— Get into these mass paperbacks print an edition of five hundred thousand might as well ship three straight to the shredder one thing I hate it’s waste, can’t figure costs to sales too many unknowns too damn much waste…
— Yes sir what they’ve done is reduce the significance of the cost factor, largely write off the waste element and outrage traditional publishing convention by using the entire list as a readymade advertising enterprise, they…
— Have to advertise the damn things how else they going to sell them.
— No sir in the books I mean ads in the books themselves sir, textbooks and novels filled with columns of advertising the prime space goes to their own subsidiaries but most of them appear to be quite tastelessly solicited, what figures I’ve obtained from our sources indicate a startling amount in billings which no excuse me sir just my briefcase I, yes here are some of the figures, it’s created a furor in publishing particularly the textbook area and drawn violent objections from some prominent writers who threat…
— Always objecting to something only damn reason they’re writers, make their damn peace the country could get on with its business if this bunch hadn’t done it somebody else would here what’s these figures, haven’t got my glasses…
— Those are, oh yes that’s a children’s encyclopedia they’re bringing out sir, it’s doing extremely well even though it seems to be teeming with inaccuracies and a number of prominent educators have demanded its withdraw…
— Didn’t ask your editorial opinion Beaton I said what’s the figures.
— Down here sir the initial outlay is in the neighborhood of a third of a million, two hundred sixty-six thousand on promotion sixty-six thousand in production and, yes and six hundred sixty dollars went in research writing and editorial costs yes no wonder the…
— Beaton what’s that, that magazine give it to me.
— Where the, oh this ma’am yes this is their magazine She, they took over the old Her magazine and turned it into a…
— Don’t stand there blubbering about it give it to me, the cover looks like Emily.
— Here let me see that, looks like Amy if she was some broken down two dollar…
— Two dollars worth of cold fish she wouldn’t spread her toes for the King of…
— This Mister Katz’s room?
— What the devil does he want.
— You Mister Katz?
— What Mister Katz get him out of here.
— Wait sir he, what’s that name who…
— Room three eleven come to do the phones right on the order here, right here c, a, t e s. Katz.
— Never mind yes just put them in as quickly as you…
— Over here damn it! think I talk with my feet? See how much damn difference one more bungled encyclopedia’s going to make Beaton? this boob what’s his name Duncan’s head of sales, thought he went out and set up his own company.
— This Skinner person yes sir he picked up that option but…
— Skinnerflix that’s the name of it Skinnerflix what do you think they make, shoelaces? He’s making a movie called Two Foxy Girls and Vida’s psychia…
— Don’t give a damn what they make Zona be quiet, just want to know how this bunch got in here Beaton.
— That piggish little man with glasses last night going around handing out his card that says he deals in women’s underclothes plays the part of the psychi…
— Damn it Zona be quiet! Picked up this option to set up in publishing didn’t he Beaton? now how the devil…
— Originally yes sir under this D and S imprint but according to a trade journal a novel he just published there, a Western called The Blood in the Red White and Blue had already been published elsewhere with the title Guns of God under different pseudonyms by the same writer who’s now being sued for plagiarism by the producers of a motion picture called Dirty…
— Didn’t ask for a lot of damn gossip I said how’d this bunch get in there!
— Yes sir he, they allowed this Skinner person to put up a small interest in another company against a loan to take up the Duncan option sir, when he couldn’t meet the loan they exercised the option, seized his collateral and terminated his management con…
— Get something out of you’s like pulling teeth what’s this collateral.
— A small interest I think it’s five percent sir in a company called General Roll, a small company out here in Astoria that makes…
— Don’t matter if it makes paper dolls this same bunch grabbed up twenty percent of it here a while back in an estate tax bind you sit here talking about wallpaper and some fool encyclopedia this is what they were after the whole damn time, family owned outfit this twenty-five percent might control it that so hard to figure out Beaton?
— Yes well no sir but it’s just a small comp…
