itions of
their favorite authors. The book-lover has been benefited, too, in the
matter of prices. The agent's commission under the modern methods is
no greater than the bookseller's profit, and no extraordinary
allowance is made for losses, as many imagine, for the losses are
comparatively small. The desire to extend his business leads the
publisher to make his books more attractive, while there is plenty of
competition to keep the prices down. It is a fact that the buyer is
to-day getting a far better book for his money than ever before.

The personnel of the canvassing force has also undergone a change. A
business such as the best houses are now doing requires agents of
intelligence, tact, and judgment. The callow youth cannot succeed as
he did once. The man who has failed at everything else will fail here.
There are now men and women engaged in selling books by subscription,
who possess business ability of a high order. Many of them have
well-established lines of trade,--regular customers who depend upon
them to supply their wants and keep them informed. The old jibes about
the book-agent fall flat when applied to them. They do not bore their
customers or tire them out. They serve them, and the customers are
glad to be served by them.

I have taken care to point out that these observations apply to the
business as conducted by the older and more conservative book
publishers, who value their reputation. In a consideration of the
subject a sharp distinction should be drawn between such publishers
and a class of irresponsible schemers who by various ingenious devices
seek to gain the public ear and then proceed to impose upon their
victims to the full extent of their credulity. In recent years many
schemes have been devised,--a few honest, some about half honest, and
the rest miserable "fakes."

One of the earliest and most successful "schemes," not dishonest but
certainly ingenious, was that of a publisher who had a large stock of
unmarketable books whose retail price was $6 a volume. He organized an
association and sold memberships at $10, the membership entitling the
subscriber to one of the $6 books and the privilege of buying
miscellaneous books at a discount. The discounts really were no
greater than could have been obtained in any department store, but the
"association" thought it had a great concession and multiplied so
rapidly that the unmarketable book had to be reprinted again and
again.

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