The binding of cheap leather-covered books is essentially the same as with cloth. The difference is that the covers must be made by hand. No machine will do any part, except paring the edges of the covers. There are several machines that will do this work, one machine doing as much in a day as three men could with knife and paring stone in the old way.
Edge-gilding is another distinct branch of the trade, and is generally done before books are rounded and backed. The books are clamped, after trimming, between the jaws of powerful screw presses and the edges scraped to make them perfectly smooth. They are then colored with a mixture of red chalk, or black lead, applied with a sponge, to give the gold a dark color. Asize made of the white of eggs is then applied with a brush, the gold leaf floated on, and when dry burnished with an agate or bloodstone. No machine has yet been invented that will do this work.
Edge-marbling is another branch. A shallow trough is filled with a solution of gum hog or gum tragacanth of the consistency of thick cream. Each color, which must be ground very fine, is mixed in water and ox-gall, and sprinkled separately over the surface of the gum with brushes. The ox-gall prevents the colors from mixing together on the solution, every drop being distinct. If three or more colors are used, the first one containing a little gall, the second more than the first, and the third more than the second, each color will make a place for itself by crowding the others into a narrower space. The books are held firmly in a clamp, and as the edges are dipped into the solution they take up the colors as they lie on the surface.
There are other edges called for besides the gilt, the marbled, or the plain smooth cut. The deckle edge is left uncut, just as it comes from the paper-maker. The uncut or rough cut is made by taking off any projecting edges of the leaves. There are machines for doing this, one having a circular knife rigged like a circular saw, the book being run lengthwise against it. There are also other methods of removing overhanging leaves, one by using hand shears, another by filing.
In fine leather binding, while the preparation of the book for the cover is essentially the same as in cloth work, the covering is all hand-work, requiring experience and skill, and is a distinct branch of the trade.
Finishing by hand is another, and requires long experience to become an expert. Gold ornamentation requires heated tools, and in the hands of a practised finisher beautiful designs can be worked out with quite a limited assortment of rolls, straight and curved lines, and a few sprigs, dots, and stars.
In olden times, when all work was done by hand, the product of a good-sized cloth bindery was from 500 to 1000 books a day. Now, with modern machinery, in a well-equipped bindery, the product is from 5000 to 10,000 copies of an ordinary 12mo book.
There are a number of other machines in use, run by power, which have not been enumerated in the above sketch, such as wire and thread stitching machines, gluing and pasting machines, brushing machines, and last but not least a gold-saving machine, out of whose bowels large binders take from $200 to $400 worth of waste gold each month. This waste gold comes from the surplus gold brushed from the covers after stamping.[Back to Contents]
Much has been written about the art of special binding, and many lengthy treatises have been written on the various methods of early and modern "extra," or fine binders. It will be my province to describe the stages through which a book passes, from the time it is received in the bindery until it is shipped out of the establishment. I will take for my subject a rare old book that is to be rebound in a half-levant morocco binding. In a good shop, all books, no matter what the binding is to be, are treated alike in regard to workmanship, care, and materials. If a binder puts his name in the completed book, it is a sign that the book has been to the best of his ability honestly and well bound.
When the customer brings the book to the binder, the style of binding, color of the leather, amount and kind of ornamentation, and all the other details are determined upon and entered carefully in a numbered order book, and the number of the order is marked in pencil on an inside leaf of the book itself, so that the original instructions may be referred to from time to time. This numberis usually left in the book after it has been finished and delivered to the owner, and not infrequently has been the means of identifying a lost or stolen volume.
The book is then given to the first operator, usually a girl, who removes the cover, if there is any, and takes the book apart, separating carefully each of the "signatures," or sections, and removing the threads of the old binding. If any of the pages are loose, they are pasted neatly in their proper places and the "insert plates" (illustrations, maps, etc.), which had been printed separately from the text and pasted in the volume, are examined to make sure that they are firmly fixed. Another operator goes over the entire volume and cleans any of the pages that have become soiled.
The book is then prepared for the sewing by a man who hammers the back until it is flat and all the edges of the signatures lie evenly. He then divides it into sections of half a dozen or more signatures, places each of these between smooth wooden boards, and puts the whole into an upright iron press, in which it is subjected to a great pressure, and where it ought to remain over night in order to make it entirely flat and solid. A better way of pressing a book at this stage of the operation is to pass it several times through a rolling machine, which is made for this special purpose with two heavy iron rollers, say twenty incheslong and ten inches in diameter. These machines are seldom used in America, but are invariably found in the equipment of binders' workshops abroad, which is perhaps one reason why English books are so solidly bound.
Following the pressing, or the rolling, the book is placed, back uppermost, in another press, something like a wooden vise. By means of a handsaw, several cuts, just deep enough to cut entirely through the fold of each signature, are made across the back of the book. Seven of these saw marks are usually made, the five in the middle being for the cords on which the book is sewed, and the two at the ends for threads which help to make the sewing more secure. If the book is to have a binding with raised bands across the back, no actual cuts are made, the back being simply scratched to guide the girl in sewing, so that the heavy twine on which she sews will stand out on the back, forcing the leather up in the five middle places and forming the raised bands.
After it has been sawed, or scratched, the book goes to a girl who collates it—that is, examines it thoroughly, signature by signature, and makes sure that everything is in its right place. If the volume is old or especially valuable, it is gone over page by page. The first and last signatures are then whip-stitched, or sewed over and over along the back edges, and then put in their places.
