The Washington times., 1921-07-17

People are conssAntly inauiring
~5ust what IL an edition 7''-"sxactiy
what does q publisher mean when he
&dvsYtises that such and such book
has reached IL. nth. sixth, or twenty
sixth edition f'--how many thousand
copies constitute an sdition!--and 90
ON. The questions were put UP to H.
c. Kinssy. a noted New York pub
Usher with unique reputation for
picking novels that VIII sell more
than q hundred thousand eopies--the
publishing world knows what rare
article IL the 100000 nevel!--and the
following is his explanation Of the
often abused words
The standard dictionary dsnnes an
edition A.: "A special issue OF .
literary work. Also. .ths number of
copies issued at one time"
Naturally this 10 correct But the
query that comes next u. how many
copies are usually issusd to form An
edition? The answer u that II varies,
d>p~ndine on the character And prob
abie sale Of the book.
when manufacturing conditions
were normal. about six or seven years
ago. II was possible 10 many instances
TO print as few ~ 800 and make .
The average Of today for a new novel
10 about 5000 copiss: when this 10
sold and . new edition IL printed It
10 In its second edition, and so on.
when you see printed in an ad-
vertisement that q book 10 In its
sixth edition" or sixth printing" II
means that i've editions have been
sold. and the publisher 10 working on
the sixth. Tho aggregste sale. how
ever. may be only 10000 or possibly
less. -
On the Other. hand q frst edition
may consist Of $4,000 to loo, 900 copies
or even mors. This means the pub
liehor has 90 much confidence In the.
book he 10 publishing that he feels
certain he can sell this great quantity
books enough to strsntch twelve
milss. end to end.
James Oliver, Curwood's story The
Valley Of Silent Men" was consider
ably over 100000, and "rhe Flaming
Forest" by the same author, to be
published In August OF this year, ~
we'll a. '.rhe Pride Of Paiomar," BY
Peter B.. Kyne, to be published IN
|. September. will run far over 100000
each for their hrst editions. This be-
GAUGE Of their popularity and assured
When you know that out of about
10000 new books issued each year
there are only ave or az on the aver
a9o that reach sau of 1v0.oOQ or
more within twelve ai6hths of publ
cation, you can realize what an sdi-
ton OF this size means, and !, 10 M
accident. but instead q rratfer OF
careful forsthought, that two Of last
49, nI 1919 ~
years half dosen are published by
tho same concsrn--tAs Cosmopolitan
Book corporation- al
First Aid TO the Car"
Bscauss the unexpected happens
more often In motoring than In any
other form Of sport or business, Har-
old Whiting SlAuson, N. B., wrote his
First Aid 70 the Car" The highway
hints and helps to motorists contain
ed in the book treat in practical and
elementary way those accidents which
may befall even the beSt-regulated
car, stating the cause OF such acct.
dents and the temporary or psrnar
nent cure.
Az an executive In one Of Americas
largest automobile concerns. as chair
man of the New York section OF the
l5ociety of Automotive Engineers. and
las former automobile editor Of . ma
tional weekly, Mr.. Slauson 10 qualified
to write with the authority Of long sx-
perience.
He divides the major part of his book
under the following headings:
When the engine will not start,
When tho engine stops,
When the engine misses.
When tho engine loses power
When the engine knocks,
f; When the engine overheAts,
! When the brakes won't work,
When the running gear II broken,
/ When the tire IL fiat,
( When the mud is deep,
! When the car II left alone.
There In also a chapter devoted TO
private garage design and equipment.
and finally, dictionary OF automobile
terms. Each chapter u preceded by a
trouble chart.
"A man may understand the mo-
chanical design OF his car perfectly.
and yet be confronted with a roadside
accident which will tax all his knowl-
sdge and power Of imagination before
he can arrive at even the simplest
temporary solution" Mr.. Slauson says
in his introduction. First Aid to the
Car gives the motorfst, almost at a
glance, the information required on a
specific point. Every car owner has
hoped that some day such book
would be written, 30 that roadside re-
pairs might become q simple matter.
There has long been q need for a book
which tells all there il to know about
doctoring q sick engine.
Now with this hook In the pocket