"Authors," wrote Mr. Walter G. Harrap, throwing his weight into
a controversy now current in The Times," need publishers and booksellers and are, therefore, vitally concerned with their solvency." This is a rattier specious generalisation. The fact that Mr. A's moderately successful books are published bY Messrs. B, does not, in real life, give Mr. A a direct interest in Messrs. B's ability to make a profit; for if Messrs. ft having, over a period, made a loss instead, go out of business, there are always Messrs. C, D, E, F and (of course) G. Mr. A, on the other hand is not so readily replaceable; if he—b)' reason of a breakdown in health or from any other cause- goes out of business as a writer, his publisher will suffer a definite loss of revenue. It seems to me slightly disingenuous to suggest that an author is a sort of honorary junior partner in the firm that publishes his books, and that the firm arc as important to him as be and his stable-mates are to them. Both, are, of course, dependent on each other, but not in the same way or to the same extent.
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