The book is then sewn on a "sewing frame."This is a small wooden table about twelve by eighteen inches, with legs only one inch high. At two corners there are upright wooden screws, some fifteen inches long with movable collars which support a crosspiece. To this crosspiece are fastened three stout cords, their other ends being attached to the table. The position of these cords are regulated to fit the saw marks on the back of the book, then they are tightened by means of the screw collars. The sections of the book are then placed against these cords, one by one, and the threads passed through the saw cuts and outside the cords, thus sewing them firmly to the back of the book. When several books of the same size are being bound at one time, the operator goes right on sewing book after book, one signature after the other, until she has finished a pile of books a foot or more high. When the sewing is finished the cords are cut so as to leave a free end of an inch and a half on each side of the book, and to these ends are fastened the boards, as described later.
Linen or silk thread is used in sewing, the heaviness of which depends upon the size of the book and the thickness of the paper of the book. If the book has many single leaves, or illustrations, it is sometimes necessary to whip-stitch each signature before sewing.
The book, or the pile of books, then passes to the "forwarder," who "draws off" or separates eachbook from the others in the pile, and again hammers the book, to flatten out any "swell" which may be present after the sewing. He then pastes, or "tacks," the first and last whip-stitched signatures to the signatures next them, this pasting being only, say, an eighth of an inch wide along the back edge.
The paper is then chosen for the "end papers," usually matching closely the paper of the book. They are cut a little larger than the paper page of the book, and pasted along the edge to the outside and whip-stitched signatures. Marble paper in suitable harmony or contrast with the leather to be used on the book is then selected for lining the inside of the covers cut to the same size as the "end papers," and pasted to them, after having been folded so that the colored sides come face to face.
When all this pasting has dried thoroughly, the back of the book is covered with a thin coating of glue, to preserve its shape and then, while the back is quite flat, the front edges of the leaves are trimmed off evenly in a cutting machine. If this edge is to be gilded, special care is taken to have the edges cut smoothly.
The back is then "rounded" by use of a hammer; if the book is to be a "flat back" one, the rounding is very slight. It is necessary even in the case of a flat back book to round it somewhat so that it will retain its shape when the finished book isplaced on the shelf. After the rounding, the top, or "head," and the bottom, or "tail," of the book are trimmed evenly in the cutting machine.
The book is then ready for the gilder, who places it, with the edge which is to be gilded uppermost, in a press. This edge is covered with red chalk, which shows all the uneven places, which are then scraped with a steel scraper. This operation is repeated until the edge is very smooth, and it is then treated with a sizing made of white of egg and water, which is to hold the gold leaf to the edges of the leaves. The gold leaf is laid on the still wet edge, and when slightly dry is covered with a sheet of paper and rubbed down with a burnisher, and when entirely dry is burnished again with a smooth piece of agate or bloodstone.
The boards, pieces of strong and durable binders' "boards" made of paper or tarred rope, are then selected and cut to fit the book, extending about one-eighth of an inch over the head, tail, and front edges of the leaves. Each of the cords, on which the book has been sewed, is moistened with paste, and put through two holes which are punched side by side in the board and within a quarter of an inch of the inside edge. The cord is carried down through one hole, and up through the other, and the remaining end is cut off and hammered down smooth where it stays firmly fastened by the paste. This is called "lacing on the boards" and when finished makes, so far asstrength is concerned, the cover-boards and the inside of the book practically one piece. The book is then given another long pressing.
The coverer then takes the volume. He first wraps the edges with paper to keep them clean and then puts on the headbands. These are either sewn directly on to the book or may be bought ready-made, when they are put on with glue.
The back is covered with a strip of coarsely woven crash lined with several pieces of paper. This is glued to the back to make it hard and solid and to prevent it from cracking, or "breaking," when the book is opened.
The leather is then cut out for the corners and for the back, in the latter case allowance being made for its extension over and on to the boards to the proper distance. The back lining is trimmed off to the top of the headbands, and the leather is pasted on the rough side in position and turned in at the "head" and "tail" of the back. The five raised bands are then "pinched up" and the whole back is polished, or "crushed," with a hot polisher until the leather is smoothed down to the desired surface.
In decorating the cover, or "tooling" it, as it is called, the design is first pressed into the leather of the back with heated tools. These designs, appearing "blank," or sunken, in the leather, are washed over with a thin coat of paste and water, followed by a sizing of albumen, and finallywith vaseline, to make the gold stick. Gold leaf is laid over the "blank" designs and the same heated tools used to press the gold into the leather. As many as three layers of gold are frequently put on in this way until the design is full and clear. The waste edges of the pieces of gold leaf are removed with a piece of soft rubber and the whole back washed with benzine to remove the grease of the vaseline and that of the natural leather.
The part of the leather which projects over the sides is pasted to the boards, trimmed off straight, and pared down until the edges are very thin. Another piece of plain paper is then cut out and pasted on the board, covering it right up to the edges of the leather. This makes the side board and the leather even in height and prevents the outside marbled paper from showing ridges made by the edges of the leather.
When the outside has dried, a piece of paper is pasted on the inside of each board. This paper has a tendency to shrink a little and to warp the boards, so that they will hold tightly to the inside of the book. If this paper were not put on the inside of the covers, the marbled paper on the outside might cause the boards to warp away from the book itself.
The end papers are then pasted down on to the board, and when thoroughly dry all the leather along the inside and the outside edges of the coversides is carefully washed and polished with an iron polisher. The book is then placed between plates made of steel, either nickel or silver plated, and placed in the press to remain a day or two, after which the back is polished again and the sides are finished with gilt lines along the edges of the leather next to the marbled paper. Then the book is finally inspected, a silk marker inserted, and the volume is done and ready for delivery.[Back to Contents]
Copyrighting a book is in most instances not a difficult matter, but the present United States laws are so complicated and inconsistent that an inexperienced author may readily fall into errors of one kind or another.
In a modern publishing house, the routine work of complying with the provisions of the copyright laws is usually in the hands of one clerk, who is responsible for the preparation and filing of the necessary documents at the proper time and for keeping a complete record of all that he does. Experience soon brings such a clerk a really valuable knowledge of the law, but as many questions of vital importance arise from time to time, it is customary for one of the most responsible men in the concern, generally a member of the firm or an officer in the corporation, to exercise a general supervision of all copyright matters.
