The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-06
What the Publishers Saw

regard to best sellers changes with the
kind,of publication that each house issues.
In TIE case Of D. Appleton & Company
it is frequently fact that the ''best seller"
is not fiction. It may be business book.
or highly scientific medical book, or a
technical hand book, or book on health
and hygiene for home consumption. The
relation Of the number Of copies to the
price received is also OF vital importance.
To US, therefore, the best seller idea is not
a point which should be emphasized; the
important thing in q publishing houses
business is the average standard Of its
publications rather than any one book
selected and perhaps sold at the expense
of others.
2. Books OF MERIT OVERLOOKED BY Re-
VIEWERS. In our estimation the books Of
merit which are almost invariably over
looked by reviewers are books other than
bellies letters. 1t Is easy enough to get a
book Of fiction, drama, poetry or biogra-
ply reviewed in almost all Of the literary
pages. Few Of them, however, will re-
view adequately a book on banking, or
craftsmanship, or business management, or
any phase of social service, or on any Of
the enormous subjects which are at the
present moment, In view of the return of
the army and the desire Of 80 many thou
sands Of men to secure occupation, more
in demand than much Of the fiction. Our
frank belief is that reviewers overlook
constantly books Of vital importance
which are being used daily, month in and
month out; and are selling in large guam
titles, but are upon subjects other than
fiction, criticism and verse.
3. WHICH Book IN THE LAST TWELVE
MONTHS HAS UPSET TRADE PRECEDEETs.
1t would be only fair TO say, 50 far as we
are concerned, that no particular book has
upset trade precedent. The variety Of
the sale, the fact thai every book is sep
arate unit, entirely distinguished from all
other publications, makes it impossible to
have any very extensive or general trade
precedents in the sale of books We do
not, therefore, note any particular devel-
opments OF this sort, except that in com
mon with all other publishers we find
very material increase in the demand for
books Of all kinds in the past few months
over the preceding period.
Moffat, Yard & Company.
4 MONG the books published by Moi
L \ fat, Yard & Company during the
last twelve months the one that most
nearly ful6Is the prerequisites OF best
seller was found in that interesting and
timely biography Gaynemer, the Ace Of
Aces, by Jacques Mortane. Although this
book was published at time when the in
terest Of the world was centred upon the
World War, it hns,ived through the after
math Of the armistice when so-calied war
books have become a drug on the market.
This book within the last month has been
put into new printing and continues to
sell It's success was due, 1 believe, to the
fact that when the history of the war is
written no hero's name viii have garncred
more international love and chivalric
homage than this first great eonqueror Of
the.air.. - = e
A book Of tnusuai merit, somewha.
overlooked by reviewers and which did not
find the ptiblic it deserved, is The World
to Ldpe In, by w. Carey Wonderly. Here
is novel showing unusual character de-
lineation, well sustained plot and on
subject which should be Of interest to the
American reading public, business girls
search for LIES purpose and finding it.
While The Great Hunger hardly might
be termed a book which has upset trade
precedents; it has in less than two months
time given every evidence Of following in
the steps Of that much discussed best
seller, The F'osr Horsemen Of the Apoc-
atypSc This book was published on
January IS. On March Is three good
sized printings had been entirely c1-
.hausted and The fourth printing was under
uora. hanI- h., n ,zrnoI;ooIIr,