will give the ordinar,
) writer for IA 100. 900 word novel. one othe
Illustration from my own books;