When a book is ready to be sent to the bindery, the manufacturing department will generally order a certain number of copies to be finished in advance of the rest of the edition. Some of these will befor the travelling salesman's use, some for the publicity department, and at least two for copyright purposes. With the copies delivered to the copyright clerk, the manufacturing department will send one or two separate title-pages, either torn from the printed sheets or taken from the early proofs made by the printer. With these in hand and with information from the selling department as to the day when the book is to be published, the clerk in charge will then take the first step toward copyrighting it. This is the filing of the claim for copyright and of the title of the book.
The Copyright Office in the Library of Congress at Washington supplies free upon request application blanks, and one of these must be carefully filled in. The information called for by this blank is as follows: the amount of the fees enclosed, whether a sealed copy of the record, or certificate as it is called, is desired, whether the volume is to be classed as a book, periodical, or dramatic composition, an abbreviated title of the book, the name of the author, or proprietor, the name and address of the applicant, the name of the country where the book was printed, whether the applicant is the author, or (having an assignment from the author) the proprietor, the name of the country of which the author is a citizen, or subject, and whether the whole or a part of the book is sought to be copyrighted.
There is a blank page in the form where the printor proof of the title-page must be pasted. If neither of these is available at the time, it is customary to use a typewritten title-page, but as the law distinctly calls for a "printed" title and as the courts have not decided whether typewriting is printing within the intention of the law, it is best to follow the exact letter of the law.
The fee for filing the application or claim for copyright is fifty cents if the author is a citizen or resident of the United States, or one dollar if he is a foreigner. If a copy of the record entered at the Copyright Office is desired, an additional fifty cents is required. The fees, preferably in the form of a money-order, are enclosed in the envelope containing the claim, and the whole forwarded, postage prepaid, to the Register of Copyrights at the Library of Congress.
Upon receiving these, the Copyright Office will acknowledge the receipt of the fees and make a record of the claim and of the title in books provided for the purpose. The law specifies that this record shall be in the following words:—
"Library of Congress, to wit: Be it remembered that on the___day of________190________________ of_________has deposited in this Office the title of a BOOK, the title of which is in the following words, to wit:____________, the right whereof_______ claims as author and proprietor in conformity with the laws of the United States respecting copyrights. ______________Librarian of Congress."
It is generally the custom to obtain a copy of this record, which, if the fee is enclosed, is sent to the claimant as soon after the receipt of the application as it can be made out in the regular course of the business of the Copyright Office. This copy is signed by the Register of Copyrights and is sealed with the official seal of the Library of Congress. The period of protection under an original claim is twenty-eight years.
It is important to remember that the application and the title are required by law to be delivered to the Register of Copyrights "on or before the day of publication in this or any other country." If delayed until after that day, the book cannot have the protection of the copyright law.
Prior to 1891 none but citizens or residents of the United States could obtain copyright, but in July of that year the privilege was extended to the citizens, or subjects, of such other countries as grant to the citizens of the United States the same copyright privileges which they afford to their own countrymen. At the present time these privileged countries are Belgium, France, Great Britain and her possessions, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, the Netherlands (Holland) and her possessions, Cuba, China, and Norway.
The law also requires that a book desired to be copyrighted in the United States must be printed in this country. It is, therefore, not possible tocopyright a book which has been put into type and electrotyped in England and sent here for the presswork and binding. Copies of a book manufactured in this country may, however, be sent to England and copyrighted there.
The second step is to send two copies of the printed book for deposit in the Copyright Office, and until this has been done, the copyright is incomplete. These copies, like the title, must be delivered on or before the day of publication.
A printed receipt-form for books to be deposited is supplied by the Copyright Office, and it is the usual practice for the sender to fill in his address, and the names of the book and of the author, so that when the books are received, the Register of Copyrights needs only to date and sign the receipt-form and return it to the sender. This receipt-form should be enclosed with the books when they are forwarded. The package must be plainly addressed (the Copyright Office furnishes printed labels if desired) and sent, carriage prepaid, through the mail.
It not infrequently happens that publication must be made before the two copies of a book can reach Washington. In such cases the copyright clerk may take the books to the nearest post-office and obtain from the postmaster a dated receipt for them which is equivalent to delivery to the Copyright Office. The package is not finally wrapped until the postmaster has examined it.
When these steps have been properly taken, and the certificate, or sealed copy, of the record and the receipt for the two copies have been received, the copyright is secure so far as our laws can render it. It should be borne in mind that the Copyright Office does not grant a copyright in a manner similar to the granting of a patent right by the patent office. Its function is simply to record in a permanent place and in official form the claim made by the author, or by the proprietor, of that right. When a book is "pirated" and the offender sued, it must first be established by the records that the provisions of the law have been complied with fully and correctly. In this way a copyright is always subject to review by the courts.
Every copy of a book for which copyright has been claimed must have a formal notice to that effect, printed on its "title-page or on the page following." As prescribed by law, this notice must read either "Entered according to the Act of Congress in the year 1906 by A. B. in the Office of the Library of Congress," or simply, "Copyright, 1906, by A. B." The omission of such a notice from the book would make it impossible for its owner to prevent its being reprinted. There is a penalty of $100 for using the notice of copyright in an uncopyrighted book, and when the notice is used, there is a penalty of $25, if the two copies as required by law are not deposited. This latter penalty also applies in the case of failure to deposit one copy ofa new edition differing from the former one, if a notice of copyright is used in the new edition.
