The Washington times., 1921-06-26
BEST sELLERs--AND WHY.

DHSN 3ELLEHS--AND Whfs
The elements that enter into the
making OF best seller are. a good
book. a good writer. sskiilful mer-
rhandising. Intelligent ADVERTISING
Yet many, a good and worthwhile
book has never boon q best seller:
many brilliant writer has never
fo.nd the publie he es.rved nitnsin-
cradle books that have been skill
fully merchandised are gathering dust
on the dealers shelves. aut sorry Is
the story or the books stnat have had
sensational advertising" which have
sold only to disgust large portion
Of the public with both books and
advertising. s4as
1t requires more .,han any ono CT
thsse elements; II. takes q combina-
tion OF good book y COOL WI ter.
skiiiful merchandising ana honest
advertising on a big scale, to make
best seller.
The principal trouble Is that most
people-and a lot of publishers among
them-think a best seller 10 an arti-
ncial product, a consciously machine
made thing. II Is not: It is ESSENTIALLY
human thing. a thing of fine feel
ing and sincerity, a thing that Is IN
tune with millions OF hearts and
which. because 1t carries with Ii
note OF Joy. IS xeserving Of every bit
of success II wins.
There are many who have the
opinion that II a book is popular
and sells---it simply can't be worth
whiie--that the fact that IT is popu-
lar is enough 20 condemn It: that
the really Worthwhile books could
not be popular. because people would
not understand them.
Tt reminds me of the following In
Z cident that friend related to me.
az picked up a tattered old book
the other day." he said, '.the kind one
discovers up In grandmother's attic.
cit was written. SO the title page
said. by one Vicesinius Knox, master
of arts. and published in England in
the year 1857.
poor old Mr.. Knoxl What he said
about the manners and morals OF his
day sounded very familiar. He la
mented the good old days--as we OF
1921 lament the good old days.
But what amused me most. in
MFR. Knox, were his comments ON
the authors of his day. He said there
were too many OF them, that they
we're shallow. interested in making
money rather than literature, and
lot of other mean things like that.
This he wrote in the year 1877,
during the very period when Field
ing. Sterne. Richardson. Smollett,
Goldsmith. Robert Burns and many
others were producing their immor-
tai novels and poems!
"Poor old scholar! He was living
in one OF the greatest periods of
English literature and didn't know IL!
He was short-sighted. He failed to
realize that when authors win the
love and admiration OF vast num-
~ ~ 10 IA
good authors and not because the
public has poor taste. hs
There have always been--there
will always be. people like Mr.. vi
cesimus Knox. who feel that the only
good author is a dead author. and
the only good story an unpopular
story. But the great public knows
better and unfsilingly claims its
own" s@t ssosiis ilf
That is the reason names like
James Oliver Curwood, Peter B.
Kyne, Gene Stratton Porter. Con-
ingsby Dawson, Joseph c, Lincoln.
Rex Beach and the rest have become
familiar TO almost every one who
reads, and are admired in our day,
just as Fielding. Smollett and others
were admired in theirs. And that is
also the reason why editions" vary
so much in size. One book may be
tfon. another relatively unknown with
ten.
LONE VOLTS DAUGHTER
Michael Lanyard. "The Lone Wolf
of Louis Joseph Vance's new thriller,
RED Masquerade" is an extraordi-
nary character the fertile Vance in
vents to adorn a tale as fascinating
and mysterious as any of his previous
efforts. In a prologue the Wolf is
introduced TO the reader as a young
man OF twenty-five, not yet identified
with Scotland Yard, but already
known for his audacious and ingen-
ious coups. Here also Is detailed a
brief episode of romance with the
Russian princess, Sonia. mother of the
heroine OF the story. half Russian,
half Chinese, all devil"
Twenty years later finds "The Lone
Wolf" now In government service. on
the trail OF the most accomplished
band of cracksmen that the Secret
Service has ever trailed. Their lead
er Is Prince Victor. The forces of the
law are closing about Victor, and in
desperation he tmprisons Lone VOLTS