I
am halfway through reading the life of Erich Maria Remarque, (All Quiet on The
Western Front, A Time to Live and a Time to Die, etc) having completed the
biography of Somerset Maugham, (Of Human Bondage, Cakes and Ale, etc). It is
incredible to me, how those two men in the 20th century, even with the sales of
only one book when published, had them translated and circulated worldwide,
which made them a fortune. This enabled them to start their own art collections,
of mostly the Impressionists, that in today’s money would be worth more than
most countries’ GSP.
In
1948 Maugham said ‘that now was the best time in the history of books for
sales, and that in twenty years’ time there would be a huge decline! Whether he
was seeing the advent of television as a threat, or technology as a whole, we
don’t know.
Personally,
I would think that today worldwide, there are more books published than ever
before, be it independently or otherwise, without even thinking of the number
of e-books available. As a confirmed reader I couldn’t be happier, however as
an author selling my books, it certainly isn’t as easy today as those two
gentlemen had it then.
There
is nothing though, that can beat the feeling of pleasure and pride, when you
get your book hot off the printing press, and hold it in your hands for the
very first time.
Evan
G Andrew
Author
of ‘Shadows in the Night,’ the sequel ‘Shadows of Doubt,’ and ‘The Spanish
Woman.’
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