In order to obtain a renewal of a copyright, the claim and the title must be filed on a form provided for the purpose with the Register of Copyrights "within six months before the expiration of the first term," which would be sometime between twenty-seven and one-half and twenty-eight years from the date of filing the original title. The copyright period runs from the date of filing the original claim, and not from the time of depositing the books, and great care should be taken to ascertain the date of the registration of the original title, and to compute the time so that the filing of the application for renewal will surely fall within the specified six months. The renewal period is fourteen years, and the fees are the same as in the case of the original application, but a certificate, or copy of the record, of the renewal claim must be taken and paid for by the claimant.
Only one copy of a book is required to be deposited to complete the claim for a renewal term of copyright. This copy also must be delivered within "six months before the expiration of the first term," and should be accompanied by a receipt as in the case of the original deposit. In order to complete the claim, a copy of the certificate must be published verbatim, within two months of the date of renewal for four weeks in one or more newspapers printed in the United States.
In obtaining international copyright, publication on the same day here and abroad is necessary, and this is sometimes a cause of considerable inconvenience in actual practice. When a New York publisher wishes to copyright in England a novel which he is about to publish, he must prepare six special copies of the finished book, bind them in cloth, print the copyright notice on the back of the title-page, and the name and address of the London firm or the individual who is willing to act as the English publisher of the book, and forward the copies to that person. At the same time he will write to this agent, telling him of the shipment and requesting him to enter the book for copyright and publish it in England on or about such a date. He will, of course, allow sufficient time for the books to reach London, and he will carefully point out in his letter any American holidays which occur near the probable date of publication. Upon receiving the books, the London agent will cable the New York publisher the date on which he will publish the book, taking care to allow an interval of a day or two, because of a possible delay.
On the day agreed upon, the New York publisher proceeds to copyright and publish his book in this country in the usual manner, while the London agent does the same abroad, delivering to the British Museum one copy of the book, and to Stationer's Hall, for use in certain libraries, four copies. Both of them will on that day sell at leastone or two copies which will constitute a legal publication.
It is the custom with many publishers to establish the publication day of all of their books, by displaying a few copies, or by actually selling one or more copies to some one. In the case of a very popular copyrighted book which it is desirable to have the retailers all over the country begin to sell on the same day, it is deemed safer to make this technical publication before any of the books are distributed through the trade. A record of the first sales entered in a publisher's sales-book in the course of business would effectually prevent any one from claiming in after years a right to reprint a book on the ground that the claim, title, and copies were not originally filed until after the book had been put upon the market.
Under a recent amendment in our law, an author of a book in a foreign language, who is a citizen of one of the foreign countries which allows to our citizens the same copyright privileges as are allowed to its own countrymen, is permitted to file in the Copyright Office within thirty days after its publication in a foreign country a copy of his book with a formal declaration that he is the author and that he intends to translate it or to print it in its original language and to apply for copyright in the United States. After doing this, he is allowed one year in which to complete his proposed translation or to print it in the original language and copyright it here.
Before this statute was passed, two or more persons could translate a foreign book, and each could copyright his own translation. Every copy of a book for which such protection is desired under this law must bear a notice stating, "Published —— Nineteen Hundred and ——. Privilege of copyright in the United States reserved under the Act approved March 3, 1905, by A. B."
Only the author or his assignee (i.e.the proprietor) may secure copyright in a book. An author may transfer orally all or part of his rights before publication, but after publication it is necessary for him to make the assignment by some form of written instrument. In order to make it a valid assignment, the original instrument must be sent to be recorded in the office of the Librarian of Congress within sixty days after its execution. The fee for recording an assignment is one dollar. After the original document has been recorded, it is signed and sealed and returned to the sender, who should preserve it with the certificate.
It is a common practice to have in the contract between the author and his publisher a clause assigning to the publisher all of the author's rights for the "full term of copyright and for any and all renewals." The agreement, of course, includes other provisions such as for the payment of the usual royalties, accounting, etc. Having been made before publication such an assignment does not need to be recorded in the Copyright Office.
The history of copyright is an extremely interesting subject, but it cannot be properly treated in the limits of this article. It may be mentioned, however, that the first copyright law was enacted by Parliament during Queen Anne's reign and is known as "8 Anne, c. 9." This statute provided that an author should have complete control of his literary productions during a first term of fourteen years after publication, and a renewal term of the same length, and provided penalties against piracy. A great many questions concerning this law arose from time to time in trials before various courts, but perhaps the chief one of interest was that of whether the limitation of the period during which it granted protection had destroyed the author's rights which had existed previously. For fifty years after the passage of the law, the decisions were that the right of ownership existed for all time as a right in common law unaffected by the statute, but in 1774 the highest English court held that while the rights of the author before the publication of his book remained unaffected, after publication he had no rights except during the period specified by the statute. This decision is still believed by many authorities to have been a wrong one, but it has been the basis for all subsequent copyright law in this country as well as in England. Therefore in the United States to-day, the right of ownership lies in the author until his work is published, but upon publication he has norights except those given him by law, and these he can obtain only by a strict compliance with the requirements of the law. Any one who is sufficiently interested to read the first hundred pages of Drone's "Treatise on the Law of Property in Intellectual Productions" will be well repaid for the effort, and will obtain considerable light upon how the "right of copying," or printing, a book developed, why its duration is not unlimited, and why we must observe certain formalities in order to protect our literary work by it.[Back to Contents]
The duty of bringing the productions of a publishing house to the attention of the public is a very important one, and much depends upon the cleverness and energy with which it is discharged. It can easily be seen that no matter how good the books brought out by a firm, they would be likely to remain on stockroom shelves if readers were not properly made aware of their issue. The name "Publicity department" is the most descriptive title that can be given to the part of the staff devoting its energies to the many variations of news-spreading involved in this work.
