William Dana Orcutt

“ If it is worth publishing it is worth being paid for, and to part with it for nothing injures the literary market for your fellow-writers as well as for yourself.
There is much difference of opinion regarding the ethics of submitting the same manuscript to more than one magazine at a time. In this matter each writer must settle the question for himself. There is no general custom, but good taste would seem to argue against the practice.
It is seldom wise to submit more than one story at a time to the same magazine. ”

“ The fact that one author's contract differs from another's cannot be taken as evidence that the publisher has not fulfilled his entire responsibility to both. An author without an established reputation has no right to expect as attractive a contract as one whose name is of known value to the publisher's list. ”

“ The closeness with which a book is to be indexed depends partly upon the nature of its contents and partly upon the ideas of the author or publisher. Some indexes contain only the page references; some are so analytical that a reader can gain an excellent idea of the subject-matter itself. These, however, represent the two extremes. The ordinary index aims to give every reference necessary to enable the reader to locate easily the subject-matter for which he searches, but not a synopsis of that subject-matter. ”

“ First, and most importantly, the ink-dealer and the paper-house have capital; the magazine writer brings nothing to his business but his brain and his two hands. In the second place, a great deal of the writing for our periodicals is done by men and women employed on salary, and economically in the same category as the cashier or the sub-editor. The man or woman who writes 'on the outside,' either on speculation or on order, it seems to us, is no less a temporary employee of the magazine. ”

“ It may be taken as a general statement that if a book possesses sufficient merit to warrant its publication at all, a publisher can be found who is willing to assume the entire risk of the expense of publication. ”

“ In general, the publisher is a wise person in his own field, and as the ultimate success of a book depends upon its sale, his advice is usually based upon a knowledge and an experience which the author cannot possess. To make his business a success, the publisher, as well as the author, must interject his own personality, this expression taking the form of personal suggestions, of determining the physical aspect of the volume, of selecting the artist, of arranging methods of publicity, and of making plans for interesting the retail booksellers. ”

“ Many a publisher has by legitimate and judicious business sagacity established the reputation of a previously-unknown author; many an author has placed a small publishing-house in a position of importance, or added to the fame of a house already established.
Another reason for these closely-identified interests is the fact that the average writer is not experienced in business matters, but relies largely upon the integrity of the publisher to whom he intrusts himself. ”

“ While it is true that modern commercialism has invaded this field as it has all others, there are probably no actual business relations more dependent upon mutual confidence than those which exist between the writer who produces a manuscript which he wishes to have published, and a publisher who wishes to secure for the purpose of publication a manuscript which he believes to contain elements of probable success. ”

“ Confidence begets confidence, and fair play invites a personal interest which is an asset, the value of which cannot be over-estimated. When a manuscript has been offered competitively, and is finally secured by the highest-bidding publisher, it by no means follows that the net returns from this contract will exceed or equal what the author might have received through some other publisher, better equipped to sell it, who would have taken a pride far beyond mere commercial advantage in making it a successful venture. ”

“ The bastard-title, which is often wrongly called the half-title, is a modern evolution in its present application. Originally, this single-line title was the only title which existed, but as time went on the demand of the public, on the one hand, for a decorated page at the beginning of the book, together with the printer's desire, on the other hand, to advertise himself, developed the bastard-title into the dimensions of the title-page which we now know, containing the name of the book, the name of the author, the publisher's device, and the publisher's name and address. ”

“ The fact that the average author is not versed in business detail has brought into being the literary agent, [1] who offers to stand between the author and his so-called natural enemy, the publisher. There is no doubt that frequently the efforts of these literary agents result in temporary pecuniary advantage to the author, but the common consensus of opinion is that in the long run the author will best serve his own ends by co-operating with his publisher, rather than by employing any intermediary. ”

“ There is a legitimate fee for privately-printed books if the author goes into the transaction with his eyes open, and accepts the services of the publisher as an agent, allowing the publisher's profit to stand as a return for services rendered. ”

“ The English act requires a genuine publication to satisfy public demand, and not merely a "colourable" formality. What "public demand" may be has not yet been defined.
There is no necessity for printing any notice of English copyright, as the English law does not require it; but it is customary, on American books copyrighted in England, to use the words, "Copyright in England," to give warning that copyright is claimed on the book. It is not considered necessary to have the English publisher's imprint on the title-page of such books. ”

“ It is reasonable to expect a decision upon your manuscript within three months' time, but not sooner.
Don't be offended by the receipt of a printed rejection slip. Personal letters are not to be expected.
Accept the editor's judgment cheerfully. Nothing is ever gained, and much is usually lost, by personal pique.
Study the spirit and policy which lie behind each publication. Just as a merchant offers his wares only in the market where the demand exists, make sure in your own mind that your story fits the magazine to which you send it. ”

“ Every publishing-house and most printing establishments of any consequence are in a position to have indexes prepared when required, but the danger is always present that the indexer, approaching his subject from the outside, will fail to place himself sufficiently in the author's attitude, and thus lessen the value of his work. It is most desirable, in order to prevent this, that the author carefully inspect the index while in manuscript. ”

