Writing popular fiction

for me to have business stationery printed, with my name and address
? I don't think it really matters one way or the other. I've sold a considerable amount of work in the last five years, and I've never had any. Other writers, who have sold as much, seem to feel it's a necessity. I
don't
think any good editor is the least bit influenced by stationery. In the end, it's a personal decision, to be made for personal reasons.
    4.
Once I have sent off my manuscript, how long should I wait for a response
? If you sent it Fourth Class, remember that it will require about two weeks just to reach the editor's desk. Otherwise, figuring from the time the editor
ought
to have it, eight to ten weeks is a reasonable time to wait. At that point, you might drop the editor a short, friendly note, inquiring about your manuscript and asking if it's still under consideration. If it is, the editor will tell you so; if it isn't, he will return it posthaste.
    If another month passes and you have received no answer to your letter, write another, still friendly, but more pointedly asking for your manuscript. The second letter rarely fails.
    If it should, write a third, withdrawing the manuscript from the editor's consideration, reminding him you enclosed return postage, and requesting its return at once. Keep a carbon for your files. Then if you still do not receive your manuscript, retype and submit it elsewhere.
    Really, though, all this is mostly academic, since nearly all editors reply within reasonable time limits.
    5.
How many publishing houses should I take a book to before I decide to
shelve it as unsalable
? Never give up on a manuscript you have faith in. Some of the most successful novels have been rejected by as many as a dozen houses before they've been taken on. Even when you pass the twelfth, keep going until you have exhausted all the potential publishers for that sort of story.
    6. / f
the book sells, what kind of contract will I get
? That varies from publisher to publisher. It may be as little as a two-page, legal-size form in fine print—or eight pages of the same. It will, you can be sure, be legally binding for both parties, and it will
not
require a notary public to witness your signature.
    The new writer won't be able to bargain for a higher advance than is offered, or for a higher royalty. The author with a list of strong credits in his field, however, will be able to negotiate on both points.
    You
can
be sure that you are only liable for suits brought against libelous material in the book—and not for any obscenity suits that may be lodged against the publisher because of the book's sexual content. You can merely strike the word "obscenity" from any clause of this nature and give yourself protection against this unlikely but possible turn of events.
    Also, you can be sure that, if you want the book published under a pen name and never under your own, this desire will be obeyed. In every contract, there is a clause which gives the publisher the right to publish and promote the work under "the author's name or pseudonym." The new author who is writing, say, a Rough Sexy Novel and doesn't want it linked to his real name later on in his career, can simply strike "name or" and insure himself against the calamity.
    If you don't have an agent, you would be well advised to let the publisher keep a percentage of his foreign sales (25% is fair), so that the publisher will act as your representative for translation rights. A similar arrangement is wise (for the unagented author) so far as motion picture rights are concerned, except that the publisher should be permitted to keep no more than 10% of this valuable subsidiary right.
    There is really no way either the new or established writer can refuse to allow the publisher to change the title. It may be irksome to see your title replaced by that of some
    Writing Popular Fiction stranger; as often as not, however, the new title will be an improvement over your own.
    7.
Will I see proofs of the manuscript, prior to publication
? If it is a hardcover novel, yes, always. If it is a paperback original, you will rarely if ever see galley proofs before the book is published. The paperback scheduling system is too frantic to give the author this courtesy.
    A word of warning: If you sell a hardcover novel and receive a set of galleys to correct, change as little—beyond the printer's errors—as you can. Often, when you see the work set up in print, you find errors in phrasing