PUBLISHERS' BLUNDERS.
— -♦ Publishers, like other people, sometimes make mistakes. Mr. R. Cochrane, in the Book Monthly, recalls some famous examples. George Meredith, as publisher's reader to Chapman and Hall, gave an opinion emphatically against the acceptance of Mrs. Henry Wood's "East Lynne." The loss by this rejection has been estimated at £30,000 to this publishing firm, and of the connection, presuming thit they had issued her other novels, at -£100,000 James Payn declined "John Inglesant," as reader for Smith, Elder and Co., and it became a valuable property in the hands of Macmillan and Co. Edna Lyall's 'We Two" was rejected hy half-a-dozen publishers. A publisher s reader pronounced W. Clark j Russell's "Wreck of the Grosvenor" a catalogue of ship's furniture It is the boast of Mr. Hall Came that no novel of his has been hawked from publishing house to publishing house. Mr. G. R. Sims records that a story of his, "A Pleasant Evening," was declined by the Family Herald, Chambers' Journal, and All the Year Round. Mr. Rider Haggard's "Dawn" was declined by five or six publishers. When Norman Macleod was editor of Good Words, he arranged with a popu lar novelist for a serial, which on reading he found unsuitable. The publisher, Mr. Alexander Strahan, agreed in this verdict, and paid the forfeit of £500, returning the MS. to its author, Anthony Trollop©. J
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19100402.2.126
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 77, 2 April 1910, Page 10
Word Count
229PUBLISHERS' BLUNDERS. Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 77, 2 April 1910, Page 10
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Evening Post. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.