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Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), 15th March 1887, Edition 1 of 1, Page 279

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      The Royal Literary Fund.—On The Fund 9th...

      The Royal Literary Fund . —On the fund 9 th curren was held t the in annua tl ^ e l rooms general of meeting the "Vict of oria this _ Institute of Godwin the , President , treasurer Adelphi , , Lord occu Terrace pied Derb . the y In , chair Mr the . . absence George From that the au the ditors balance ' an - d sheet treasurer for the ' s report last it appeared showed that the total receipts had been £ 2 year 871 while the expenditure had been £ 2 , 251 . , A sum , of to £ 1 , male 665 had authors been 13 dispensed to femal in e aut 41 h grants orsan — d 26 & was to widows dispensed . In in , the 51 year gratits 1885 . a The sum election of , £ 2 , 265 of ceeded officers with for , the the ensuing changes ' year whicfi was the then ballotings proa effected vice-president being that in Lord the p Arthur lace of Russell the late became Earl and of Iddesl Charles eigh J . , Leaf while succeeded Messrs . Walter Messrs . Besan J . A t . committee Froude and . The Russell chairman Sturg sai is d on that the the general sum past which year the was society less had in amount given away than during usual , but the it should be well understood that this occurred throug committee h no , but niggardliness from the on absence the part of of really the good not s but cases be for regarded relief—an with absence satisfaction which . could The committee tEe present were time never to give better large disposed and substantial than at I

      Perhaps Too Much Has Already Been Said R...

      ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ ^^¦¦ ¦ ^ mH' MHpH ^ MPa ^^^^ aiMWaH ^ Ba ^^^ i ^ an ^ B ^^ BMHMMaBMiMHMMMMMHHMMa ^^ HMMi ^ hav 4 & fctfn pla ^^^ of Mr . B ^ ant' ^ striding iikd Hot !; bitter ^ complained , little notice would have been a taken matter of this Of fact revival had of Mr a . very . Besant old subj and ect others ; ar , ; been mo ^ re accurate in * their statements , tlie present . agitation would never havexiiffled the surface of public opinion . But it was impossible that publishers could remain silent under the accusations that have bejen hurled by the Society of Authors against the publishing trade in general . Therefore some of the * leading representatives of the trade have added interest to the discussion by disclosing their views upon their business relations with authors in general . It is much to be regretted that some of the successful authors who are on the best terms with their publishers , and who have nothing to complain of , should refrain from speaking . At the outset there must be some difficulty in dealing with a body such as the Incorporated Society of Authors , for it is difficult to imagine what are its practical objects and aims . When . first we heard of its existence , we were of opinion that it was a fresh addition to the learned societies of the age , formed to establish a new " Legion of Honour , with a knighthood and 1 Transac peerage tions of ' seemed intellect to . loom "Vast in the volumes distance of . One cannot accept the paradox that , authorship is a trade or a profession . The true author is a stimulator , if not a creator , of trades and professions . He rarely appears . To blame the writers of our day for looking after their own interests would be unfair ; and under certain conditions it is right that they should band themselves together for mutual protection in trading affairs . The argument has been advanced that successful authors are made to pay for the failures of their less fortunate brethren . This is to some extent true ; just in the same way as the unsuccessful members of the Society of Authors will , by their guineas , better the literary position and prospects of the successful members . We listened with interest to Mr . Gosse ' s address delivered at the second conference of authors , and must confess to a feeling of disappointment that the learned lecturer did not display that practicalness which would have suited the audience better than literary anecdotes . Mr . Gosse ' s remark to the effect that publishers did not recompense authors for unexpected successes was unfair . ' Should any work prove more remunerative than was originally anticipated , it is a very common custom for publishers to offer an additional honorarium . ; Laudatory criticisms by the press , however , often give authors too hopeful I - „ - I . • i i 11 '¦; . ; . i ¦ i i .. "¦ ¦• • • .. ' i i . I

      lasi jmtoression as to the success of their books * . * Mr . ( Jrosse also spoke too strongly against jlacty writers , ; but , was vigorously answered by JMJrs . Fen wick Miller , wlio , in a bright } pithy , and' sensible address—the best that wa & delivered during the meeting—upheld the * credit of the-sex . These conferences will assuredly lead to a large accession of members to the Society , for in Article 5 of the programme is the promise ' We shall , when our numbers increase sufficiently , but not till then , advise on MSS . for our members . ' On this account alone publishers generally should wish the Society * God speed . ' There is no department of literary life in which some division of labour is more necessary or even imperative . In the meantime we , hope the Incorporated Society of Authors will manifest the same activity in other matters that ini it has quities shown of the in bring * wicked ing to publisher light the ; manifold but it is sadly significant to see at the end of the programme , or report , now feeing circulated , the following abrupt intimation : * There is next a branch of work which was not originally contemplated , except vaguely : the encouragement the taste of literature far buying by stimulating books I Two and develop lines are ing given to this all-important announcement : the italics are ours : the sentence speaks for itself .

      Mafch ^^^^^^^^ ^X S^ ^ " ^ ^0 Pifeli§Fe%...

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  • Citation
    • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), March 15, 1887, page 279, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_15031887/page/5/