The Moon And Sixpence 3.4

 It issad that I can remember nothing of all this scintillation. But I think theconversation never settled down so comfortably as when it turned to the detailsof the trade which was the other side of the art we practised. When we had donediscussing the merits of the latest book, it was natural to wonder how manycopies had been sold, what advance the author had received, and how much he waslikely to make out of it. Then we would speak of this publisher and of that,comparing the generosity of one with the meanness of another; we would arguewhether it was better to go to one who gave handsome royalties or to anotherwho "pushed" a book for all it was worth. Some advertised badly andsome well. Some were modern and some were old-fashioned. Then we would talk ofagents and the offers they had obtained for us; of editors and the sort ofcontributions they welcomed, how much they paid a thousand, and whether theypaid promptly or otherwise. To me it was all very romantic. It gave me anintimate sense of being a member of some mystic brotherhood.我只记得最舒适顺畅的谈话莫过于这些人谈论起他们从事的行业的另一方面——谈起进行交易的一些细节来。在我们品评完毕一本新书的优劣后，自然要猜测一下这本书销售掉多少本，作者得到多少预支稿费，他一共能得到多少钱。以后我们就要谈到这个、那个出版商，比较一下这个人的慷慨和那个人的吝啬。我们还要争辩一下是把槁件交给这一个稿酬优厚的人还是哪一个会做宣传、善于推销的人。有的出版商不善于作广告，有的在这方面非常内行。有些出版商古板，有些能够适应潮流。再以后我们还要谈论一些出版代理人和他们为我们作家搞到的门路。我们还要谈论编辑和他们欢迎哪类作品，一千字付多少稿费，是很快付清呢，还是拖泥带水。这些对我说来都非常富于浪漫气味。它给我一种身为这一神秘的兄弟会的成员的亲密感。①   见《圣经》旧约传道书第七章：“愚昧人的笑声，好象锅下烧荆棘的爆声。”