Show THE CROP OF NOVELS works or fiction form tho majority of manuscripts sent to novels form the largest part of the book manuscripts received by publishing houses says the philadelphia times out of manuscripts received during a recent fortnight jay a prominent publishing firm 62 were novels in another ease 51 out of manuscripts submitted during three weeks were novels thi same publisher told me that sometimes the percentage af li 75 per cent this tendency for novel writing is undoubtedly due to the fad that ahe greatest hits in the literary world are made with novels and ahlo stimulates the average writer to work in this field of all these novels it is plain to bu seen from the figures given in alie pre ceding paragraph that scores must be written before one is accepted and even if a writer lias a novel accepted the percentage of success is decidedly against him during this investigation process I 1 elect elected fifteen recently published novels issued by six different houses and I 1 learned that the entire number printed of fifteen was capies or 2700 copies of each and in thib fifteen copies were printed of one novel really the only successful novel of the lot it is safe to acay that of these fifteen novels alio average sale of eacle will not reach 1000 copies but giving that number to each the novel selling at 1 the would receive less than for his manuscript deducting for mutilated copies and those sent to the newspapers etc I 1 know case after case authors did not receive 50 all told as a return for a novel and sometimes very lucli lehs than eliat |