New Britain herald., 1930-05-29

book about something or other, and it the author has no deep knowledge of any particular subject worth writing about he or she takes to fic- ton. manufacturing a plot with the usual ingredients and dishing it up IS fireside entertainment or some- thing 70 xii. time while on the boat or train dumng the summer vaca- ton.
 The invention Of the typewriter seems 10 have made lt quite easy to write hooks. h The days Of Dickens and Tnackeray. not 10 mention sum- dry other writers Of distinction. it was necessary for an author to write his hook with ren--s slower, more labortous and more painful process. Even the best Of writers in those days used 10 suffer from writers c-aIp, a disease or affliction that is .0Heard ot nowadays. Our modern authors write q page Of .ma,erial' .r ona-anh or inc oma tha, Mark uaaun took. Ru, whereas na mod. ern= ra.ua The typewriter in such marry fashion. NJ. Conrad and Mr Robert Louis s,e,onon had more time 10 concentrate apon what they took longer 10 get down on paper. Seems it made a difference.
 The intention Of inc typosetting machine also has spurred produc- uon. Whereas in Inc good old days Of the classic nrttcrs type had to be set by nand-an expensive and Iabomous process-noasdays any hook publisher can set book put rn-o type in one-rcn,h Of the tim formerly reqLirol.
 From these observations the gen ..a reader might readily conclude
 -a. ~hst he hook business is sui -.rnz from is no whit different from wh7, certain other industries have met with. Tho machine age is great -sor 7roaac.ton. but tha weak nol0- abo7s inc machine age IS Ina. there has no, boen 3 corresponding 11arsase n consumption.
 Thus the book publishers are con- s~on.cd with the fact that during .a-0 there uore >342 neg book ulss published. and rhs a=.ro tn- ! ..alo= only bound books. and dur .c= The year f1ere were published nlt5 new editions of old titles; bu. these >rsgurcs do not include seyerai rhousanl new hook titles which were a..hor 100 Lnr0po~rant Or els -oo highly specialized to he listed Az a mater os fact. during the fs- cal year 19-s--2. I2.5nl books were registered for copyright in the United s,a.ss
 Now 20 hack 70 -9-a The total r4mbar or nev n'ls. and new edi- tons published in ina, year in thc tinted S.ates vas G.15-. so that dur, ing the decade rhera vas an increas, . ot c5 per cent.
 Anyone with a rydImentar, knowladz. Of hook statistics know
 that there has ooon no such in crease in booE buyers or book read CTS Machine production has far out . stripped consumption.
 Thus We read that s1ndry booI publishers ha>o become frantic and small wonder. II IS discoye eroc that some Of them niI issue paper bound volumes st lowered prices, al . is the castoo m Europe This ma, help but tho main trouble will ra man until there are fewer titles IS sued.
 The ma omty of authors Of th . ocean Of books do not profit gresti by such oyarprodIction, The msyor!t gain li.c.a in polf. they probably los If they value their time at 2Io al hour. which vc imagine is fair pay mcor for anyone with brains enous. 10 write material worth going be tween book covers.
 The book business IS nor onl highly competitive within it's on
 field, but fl must compele with al other modern methods or uulizn
 spare ume. 1t must compete wit "magazinos and new pers"-an
 this comrtrion in itself IS s,renu :. oas. l. must compete wua automo hiJo rrmsing-aso q seroys compeI . tor-anJ with amusements such a
 the staga, the ralhios and the radio 5 t must compete, so far as diree sale to the public IS concerned, wi , public libraries and The ronts
 libraries operated Tn varouz store Tn every town and city. There is good deal of book reading gong 0 in the country, but larga propor . ton Of It is done through publ } facilities 10 borrow instead of buy ; ing Thus, n 1927 there were 227 5oo.ooo separate volumes pubisho in the United States, which leads , <alerof only little more than tw books per capita during the year
 manfes-ly a poor showing. FIINIBILTTY