he fails in this, and makes use of copyrighted matter, he lays himself open to suit for damages for the infringement of copyright. This applies also to the use of illustrative material, be it painting, photograph, or drawing, which has been protected by law.

HOW, WHEN, AND WHERE THE AUTHOR CAN HELP

An author's responsibility to himself, to his publisher, and to the public does not end with the acceptance of his book, nor when it has been placed on the market. Then, if at any time, his help to encourage its sales is most needed. His duty lies in bringing his work to the notice of his friends, not obtrusively, and through them to their friends in such manner that he may unconsciously construct an almost endless chain of readers. Above all, he should avoid the hackneyed phrase, "Have you read my last book?" For, if he heeds not this advice, he may be the target of some wit with the cutting repartee: “I hope so!"

The author should enlist the help of all literary critics he may know, secure opinions and endorsements of his work from them, and from all leading men and women of his acquaintance. By doing this work of propaganda he will reap the

reward of his efforts to assist his publisher by increased sales.

The publisher takes care of the trade side of the transaction. It is he who distributes the book broadcast over the land to booksellers, to libraries and literary clubs, to the public in general, and to the various "inns," of which it is the main support. It is he who sends out the copies of a work to the press and watches for notices, but the author should second his efforts with suggestions, by drafting catchy descriptions of his work, or by any other means in his power. Many books are failures because of the lack of interest shown by the author when "the gilt is off the gingerbread "-that is, when the book is on sale, and he has received a check in advance on account of expected royalties.

It is the author's duty to offer suggestions on advertising, circularizing, or any other means by which facts about his book may be disseminated; but he should not insist upon their adoption if his publisher advises him of their impracticability through costliness or other causes. This applies also to the manufacturing side of book-making. In this, as in the foregoing, the author may fittingly offer suggestions, but should be ready to modify them if called on to do so for some good cause. He must at all times be willing to yield

259989A

his idiosyncrasies when told they are not to his interest.

CONCERNING TYPOGRAPHY AND ILLUS

TRATIONS

In matters of typography an author's tastes, if they be normal, should be considered; but in this respect, as in all others on which the success of his book depends, he should be ready to abandon whims for the more practical advice and the experience of his publisher, on which, the author will do well to bear in mind, the success of the publisher's business depends.

The possibilities of typography are limited. Type-faces once common may now be obsolete. To obtain them would require the making of special matrixes, a long delay, and a heavy expense for the casting of a special font. Methods of reproducing illustrations have changed also. Engravings done on wood are now scarce; they are rare because costly. Reproductions by photographic processes have displaced them. Nowadays the "demon" of speed has invaded the domains of pictorial journalism, so that a photograph, fresh from the film, can be turned into a half-tone cut within five hours. Thus is the public taste catered for, and the picture that formerly was cut into wood with painstaking care in five

days is now engraved by mechanical means in as many hours.

AS TO THE CHOICE OF BOOKBINDINGS

In bookbinding, authors are prone to suggest covers or cover-designs for their books which are either inartistic or inadvisable, because based on esthetic tastes or lack of knowledge of the limits of brass-cutting, die-stamping, or bookbinding. The selection of material for binding, of cover designs, or of colors, is, as a rule, a matter better left to the judgment of the publisher than trusted to the whims of an author. Binding is a mechanical process with which publishers are better equipped to deal than authors, for it is the publisher's business to know how to make a book, and this the reputable publisher certainly does know. The relative value of material used for binding, from the least desirable to the most serviceable, is as follows: (1) paper; (2) paperboards; (3) buckram; (4) cloth; (5) skiver; (6) roan; (7) calf; (8) Russia; (9) Turkey morocco; (10) levant morocco; (11) parchment; (12) vellum.

Writers in general should remember that their books must be made to sell, and to sell they must be able to withstand a certain amount of wear and tear. If they be bound in delicate col

ors, and remain exposed for sale for only a few weeks on the shelves in some bookstore, the color will fade, and the book, to all intents and purposes, becomes second-hand almost immediately after its publication. Then, like any soiied or shop-worn goods in a dry-goods store, the price will be marked down, and the author may experience the mortification of seeing his new work offered for sale at a price so absurdly low as to cause him to wish he had never written it. In all such matters as this the author should trust to the superior knowledge of trade conditions which his publisher must have, for it is an important factor in the issuing and marketing of books a knowledge which is invariably the mainstay of a publishing house.