Publicity involves both editorial and commercial elements. From the editorial side it is of prime importance that the person in charge of the publicity have at the very beginning a complete and definite idea of the reasons that have ruled in the acceptance of a book,—what class of people it was published for, and just what species of a book it is considered to be. Is it purposed to appeal to a certain religious class of people? Is it for the distinctly literary? Perhaps it is one of thosevolumes on the border line between a juvenile and an adult's book, which may be presented either as a volume for young or for grown-up folks. The publicity man must be in full understanding of this estimate before he can do his work properly. On the commercial side, he must know just the feeling of the trade in regard to an author and any type of book; and must be in close touch with the salesmen, not only at the beginning, but all through the life of the volume. He can learn from them what amount of success the author's previous books have met, and thus be enabled to present his volume in a way that will hitch on to a previous success or avoid the odium of a recent failure. Salesmen can help him to know the interests of every section of the country, so that advantage can be taken of them in bringing the book to the local bookseller's attention and influencing him to a special effort in its behalf.
Few people are aware of the influence exerted by the book clerk, who can substitute something "just as good" much more easily than a drug or dry goods clerk, especially if he has a good argument to offer. The largest part of the publicity of a publishing house is aimed to influence the general reader, but more and more attention is to-day being paid to the salesman in the bookshop, and quite wisely, too. He cannot be expected to read all the books, and any effort made to give him an acquaintance with your books that goes beyond theircovers is clear gain to him, to the publisher, and distinctly to the book-buying public.
Now, a book can be made or marred by the publicity it gets. If it is wrongly launched, it will have an uphill climb, whatever its virtues. This is especially true, as a result of the fact that a good deal is written and printed about a book before it is off press and present to speak for itself.
One general rule should be most strictly adhered to in publicity, and that is, be honest and be sincere. Nowhere is the rule "honesty is the best policy" more unanimously justified. You may be as enthusiastic as you please, but the book should be put forward for what it really is. Only under such handling does it stand a chance for the full success its qualities warrant. This all reverts to the question of the editorial conception of a volume. Some books are not made for great sellers; they are written for the keen enjoyment of a select educated few; and if so presented that they fall into the hands of the popular novel devourer, they will surely be condemned, and the condemnation will reach and have its effect upon many who should legitimately have bought the book. On the other hand, a novel of no literary quality thrust into the hands of a person of bookish tastes will make an influential enemy, who will doubtless have among his followers many persons to whom the book would appeal. It is best to find out what people will take the book, and advertiseit to them. The process of emasculating your presentation of it by cutting out everything that would keepanybodyfrom reading it is a dangerous one. The dislikes of the world of readers are too many for one to be able to dodge them all, and, after all, most of us like a positive rather than a negative volume. Just because many people do not read essays,—to take an extreme case,—is no reason for avoiding the statement that yours is a volume of essays. Fortunately, there are thousands upon thousands of people who do read essays; and if the book is a good book of essays, they will bring their influence—that word-of-mouth influence which is almost as powerful as a "puff" by President Roosevelt—to bear upon non-essay reading people, and you will be the gainer by that much for your wisdom and honesty.
These observations are germane, and worthy consideration because commercialism and the endeavor to produce big sellers are always an influence to overstate, misstate, and be extravagant in the praise of a volume. But such extravagance always discounts itself in the mind of the reader, and experience has pretty definitely proved that what a prospective buyer wants is a straightforward concise indication of the story and its quality. A word of praise quoted from a review may help him make up his mind, yet he probably knows it is a pretty poor book of whichsomenewspaper doesn't say "Holds the reader's interest from cover tocover" or "We hail the author of this volume as one of the most promising of our American writers."
In considering the practical details of publicity, it will be clearest to take them in chronological order. First: The book should be thoroughly and critically read. The person in charge of the publicity ought to have every volume put into his hands as soon as it is accepted. When he has read it thoroughly and has formed his idea of it, he discusses it thoroughly with the person responsible for its acceptance. From this discussion, in which the sales department is represented, evolves naturally the "editorial attitude" upon which every line of future publicity and every sentence of salesman's talk will be based. Without a complete understanding throughout the establishment of the "editorial attitude" the entire publicity will be aimless and unconvincing.
The first work in publicity on a season's book is probably the catalogue, which must be had ready for the salesmen when they go off on their trips. The aim of the catalogue is to present as full an account of the book as possible. It is meant for the eye of an interested person, who can be counted upon to read rather a lengthy notice. Every possible detail of price, number of illustrations, paper, size, kind of binding, table of contents, previous works by the same author, are given, and thus it becomes a complete reference book. It is the general custom of publishing houses toissue a complete catalogue in the Fall, with a supplemental catalogue in the Spring containing the books of the Spring season. Most firms also bring out a Fall list, to present their Fall books, which would be buried beyond notice in a bulky complete catalogue. In this Fall list not infrequently the Spring books are included, making what is really an annual catalogue. These three catalogues are essential, and they are as a rule supplemented by many special book lists and pamphlets. A holiday catalogue is a steady institution in nearly every publishing house. Its aim is to present to Christmas buyers the most attractive volumes of the house's issue, and it is usually elaborate, with many illustrations, a fine cover, and it is often printed in colors. Then there are frequently issued catalogues of books on special subjects, art, children's books, special editions, etc.
The uses of catalogues are many. A large number are sent to the publisher's best friend, the bookseller,—sometimes imprinted with his name,—who distributes them. They also go out by mail to special lists of people who are known to be interested in books, and a large number are sent to persons who write asking information.
In elaborateness the circular follows close on the catalogue, and it has quite as wide if not a wider field. It is large or small, depending upon the importance of the book. Sometimes it reaches the dignity of a bound pamphlet, but it is usuallya single leaf or at most a four-page folder. Here again, all necessary information of price and contents is given at length. But as the person into whose hands the circular falls cannot be counted on to be interested beforehand, the whole make-up and arrangement of the circular is calculated for drawing attention and fixing interest. The circular, therefore, must be made attractive.
