SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A prospective Little Blue Book title undergoes a severe scrutiny, and a careful, critical consideration of its possible popularity. The initial investment necessary to add a new title to the list is not justified until the first edition is sold out, and this first edition must be sold within a year of first publication. Such a requirement is beyond a doubt not always easy to meet.
Writers should understand one or two things very clearly when contemplating offering manuscript to the Little Blue Books. It is not the aim or function of the Little Blue Book series to promulgate original ideas. If you have written an essay on your own philosophy of life, it is not a suitable manuscript for the Little Blue Books—unless you are as famous as Thomas A. Edison or Luther Burbank, and perhaps not even then. Theses which deal exhaustively with the epithets of Percy Bysshe Shelley, or a critical analysis of the odd conjunctival constructions to be found in Emerson (if there are any!), or any similar work of scholarly scope but limited popular appeal, are strictly taboo. Such a work merits publication—if it deserves perpetuation in print—by publishers who can give the book suitable blurbs and feature it in their lists for a few months, and then, if necessary, forget it.
A Little Blue Book, when added to the list, is added in the hope that it will remain there for the life of the series. Mistakes are made, and titles are from time to time dropped. But these mistakes are fewer than they used to be, and every effort is made to avoid making such mistakes.
Don’t, therefore, dig out a pet manuscript that has been yellowing among your papers for years, in the hope that it will make a Little Blue Book! Don’t rush through your life story, or reminiscences of your childhood, or your solution of the social chaos, or your key to the universe, in any hastily conceived hope that E. Haldeman-Julius will grab it for a Little Blue Book—because he won’t do any such thing.
It is not the purpose of the Little Blue Books to provide a cheap means of giving the work of obscure authors to a supposedly breathlessly awaiting public. Little Blue Books are never published at the author’s expense, so please don’t take the trouble to suggest it. If it is unlikely that a title will sell sufficient copies to make it worth while to keep it in print, the title will not be added to the list at all. This is final. No amount of argument or financial persuasion can change this policy.
Nor is it possible for the Haldeman-Julius Company to set up and print booklets in Little Blue Book form for any individual. This comes under the general head of job printing, and the Haldeman-Julius Company does no job printing of any kind. It is impossible, due to the fact that all the available machinery is constantly running to keep pace with the world-wide demand for Little Blue Books and other Haldeman-Julius publications.
To come back to the general principles governing the selection and approval of future Little Blue Books, this series continually endeavors to live up to its other more high-sounding name: The University in Print. The present tendency of editorial selection is toward more books of self-education and self-improvement. Too many books on one subject are not wanted. Subjects that are not at present represented are likely to be in demand—more about this, and how to find out about it, anon. Treatment of specialized aspects of any subject is usually not desired.
Keep, so far as possible, to subjects of wide appeal. Anyone who has read The First Hundred Million, by E. Haldeman-Julius, will have a fairly clear idea of what this means. Further reprints, no matter how well edited, of the classics are not desired at present. Anthologies of poetry are not wanted, even though the poet is not already represented in the series; original poetry is out of the question! Original fiction is not desired, nor are collections of stories already published wanted—except in a few instances, perhaps, when the work of a Fannie Hurst or a Wilbur Daniel Steele may be added to round out the section devoted to present-day well-known writers.
Literary criticism is at present in disfavor in the editorial sanctum of the Little Blue Books. Critical surveys or literary outlines of any kind are hardly likely to meet with approval. There are several titles of this nature already in print, and they are apparently adequate to the present demands of the reading public.
History is a classification that is rather sparse in the Little Blue Book series. The right approach to the various phases of history has perhaps not yet been hit upon. However, it is safe to say that histories of various countries are not desired just now—the histories of Mexico and Japan already in the list are not doing so well as was hoped. The histories of the American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the World War, are doing better than any of the other historical titles. But with an Outline of United States History and Lives of United States Presidents already in the list, United States history is pretty well taken care of for the present.
Biography is well represented. Except for a few outstanding names here and there—a biography of Charles Lindbergh has just been added—further biographical titles are not desired. Of course, these negative suggestions that I am setting down here may change at any time, but it will be helpful, I think, for future Little Blue Book writers to have some notion of what is not wanted immediately. They will do much better to direct their efforts along the lines of expansion that are at present strong. Obviously, much more chance of acceptance lies in these desired directions. (For particulars of how to find out whether a title is likely to be acceptable, see the section following.)
Most of the aspects of modern science have been treated already. Evolution is certainly adequately covered. Astronomy and physics are pretty well represented. Maynard Shipley has been filling in some gaps recently, so it is unlikely that further material of this nature will be acceptable. On science, however, Mr. Haldeman-Julius has an open editorial mind. If you think you have a good suggestion, it might be well to submit it (read the following section to learn how to do this).
Psychology and psycho-analysis have been thoroughly covered by James Oppenheim, Clement Wood, and Leo Markun. It is extremely unlikely that further titles will be added dealing with these subjects, though it may be that some important phase has been overlooked.
Various phases of the English language—spelling, grammar, vocabulary and the like—are also thoroughly covered. What few remaining gaps there may be have probably already been arranged for; even short-story writing now has three or four different volumes devoted to it, which is certainly sufficient for the present scope of the series.
Philosophy was done up brown, if I may put it that way, by Dr. Will Durant some years ago. The philosophy classification is large enough for all present demands of the reading public.
It is hardly necessary to say that religion, both for and against, is comprehensively treated. Joseph McCabe has some fifty books on this subject alone. Nothing further of this nature is desired.
It can thus be seen that certain very definite classifications have been closed, at least for a while. Though an occasional title may be added to these groups I have just mentioned, the chances are not so good here as in some group which is poorly represented or not represented at all. Subjects which are in demand, if suitable material can be secured, are discussed at some length in a later section of this book.