Show r- r D hl If BOOK AGENT What Yet why not Especially Especially Es Es- since an ambitions boy with selling ability In him stands the chance of making a mighty good income as a canvasser canvasser can can- vasser yasser or a manager of canvassers canvassers canvass canvass- ers or field selling agent for a publisher and In other ways ways ways- How a boy may start as a book agent how he will be trained and how bow he my may go up the ladder of success rung by rung rung rung- Possible income at different periods periods pe pe- pe- pe nods In n his development as an expert seller of books either I personally 0 or as a manager of other ether agents By P. P t. t W. W JENNINGS Ik Book agent Let my iV tW boy be a book agent for his vy Why that Isn't an m occupation A book w f VI v agent is nothing put a peddler peddler ped ped- dier Who ever heard hearel of a book agent that amounted to anything or had an any money This Idea is quite general throughout through through- out cut the country among people that haven't bavent had opportunity to know much about the publishing business who Immediately the subject is mentioned think of a comic picture they saw somewhere depicting nn Irate housekeeper house house- keeper emptying the contents of a over the head beau of or an offend offend- tag ng book canvasser It Is doubtful If f a book agent ever had such an experience ex experience ex- ex as that or One at t all like It No the proportion of successful men uen who have made their place In the world through the medium of selling books particularly during the present day is probably ba ly as great as In most other lines JInes and if your our boy has It in him Mm to be a good salesman and takes up the selling of books seriously asa as a a. calling as he would other lines he lias 1133 a fine and promising field all his own This might be ca called led the book age for never in history has has there been such a tremendous printing of books and md as practically all of of them are made to sell and their publication rests primarily L upon that fac fact It Dl 10 U reason that they are sold sole Al Also o such a great proportion of them are sold by direct canvassing that this g gives ves employment to an army of book agents who are seen sten In all th the Highways and byways of the country The Tho latest figures show that volumes are published In the world wery ivery year of which are turned jut ut In the United St States tes and an equal lumber in Great Britain with which ur JUr country maintains II close commer- commer lal Ial and publishing relations Now we shall take It for granted hat you have investigated the busl- busl ess less carefully have overcome your to it It and that your son Is hung to give It a trial It Is tnt int as already said that be lie possess ability as a salesman but this i one of the the commonest traits In I merican character particularly as arly every material success Is based JOn Ton it and there Is much more than I i 1 even c chaice ce that your boy does Lye ive tam WIS ability It Is easy enough for him to find an to tr try his hand at bo book k lUng for Cor every publishing house at does any canvassing and most of sm em do Is anxious to get getgood good agents d will respond Instantly to an in in- Iry All you OU have to do Is to pick t the book and the house and write letter to the publisher or selling nt In all probability you or the v will already have read dozens of asking for canvassers answer to any anyone one of which would ng rig an Instant reply f r your boy Is In earnest and Intends take up the work seriously and so ims his prospective employer the er or will arrange a meeting with one the experienced general agents to i a series of first lessons In book had almost exactly this experience n working my way at college My l 10 Ie ing Inga was a likely handed representative to a general agent II j itro P fn tn l at the 0 c 0 W a iI popular c e and the agent thereupon ared arell ared ar- ar ed ell to give me mo three weeks' weeks In- In tIon In the business of oC selling I t a couple of hours with with- with him him ev ev- day my teacher each day using part of a probable customer one customer one a housewife the next a busy law- law then a then a farmer a workingman etc until until I was p ped d so far tar as te was cond con con- d d. d to sell seIl a. a bool to anybody i. i on the meantime I was trying my I among real people with I the reH re- re that Chat soon after the general 1 agent departed I was able abIe to average g S g three or four books any after- after I went out As this particular was sold soM for and my comon corn corn- on was 50 per cent I was able ike ke from over aver to each This was not and Is not at all ml lal even soon soOn after the begin begin- and I J do not know i 1 that another offers Buch such large idi returns early carly I But Dut I was not content with these results results re re- suits and my success soon attracted the attention of other students who were tired of taking care of horses and furnaces and sawing wood