And here should be introduced a word in general on the appearance of the printed matter that is sent out by a publishing house. It must be good printing. It must be attractive printing. It is the indication to the people whose eyes it meets of the work of the house it advertises. Few people want to buy badly made books; and, unconsciously, if a circular or catalogue is commonplace and badly printed, those qualities will be attached to the book advertised. And it is quite true, on the other hand, that the distinction and comely appearance of a circular will prejudice in favor of the book. Moreover, a circular's service can be rendered only when it attracts attention, and what is spent in aiding it to catch the eye, through making it artistically beautiful and printing it in color, will bring its return and more in the added efficiency produced. There are, doubtless, people who would not be affected by bad printing, but people of taste, the people who most influence the sale of books, are sure to be antagonized.
Probably, the most useful circular of all is thelittle leaf or "slip" circular. It is printed on both sides, and is inserted between the leaves of books of similar interest to the one it advertises, usually about three to a book. It is made the size of the ordinary business envelope, for it is also used in direct circularization of lists and as an enclosure with bills, statements, and sometimes with general correspondence. Often, when advertising two or more books, it has four or even eight pages, though the latter makes it almost too bulky for insertion in books. These larger circulars have an order form attached giving the list of books, and a place for the name and address of the prospective buyer,—a device to make it as easy as possible for him to order his selection. When such circulars are inserted in books either the order form is left off, or something substituted in its place, for, as can readily be seen, the order form is a bid for direct business by the publisher which would naturally be obnoxious to the bookseller. Larger and more elaborate circulars than these as a rule are used only for direct circularization. The subject of circularization is much too important and complicated to be exhausted in a few paragraphs, or even in an extended article. Enough has been said here, however, at least to suggest the circular's field.
The next problem in publicity to be taken up is the poster. The poster has had its ups and downs, and in some quarters is a somewhat discredited form of advertising, but it has its value. Thebooksellers always demand posters. The one great argument against them is that posters good enough to attract attention, that is, with a good design and in colors, are somewhat expensive for book advertising. If properly exhibited, they sell books, but the difficulty lies in the fact that if they aretooattractive, they are likely to find their way into a poster collector's portfolio before they have been exposed long on the board. Yet, especially with leading books of fiction, this is one of the risks that must be taken, for with each such publication, the public eye must be caught with the fact of the book's issue, and for this purpose a striking poster has no equal. For serious books inexpensive clear type posters are quite sufficient.
The book being now nearly off press, there will be needed some matter for the paper jacket that slips over and protects the cloth cover while the book is on the stall. Most important is the brief note on the front that serves to indicate the quality of the volume and thus guide the purchaser. On a book of fiction fifty or not more than seventy-five words of the very best possible presentation of the book is required. Here is the place where most of all the prospective purchaser's interest must be aroused. Here the most felicitous publicity inspiration is needed—and the problem is to indicate the story, yet not tell it, and to pique curiosity to the buying point. On books of a serious nature a jacket note is just as essential, if not moreso, but the problem is different. The prospective purchaser of such a book as "Irish History and the Irish Question," "The Flower Garden," for example, has an interest in the subject already aroused. What he wishes to know is the scope of the volume and the manner in which the subject is treated. The note for such a volume, therefore, should contain a plain, straightforward statement of the importance of the book, the point of view taken, a brief table of contents indicating the most important divisions of the subject, and some mention of the author's special qualification for writing the volume. On the back of the paper "jacket" and on the little flaps that turn at the sides of a book, it is customary to put advertisements of cognate books. Often these paper jackets are treated in elaborate poster style, and for good reason, since as a rule they are the first part of a book a buyer sees, and his attention is not likely to be attracted if only cheap paper be used.
The date of the book's publication has probably now been set, and the next step in publicity—a most important one—is the sending out of review copies. This is the last thing in which haphazard methods would be permissible. The list of newspapers who get complimentary copies should be carefully selected, not so much with an eye to size of circulation, as to quality and standing. A paper that is known to give attention to books is worth two that have merely large circulations andno distinction; first, because the books sent will be appreciatively reviewed, and, second, because people in the habit of buying books will consult the review columns and be influenced by them. There are possibly one hundred and fifty or one hundred and seventy-five papers in the United States to whom it would be profitable to send a book. A great many more, however, think they should receive them. With even the most popular novel two hundred review copies is a generously sufficient number to place for review. In deciding where these should go, the contents of the book itself is of course the guide. Some books can be calculated to appeal more to one section of the country than to another because of their subject-matter. Certain classes of people—ministers, school-teachers, sportsmen, doctors—can sometimes be drawn upon by the judicious distribution of a few complimentary copies, to assist the sale of a book, and then there is the home of the author, where special attention can always be expected.
Opinions differ as to the amount of influence exerted by reviews upon the fortunes of a book. It is certainly true that to trace direct returns from reviews is often difficult. Frequently books which are splendidly reviewed move slowly, and there seems no explanation of their failure to "catch on." They may be, and frequently are, books of real value and quality. The history of publishing isfull of such mysteries. On the other hand,returnsare visible enough when a book is slated by the press; there its power is amply evident.
The American press is notably fair, notably discriminating, and notably independent. It gives its own views fearlessly, and resents any efforts made by publishers to get their own adjective-besprinkled puffs printed. In rush seasons it will make use of publisher's description, after carefully blue-pencilling obtrusive adjectives, but it goes no farther. In fact, the newspaper-review part of publishing publicity is best left alone. The book must do the work itself.
