Show THE CROP OF NOVELS works ot fiction form the majority of manuscripts sent to novels form the largest part of the book manuscripts received by publishing houses says alie philadelphia times out of manuscripts received during a recent fortnight by a prominent publishing firm ca were novels in another case 51 out of manuscripts submitted during three weeks were novels this same publisher told me that sometimes tho percentage of novels would reach 75 per cent this tendency for novel writing is undoubtedly duo to the fact that the greatest hits in the literary world are made with novels and this stimulates the average writer to work in this field of all these novels it is plain to be seen from the figures given in the pro ceding paragraph that scores must be written before one is accepted and even if a writer has a novel accepted the percentage of success is decidedly against him daring this investigation process I 1 selected fifteen recently published novels issued by six different houses and I 1 learned that the entire number printed of these fifteen was copies or 2700 copies of each and in this fifteen copies were printed of one novel really the only successful novel of the lot it is safe to say that of these fifteen novels the average sale of each will not reach 1000 copies but giving that number to each the novel selling at 1 the author would receive less than for his manuscript deducting for mutilated copies and those sent to the newspapers etc I 1 know case afar case where authors did not receive 50 all told as a return for a novel and sometimes very much less than that |