Show MAKERS OF BOOKS PLAY HARD GAME The young man who sets out to write a book is entering one of the most sharply competitive fields there is Offhand it seems as if the man with witha a good yarn yam in his system ought not notto notto notto to have much trouble getting It print print- ed Lots of books get et published every year ear It should be fairly simple to put one over if its it's an any good at all a writer may feel But the reality is ismore ismore ismore more discouraging Take the thc case of a representative publishing house This spring this firm is publishing 42 books These were chosen from more than manuscripts that were submitted Of the approximately approximately approximately ap ap- ap- ap proximately 1500 were held worthy of serious consideration not only by the editorial department but by the sales advertising publicity and trade promotion promotion promotion pro pro- motion departments It is generally estimated says a avice avice avice vice president of ot the firm that most large publishing houses receive about 10 times as many manuscripts as they can give serious consideration to The others are obviously so poor that they have nave to be bc refused without this careful careful care care- ful consideration in order not riot to clog up the editorial offices and because of the expense involved the involved the actual reading of a manuscript costs about 10 I Of the 42 books this firm is publishing publish publish- publishing ing this spring only 10 are first books by new authors The other 32 are all by writers who are arc well known to the public and to the publishing trade The aspiring young oung author who blithely wraps up that distillation of dreams and desires which constitutes his manuscript and consigns it to the mails malls has just about one chance in a thousand as a's |