The sun., 1919-08-24

advertised had been a more accurate phrase.
1t is correct and essential to advertise books in
periodicals appealing wholly or partly to book
readers. 1t is just essential to recruit readers
Book readers can be recruited Just as magazine
readers are recruited. The most important way Of
getting magazine readers is still the subscription
agent Every community of any size in these United
States should have in it or woman of at least
high school education and alert enthusiasm selling
books of all the publishers Where there is good
book store such an agent is unnecessary or may be
found in the owner of the store or an employee
thereof Most communities cannot support store
given over entirely to book selling. In them let
there be agents giving their whole time or their
spare time and operating with practically no over
head expense. Where the agents receive salaries
these must be paid jointly by all the publishers
whose books they handle. This should naturally be
done through a central bureau or selling agency
Efficient agencies already exist.
The ''book agent" is classical joke. He is
classical joke because he peddled one book and the
wrong sort of book, from door to door. You must
equip him with fifty books new and alluring, of all
publishers; and arm him with sheets and circulars
describing enticipgly hundred Others He must
know individuals and their tastes and must have
one or more of the best book reviewing periodicals
in the country He must have catalogues and news
notes and special offers to put over If he gives you
all his time he must have assurance Of living,
especially until he has good start or exhibits his
incapacity for pioneering. He must have an incen-
tive above and beyond any salary that may be paid
him. s,s .t:..
But the consideration of details in this place is
impossible. The structural outline and much adapt
able detail is already in highly successful use by
periodicals Of many sorts. In fundamentals it re-
quires no profounder skill than that of the clever
copyist
Doing the Obvious Thing.
We charged in the third count of our Indictment
that books rather frequently advertised in the
wrong places. We had in mind the principle that
for every book considerable enough to get itself
published by publisher of standing there is some
where particular audience; just as there is GER
tain body of readers for every news item of enough
moment to get printed in daily newspaper. A
JuSter way of expressing the trouble would be this
Books rather frequently not advertised in the
right places.
The clues to the right places must be sought in
the book itself and its authorship, always and they
are innumerable As no two books alike the best
thing to do will be to take a specific example.
HARRY LAUDER s A Minstrel in France will serve
The first and most obvious thing to do is to ad-
vertise it in every vaudeville theatre in America
Wherever the programme includes motion pictures
fash the advertisement the screen with a fifteen
second movie of LAUDER himself. Posters and cir
cuars in the lobby must if there are no screen
pictures.
The next and almost equally obvious thing is to
have LAUDER make phonograph record of some
effective passage in the book market
ing the record in the usual way, at popular price
THE BEST OF THEIR KIND.
The Moon and Sixpence, by w. Somerset
Maugham. Candid novel of genius. "There
are few men to whom love is the most i'm
portant thing in the world, and they are
not very interesting ones"
Mare NoStrum (Our Sea-, by Vicente Blasco
Ibanez. German submarine warfare in the
Mediterranean. novel as tremendous as
his The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Ramsey MiIhoLiand. by Booth Harrington. An
American boyhood matured into manhood
by the events of 1918.