“ As a leading English publisher once jocosely told the writer: "The average American novel deals either with society or sport, and we in England don't think you know much about either in America." If, however, the author believes his book has a chance, in all probability the publisher will strike out the clause, and give him a free hand to make his arrangements direct. ”

“ In the case of a novel, the statement has no exceptions. No first-class publishing-house will issue with its imprint, at the author's expense, a novel in which it cannot have sufficient confidence to warrant it in assuming the entire expense.
Frequently the unknown author, eager to secure the publication of his work, is willing to make any sacrifice, or any terms, with almost any house which is willing to assist him in accomplishing the desired result. In fact,12 there are publishing firms who confine their operations to the publication of manuscripts to be paid for entirely by the writer. ”

“ The staff writer receives his regular salary every week; the free-lance writer, working on order, temporarily just as much a part of the magazine staff as any regular employee, often has to wait for weeks and months. Certain of the magazine publishers interviewed by your committee have their ready-made answer to this: 'The ink maker and the paper manufacturer give us time: they wait one, two, or three months for their money; why should we be any more prompt with the author?' This position, on the theory that the magazine writer is only an outside employee, is of course untenable. ”

“ While the business of motion photography is by no means new, it is only within comparatively recent times that there has been a general demand for scenarios and plots. Within the last two or three years authors have found a new and unsuspected source of revenue in the sale of 'Cinema' rights to their short stories, and, although the returns were usually small, they formed a welcome addition to the writer's income. Prices frequently depended more upon the advertising value of the author's name than upon the character of the material, and ranged from $15 to $150 ”

“ When a publisher has accepted a manuscript, it becomes a part of his duty to secure the copyright. Usually, this is taken out in the name of the publisher rather than of the author, as the contract itself is really a license to sell from the author to the publisher. It is also the duty of the publisher to take all necessary 32 steps to effect renewals of copyright as provided for by law. ”

“ It is inevitable that certain changes should be required when the author sees his work reduced to the rigidity of type, but the publisher should certainly not be expected to pay the penalty for elaborate changes which are the results of the author's carelessness or change of heart. ”

“ The relations of the author to the publisher are much closer than those existing between the short-story writer and the magazine editor, and the personality of the author is a less important factor. If the writer of short-stories makes a study of the market, and possesses ordinary business ability, he has no more occasion for an "agent" than a man engaged in any other profession. ”

“ The tremendous development in the moving-picture business has created a demand for dramatic films taken from long stories, or for a reproduction entire of short stories, which offers an entirely new and unexpected revenue to both publisher and author. ”

“ Genius may be erratic, but it is more respected when it is not made to carry the responsibility of ordinary carelessness or ignorance. The writer recalls a case where the author of a story changed the name of one of the characters after the book was in type; it cost the publishers over eighty dollars. Frequently an author changes the name of his story, necessitating resetting the running-heads, the title-page, and recutting the brass dies, all of which adds expense beyond the publisher's original estimate. ”

“ Many a novel owes its success to the advice given by the editorial staff of the publishing-house. Many a strong story would never have reached its audience because of mechanical or structural defects, which the publisher helped to overcome. There have been instances of unwise editorial advice, and of undue pressure brought to bear upon the author to the detriment of his literary production, but these cases are rare compared with those of helpful assistance, which every successful writer will gratefully6 acknowledge he has received from his publisher. ”

“ Many publishers secure copyright in Great Britain and her dependencies by publishing in England simultaneously with the American publication, and by conforming to the other requirements of the British law. A few publishers are of the opinion that protection in Great Britain and her colonies can be secured by publishing simultaneously in Canada instead of in England. Whether or not this is equally binding cannot be definitely determined, as no test case has as yet been made to establish or dispute the fact. ”

“ On fiction, the rate goes up from 10% to 331⁄3%, but at this latter rate the publisher is giving the author more than he can afford, hoping to make up for his plunge by the impetus which this fortunate author's name will give to the balance of the list. Broadly speaking, 20% is the maximum a publisher can afford to pay, and then only on a book which is practically certain to win a place among the best sellers. A method which seems fair to all concerned is what is called the "progressive 17royalty." ”

“ The present stock contract of most publishing houses assigns the dramatic rights to the publisher, but provides that the author shall share in such profits as may accrue from the dramatization. [3] Just where the division shall occur is a subject for discussion. It seems a fair contention on the publisher's part that any interest in dramatization comes from the popularity which a novel attains, and that this attainment results from his energy and ability in placing the book before the public as much as from the merit of the story itself. ”

“ While the printer has been engaged in putting the manuscript into type, the publisher has had a designer at work upon a cover sketch, and an artist upon such illustrations as the 81book requires. All this has to fall in with the publisher's general scheme for the book as a whole. The designer must know what limits are placed upon him as to the number of inks or foils, or the amount of gold-leaf which he may employ. The artist must know whether his pictures are to be drawn for full color, two-color or one-color plates. ”