THE TIED-BOOK SYSTEM.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 58, 8 March 1913, Page 13

THE TIED -BOOK SYSTEM.

Boer. Ale. Stout. Stingo. Heavy Wet. With all variants, from four-'alf to the brewer's pride, measured into a wineglass for sixpence. The any-class, low-class, no-class people who live in English stories like Edwin Pugh's or Neil Lyons', seem, to think that the drinker is better served in a "free house" than in a "tied house." You know more about that. We know more about books; and we affirm that authors and readers are better served with a "free book" than with a "tied book." For just the same reasons. As soon as you give an English publican or an Australian importer a monopoly of his goods, either the price will tend to go up or the quality will tend to go down. We saj- "tend," because the rule has exceptions. Nevertheless, the rule is that as soon as checked competition interferes with free consumption somebody is bound to suffer. Because every monopolist is bound to get a profit on his monopoly, as well as a profit on the goods. "That's business."

Not long ago we showed how the tiedbook system in fiction was operating in New Zealand and Australia to reduce, upon the whole, the range and quality of novels offered to readers. Authors come into consideration, too. New Zealand novelists-pilbHsh'ing in London, as well as English and American novelists, need to think hard about the tied-book system.

Take the case of a book like "The Happy Warrior," which six weeks ago we called (provisionally) the "biggest" English novel of 1912. The London publisher of "The Happy Warrior" sent the book for review, and the splendid chapter describing an old-style fight was reprinted here.

Six weeks ago;, but you can't buy the book in Auckland. Why not? We are informed that it is because an Australian importing firm has "bought the Australasian market," and "The Happy Warrior" is tied, bound, and hermetically sealed to the importing firm.

Yet even so, why does not the monopolist sell the book? There may be several reasons. In the first place, a monopolist in Australia, buying novels in London, cannot always foresee how many copies of a novel can be sold in New Zealand and Australia. He may not have enough stock to go round all the booksellers. In that case, he is apt to keep the book off the market while he is getting fresh supplies from London, in order that he may prevent dissatisfaction by supplying all the booksellers together. In the next place, a monopolist importer is apt to accumulate so many tied novels that even voracious Australasian readers cannot swallow them all at a gulp. Besides, English publishing follows the sun and the seasons; novels are published chiefly in the English spring and autumn; so that, tallying with the English spring and winter, there are "slack seasons" here when there may not be enough good novels to satisfy readers' demand.

So a monopolist importer is apt to lay by a few novels for the slack season, and feed them out judiciously when he thinks that readers are hungry. His agreement with the English publisher ensures that the Australasian market is preserved to him. Thus a novel published in a London "Colonial Library" in March may be held over for New Zealand sale in September, or in December, or later still. A monopolist Australian importer is like a Marguerite plucking her petals of tied-books and murmuring, "This year —next year—some time—any old time will do for New Zealand readers."

Sometimes a few books filter past the barrier, but not many; because the English publisher has tied himself by agreement. In consideration of an Australian importing firm buying so many copies of a new novel, he has undertaken not to sell that novel to anybody else in New Zealand or Australia. Usually aU New Zealand booksellers who want a tied'book to sell to their customers must come and buy it from the monopolist at the monopolist's \ price. The marketing system causes a lot of business friction. Naturally.

Booksellers, readers and authors are affected in this way.

The author of a novel is usually paid by a Boyalty on sales. Upon every copy of bis book that is sold at the usual English price (4/6) the London publisher may agree to pay him 25 per cent of the price — sometimes less. Then the London publisher puts the book into what is called a "Colonial Library," and it is offered to New Zealand readers at 3/6, or perhaps st 2/6, in paper covers. "Colonial Libraries" usually get a separate clause in the authors agreement with, his publisher. As the price is lower, the author is not promised so high a royalty per copy sokL Perhaps the author is promised 3d per copy. Perhaps he gets IJd.

But, whatever the- authorgets, he- is paid usually according to a_» —for "Colonial Libraries" too. So that anything tending to' hamper the Australasian sale of a book reacts against art anther. -TMfr—j copies are said _^Bbtr:

Zealand, be gets usually a smaller payment fox his labour. And the marketing system, the tied-book system, is apt to be such a hamper on sales. The rule has few exceptions. Suppose that "The Happy Warrior" is a taed book, and Louis Stone's "Jonah" is a free book (since many English puulishers in the best class have refrained from selling the Australasian market ,if their books to a monopolist importer i. i ™ ' if a m °noyolist has bought 1,000 copies of "The Happy Wiirnor" in order to secure the Austrahi-i n market, clearly, when the monopolist is ready to sell "The Happy Warrior" he is likely to put "Happy Warriors" in the front row and "Jonahs" in the back row. Or even he may put all his tied books in all the rows and leave out some free books altogether. Because his business eggs are in the tied-book basket. He has so many tied books which he must sell or lose money. And, as a monopolist, he makes a higher profit on his own tied books than on other people's free books.

So that, comparing the tied author with the free author, the free author is unlikely to get the fairest innings in a monopolist's shop. Consequently, it is to the interest of free authors to oppose the monopoly system, because the free trade system is more likely to give every novel a chance of sale on its merits.

But the tied author does not get a fair chance on his merits either, because the booksellers who are not monopolists prefer to sell the free books. They may have to pay more for the tied book, because the monopolist wants a profit on his monopoly, so that the free bookseller is not unlikely to get a smaller profit on the r tied book. Or, with good business reason, they may object to supporting a trade monopoly.

So that all the time, in New Zealand bookselling to-day, monopolised trade and tied books are fighting free trade and free books; and the unfortunate author is squeezed out of his royalties in the middle. He may be squeezed very little, or he may be squeezed a whole lot; but always he is being squeezed, for always he has one section of booksellers standing against him. Not necessarily pulling against him, since when a book is demanded by readers it must be sold; but standing against him—declining to push a book on its merits because it is tied to an opposition monopolist, or declining to push a free book because invested money must first be got out of a monopolised book.

The effect of the tied-book system must be usually to limit the sale of any given book, since always under that system there is a section of booksellers actively or passively hostile to a sale of any given book. The tied-book author makes his quick sudden profit only by bringing into operation forces that tend to restrict his further profit. And, not in every case, but in the long run, it is true that as many copies of a free novel will be sold in New Zealand as a monopolist can offer to buy. The cost of exceptions comes out of the monopolist's pocket. Monopoly is beer arid skittles, but it isn't all beer and skittles.

For these reasons, and others, authors should oppose the tied novel-system.