--Then in your mind there does not linger any atmosphere of an art about the making of books?
--When you talk about "atmosphere" you have me out of my depth. There isn't any atmosphere of art lingering about making soap, is there?
--You would class soap-making with book-making?
--May I ask you why you were selected by ---- Company to manage their manufacturing department?
--Really, I must say that you overstep the borders--
--Please do not misinterpret my question. It is really pertinent to the inquiry.
--It should certainly be obvious why a man is chosen for a given position. I am employed to earn a satisfactory return on the shareholders' investment. Is that the information you want?
--I think that is what we want. Would you then consider yourself as happily employed in making soap as in making books?
--Quite as well employed, if making soap paid the dividend.
--While we are on this subject, may I ask you how you choose the artists who make your illustrations?
--My practice is to select an illustrator whose name is well known.
--I should say, yes. I am not aware of any other reason for spending money on this feature. It is always an uncertain detail and this way of making a choice puts the matter on a safe basis.
--It is sometimes assumed that the illustrations should have a sympathetic bearing on the story. Does not that consideration have some weight with you in choosing your artist?
--None, I should say. You see, the pictures are not really a necessary part of the book. They are a kind of frill that the public has got in the way of expecting, and we have to put them in. Illustrations as a rule stand us as a dead loss unless they are made by a well-known artist. Then, of course, they help sell the book.
A: The gentlemen of the committee must remember that the book-publishing business is a gamble. Each new issue, particularly in the department of fiction, is a highly adventurous risk. Our percentage of blanks would astonish you if we dared to state it. But any book may turn out a best-seller. This hope keeps us going. It is absolutely a gamble, as I say. You can see that under these conditions we cannot spend very much money on non-essentials. We have to strip the books down to the barest necessities.