For the supreme convention of life on the
mandarinic plane is that the shoe never pinches. The publishers made one
very true statement to the authors, namely, that sevenpenny editions give
the public the impression that 6s. is an excessive price for a novel.
Well, it is. But is that a reason for abolishing the sevenpenny? The other
statements of the publishers were chiefly absurd. For instance, this: "Any
author allowing a novel to be sold at sevenpence will find the sales of
his next book at 6s. suffering a considerable decrease." Well, it is
notorious that if the sevenpenny publishers are publishing one particular
book just now, that book is "Kipps." It is equally notorious that the
sales of "Tono-Bungay" are, and continue to be, extremely satisfactory.
* * * * *
On the other hand, the remarks of the sevenpenny publishers themselves are
not undiverting. I have heard from dozens of people in the trade that
Messrs. Nelson could not possibly make the sevenpenny reprint pay. I have
never believed the statement. But the Shaw and Co. report makes Messrs.
Nelson give as one reason for not abandoning the sevenpenny enterprise
the fact that "the machinery already in existence is too costly to be
abandoned.
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