The book has now reached the place where that which is commonly called advertising should begin; that is, publicity in newspapers and magazines. The use of newspapers, to any great extent at least, is a comparatively recent development in the publishing business, dating back not much more than ten years. Its efficiency, that is to say, its proportion of return to outlay, is far from being established. While at the beginning of the movement great rewards were reaped, the light of more mature experience seems to show that those books which, under heavy newspaper advertising, reached editions of 100,000 to 150,000 were really special cases,—books of a peculiarly popular, almost low-grade, quality, that had an exceptional public. It is sure that what brought success with them would not succeed with the averagepublication. For this reason, publishers to-day are by no means as lavish as they used to be with their appropriation for newspaper advertising. Yet even in this era of retrenchment a very large proportion of the money devoted to publicity still goes to the newspapers.
While it would be foolish to attempt formulating a set of fixed rules for newspaper advertising, there are certain underlying principles that should be borne in mind.
Books are in the class of luxuries; most books at least. There is no natural demand for them to assist the advertiser, such as there is for food-stuffs. With a book, it is the advertiser's business to persuade the buyer that he will be interested or instructed or amused by the volume to the value of his outlay, be it a quarter or fifty dollars,—where in the matter of necessities and food commodities the advertiser's task is the much more simple one of proving that his product is intrinsically better or better value than any similar thing on the market. The sale of a book depends entirely upon the almost artificial desire that is created for it, whereas with other things there is a real need, and it is necessary only to prove that the article fills this need. For these reasons book advertising—with piano, picture, music, candy, and perhaps automobile advertising—is difficult to carry out profitably. It is the class most expensive proportionately to the value of the product, for it cancount in only the smallest degree upon what is known as the "cumulative" effect of a campaign. Every advertisement of such an article as a breakfast food, for example, whether it be on a bill-board, in a newspaper, or in a circular, adds to the effect of every other one. The repetition of the name, whether it be consciously or unconsciously observed by the public, assists in forcing attention and thus interest, and finally results in a sale. Half a million dollars can be spent in making "Whipped Oats" a household word. Every dollar backs up every other dollar, and the demand for Whipped Oats will last for years. "The Return from Davy Jones," which can have at the very most say $5000 spent on it, benefits the very least from the cumulative effect, and the demand for the book is practically over in a year, especially if it be a popular novel. Each newspaper advertisement of a book must in fact bring returns to pay for itself, and this, of course, demands the very cleverest kind of "copy."
Many elements enter into the popularity and sale-ability of a book, but no one seems to know just what they are. Even the best and most experienced readers fail to pick successes—let big books go by them, and conversely praise volumes that turn out flat failures. Yet certain things in the line of publicity can be counted upon to assist in making a volume's success. The name of a well-known author is the best asset a book can have.That gets it good advance sales and a quick and appreciative attention from the book reviewers. In this respect, nothing could better exemplify the New England homely proverb, "Sich as has, gits." The work of publicity on a book by a well-known author is easy, if care is taken always to bring that author's name forward in connection with his previous achievements. This is especially true in regard to newspaper advertising.
Doctors violently disagree over book advertising principles, and possibly it is best to start by saying that therearenone and that each book is a rule unto itself. Certainly a close and careful study of a book's points and the class of people to whom it would likely appeal, its "editorial qualities," is the only proper basis for a campaign. For the average novel by a well-known author the main problem is to let the world know it has been issued. Therefore, in advertising in a newspaper, the announcement of the book's publication should be made in such a manner that all the readers of that paper will notice it. The campaign should start with what is technically known as a "must be seen" notice. It is the publisher's business to shout loud enough to be heard above the clatter of the small advertisements, "Just out—New book by Donan Coyle, 'The Return from Davy Jones.'" If some piquant description of the book follow, this should be sure to send all those readers of the paper interested in Donan Coyle to the bookshopin search of the new volume. Much smaller "ads." following from time to time, that may catch the eye of the forgetful ones and arouse their interest by some words of personal or press commendation on the volume, would close a campaign of this kind, which would have naturally gathered in its trail many readers and even non-readers not distinctly interested in Donan Coyle. It would at least have started the mouth-to-mouth advertising of the book, to which paid-for advertising can after all be regarded only as assistant and support. In fact, when all is said and done the greatest service advertising does is in reminding people of books they have heard praised, and the best advertising is that placed on the road to the bookstalls, a strong argument for the poster, since it is exhibited in front of the bookshop, where it can catch the passer-by. In tune with this conception of the advertisement as an announcement is this general rule—advertise prominently the name of the book, and the author's name if it is important. These are commodities you have to sell, the things you wish people to ask for—just as the bacon-maker wants you to ask for "Blank's Bacons."
For books that have no well-known author's name to assist them, or those for which a large sale cannot be forecasted at the start,—books that appeal to the select few,—other and more inexpensive methods must be pursued. In most such cases it is probable that any advertising in newspaperswould be unwise, and this leads to the subject of magazine advertising, which is much higher grade and more suited to such books of quality. There are many distinctly literary publications, the subscribers to which are always searching for books of a fine type—an interested clientele who will read advertising pages rather thoroughly, and gladly pay good prices for good books. Small advertisements—perhaps a page of small advertisements of good books—in a magazine of this class will bring returns, especially if the books have been well reviewed. There are also trade journals, which go to the booksellers, and in these the publisher must announce his new issues well,—describe them thoroughly, and give some idea of what he intends doing in the way of energetic general advertising. The aim of this is to influence booksellers to increase their orders.
These few paragraphs only scratch the surface of a broad subject of extreme interest. Each publishing firm has developed through its experience its own principles of the psychology of public opinion, its own idea of the qualities a book should possess, and its own way of getting at the people. Results are frequently so surprising that one is inclined to class publishing among the games of chance. It is certain that everybody cannot make a success at it, and there is no doubt that it requires a definite endowment of genius.
