SHOULD FICTION BE SOLD BY WEIGHT?

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 598, 28 August 1909, Page 9

SHOULD FICTION BE SOLD BY WEIGHT?

The sis-shilling novel has withstood several attacks, of' which, perhaps, the. sevenpenny 'reprint is the most insidious, and we seem to be entering upon an' experimental •' period which may bring the solution of a considerable difficulty. Mr. William, Heinemann recently remarked on the inconsistency of paying precisely the same sum for long or'short, good or bad, and he!, proposes now, in' a letter | which he has issued to the trade, t<> make certain .distinctions. 'He will publish a"series' of novels in the autumn which will be either two shillings or . three shillings not per volume, according to their size. If the novels are long they will be in two volumes, and here, we think, Mr. Heinemann is on dangerous ground.! It is true that the. world once "managed to get on with three-volume novels, but the wrong volume was always turning up and the right one slipping away out of sight; still,-' if t'he change will give the author more soope. we shall not grumble. Oddly enough, Mr.: Heinemann suggests that hehas solved the problem of giving the buyer value for his money, though he says nothing about the question of quality. The difficulty is, it seems to us, that it may be necessary to obtain the bigger price for what are, from the publisher's point of view, the inferior novels. -The uniform and comparatively high { prico of novels! gives a chance to writers who could never hope for very largo sales, though ..their! books are.i'.of .better- quality., than .the ,ephemeral stuff that is-.bonght Five hundred '.people 'might'. ; !want " a'Ago.bd,! unpopular/novel, and. would pay a price that would-giyb, say, a profit of sixpence'to the publjsher; but if this book be produced at a price, that mi^lit' give a penny profit there will not be three thousand readers for it. However, art. has always'struggled with this difficulty of finding somebody to pay! for it, and this has .!had 'its use in- tethering it .within .the range of humanity. It might be suggested, too, that 'tljose who are not content with the ordinary bill of fare in a restaurant must pay extra' for their' unusnal dishes, aind that oook-shop and book-shop ore governed by the same principles. It is consoling to remember that some popular books and dishes are good.—'"Manohester Guardian." : . ' - • ■■■