to pay their board bills bUls while attending college I gave a number of these the same training I had received and sent them out during the summer vacation as canvassers keeping 25 cents on every volume they sold The result was that tho the next year as several of the tho students remained out to accumulate enough money to pay their way without work on the side while study study- ing I had an independent income of several dollars a day without doing more than to cash these subagents subagents' money orders and send them the books And then the tho publishing house offered me rue a salary of a month and expenses to go out as and trainer of other This opportunity in the present day I twenty years later Is still sUIl open to an ambitious bo boy and he can figure figuro on an Income of 40 to 50 per cent on the gross amount of his sales No money mOller whatever Is needed at the start except enough to pay his board and he can take up his work while still living at home until he hates lates sufficient to take him elsewhere A publisher will give him a limited territory exclusively or he can go all aU over the coun country try If he wishes as ev ev- every ery cry man and family are prospective customers and there are some such In fn the United States I After succeeding as canvasser which your boy can demonstrate within a comparatively short time say a year o or so 10 he will probably wish to be a sort of oj general or special agent the man that gets other agents and puts them to work In which case he will vill receive ten per cent commission commis commis- sion on all the books these agents of ot his dispose of Suppose he has the ability to find and keep in the field an average of twenty canvassers selling sellIng sell sell- Ing a book that retails at 2 and that tl these agents average four sales a day each on which they clear 50 per cent Your boys boy's commission of 10 per cent or 20 cents a volume brings him an Income of 16 10 a day or 96 a week Out of this he has to pay his hotel j and I traveling expenses but even so 60 he is c getting what many would a very fine line Income In all aU probability the next step tak en by your boy will be to arrange with I a publishing house to take care of the canvassing In a large specified terri tern tory torY such such as two or three northwestern north north- western states for Cor example for example for one or more books on the basis of ot reedy reedy- ing 65 to 70 per cent of ot retail price Out of this he has to pay his agents their 40 to 50 per cent and all ex expenses ex- ex incident to the agency His ability earnings depending entirely upon upon his to find good salesmen and the popularity of the book which rests rests' largely upon the ability of these salesmen sales sales- men may amount to thousands of ot dol del lars a year Of course this has established him hits in his own business and he will in all likelihood remain In it It-as It as the achievement achieve achieve- ment meat of such success before he is thirty or thirty five will be be sufficient to keep him at It Instead It-Instead Instead of t taking king charge of the sales department large laran publishing hn oo o of f a 0 N v. v 01 a 4 salary If It your boy should choose to in remain direct canvassing himself he will wm book soon SOGn grow beyond an any mere 2 or 4 and will take to selling entire sets or anything or everything that tho publishing house he is connected with turns out Or self he will make himself him him- a roving canvasser with connections connections with a number of leading pub pub- lishers to get a c commission on ever everything every every- thing he sells The writer Is la ac acquainted ac- ac with one such who thought nothing of com W TI calling f on a stranger and n. n t b HI J m huLL nair an hour nour with an order on which his comm commission amounted to anywhere from 25 to Indeed this particular h had d built up a following agent among rich clients who took practically he anything recommended that they could to add their libraries and in hi stances many instances In in- he actually selected 1 and shipped to persons rich the entire suddenly become contents of their libra ries rles which cost them from ward up I I 1 Still other of handling canvassers make a Specialty anI only rare and do de editions which retail from upward building up a following rich book collectors among Whichever specialty your your boy may choose he be could not find a more respectable re re- re- re business nor one In which ho lie will deserve and receive welcome greater greaten greater more times than Man Many otherwise millionaires have to their given orders employees to book boole agent admit their fa ta fa- fa without announce announce- ment mont as In this H will will not miss the way they know they quire the opportunity to acquire ac ac- best works In th the b hook market And at the same time the book agent is absolutely his own boss and can increase or decrease his come at will in in Copyright 1910 isio by the Associated LitS Lit Lit- S y eraz-y Press |