There falls to the publicity department thewriting of a great many letters,—numbers are in answer to questions concerning books and authors, but by far the larger number are in the nature of circulars. The personal typewritten letter or the printed typewritten letter that masquerades as such, has a power equal to a hundred circulars. It claims attention at once, if it does not declare itself an advertisement on the outside, where a printed circular gets swept into the waste-paper basket unread. It's expensive—about three cents a letter if done properly, but when there are special ends to be accomplished, such as calling the attention of the clergy to a novel that would suggest sermons, or the members of an Audubon society to a book on birds, it is the surest and most profitable method.
It is especially in a mail order or subscription book concern that the circular letter is of most use. The expensive sets of such concerns, and the large profit figured on them, justify such a costly method of publicity. It is generally made more expensive by the enclosure in the envelope of return postal cards and other printed material.
This subscription business is a business by itself and conducted quite differently from average publishing. The advertising is lavish, and the underlying principle of it is, that the prospective purchaser wishes a complete description of the wares. Attractive premium, and short-time low-price offers are always made, and the endeavor is to get theprospective customer to permit the set of volumes to be sent on inspection, reliance being held in the ability to make him keep them through the real quality of the books, assisted by a series of "follow up" letters enlarging upon the virtues of the set. Lists of names are circularized, and "follow up" letters used here also to bring orders.
An important form of publicity is that which has grown up as a result of the interest shown by readers, especially in America, in the personality of authors and the desire to know what is happening in the world of books. This very natural and legitimate curiosity affords the publisher a chance to push his products forward in an unobtrusive way. Because it is to all appearances unbiased, it wields quite a deal of influence, especially in building up the reputation of an author. Every paper that pretends to any literary standing prints regularly or occasionally a column of Literary Chat, in which is given brief news of authors and books. There will perhaps be a humorous anecdote of the author of a prominent novel, a brief summary of a book shortly to be issued, some comment by a well-known person on a well-known book, a biographical sketch of a new author, a telling extract from a book of serious value, a note that "The Return from Davy Jones" is in itsnth edition—all of it really news and of interest. Some newspapers write their own chat, but the majority print, with small alteration, such as isfurnished by the publicity departments of publishing houses, which send out weekly or monthly printed or typewritten sheets of such brief items. In this way Donan Coyle as the author of "The Return from Davy Jones" is kept before the public. The public also has a legitimate desire to know something of the appearance of the author of a popular novel or important books of essays, and the newspaper reviewer frequently wishes to print a portrait with his review. Here the publicity department steps in and helps him, by furnishing suitable electrotype portraits upon request, and not infrequently, by sending out proofs with interesting notes, suggests the use of the portrait. The relation between a literary editor who wants to print the book news and a manager of publicity is a mutually beneficial one. If they coöperate thus, they can be of great assistance to each other, and in the exchange each one gets value received. By a thousand little methods and devices the person in charge of publicity can furnish desired information and get this undersurface publicity, and by putting outbona-fidenews and really good stories about them, bring even his lesser light authors into prominence. In this field, as in all others, the well-known authors advertise themselves and set up a demand for publicity.
The financial end of Publicity is full of complexities. The question of how much an expenditure per volume is warranted is one that cannot beanswered generally. There are many limiting and defining considerations. First of all, the book itself. If it is the kind to be a "big seller," a risk can possibly be taken on a larger advertising investment than would be warranted in the case of a good book of finer quality and limited appeal. Certain books of coarser, more obvious qualities have a large public if it can be reached. In such cases an exceptional effort will bring exceptional returns. By the risk of a large advertising outlay the firm may get big profits; while a flat failure, because the large, non-book-buying public had not been reached through newspaper and lavish poster advertising methods, might result if only a few hundreds were spent. Judgment of the finest kind is required here, and it cannot always decide rightly.
How much to spend depends essentially upon the book, and there is no hard and fast rule. Books have been known to reach their public and reach good sales at an advertising outlay of about one cent per copy. Others have had fifty cents per copy sold spent upon them, and fallen flat.
The publishing business is not one in which there are great profits, and the margin between the cost of manufacturing and the wholesale price is small. This small amount must furnish the author's royalty, the advertising appropriation, the publisher's cost of doing business, and his profit. It can be seen then that the amount of royalty paidon a book in a certain degree rules the amount of advertising that can be done,—the publisher and author are, in a measure, partners, and if the author demands a large royalty, he thereby cuts down the amount the publisher can afford to expend in advertising his book. The larger the appropriation for advertising, the larger the chance for increased sales.
It is difficult to make any generalization on the amount that should be devoted to publicity. Taking the $1.50 novel as a standard, it might be said that figuring in all kinds of publicity—newspaper, magazine, circular, literary notices, etc.—from ten to twelve per cent of the wholesale price on the first edition of 10,000 would be a liberal allowance. On more expensive volumes, handled as subscription books, a much larger proportion would be the rule. On new books other than fiction, where the sale could not be expected to reach more than a few thousand, there would be no business justification in spending so much. Such books have more or less to make their own way.
Publicity is an essential part of the publishing business, and the breadth of its field, as well as the proper way to apply its influence, is beginning to be more correctly understood. Fortunately, for all concerned, the author as well as the publisher and the book-buying public, it is a power that can work only for good, and in a good cause. It hastens the fame and the sales of a really good book,but its power with a bad book is very small indeed. One fact has developed from the thousands of book advertising campaigns, and it is this—that you cannot force a really worthless book down the throat of the American reading public however much money you put into advertising. You may create a big sale for a very light and frothy story, with little to recommend it from the literary critic's point of view, but you can be sure, if it succeeds, your novel has certain positive, if rather superficial virtues, either in the story, in the local color, or in the method of telling. And when one contemplates the huge success of Mrs. Humphry Ward's and Edith Wharton's distinguished novels, one is obliged to accept the comforting conviction that the reading public of this country knows a good book when it sees it.[Back to Contents]