10
Wednesday, April 6, 1977
University Daily Kansan
Publisher discusses commercial, scholarly careers
BY KIMBRE HUGHES
Staff Reporter
On July 4, 1947, after four months of desperate job hunting, John Langley lay siege to the publishing house reading the New York Times classified ads. When he spotted an advertisement for a business book editor for Prentice Hall, he fled to Europe, where he lived for his life would revolve around books.
Staff photo by MIKE CAMPBELL
After spending 20 years with Prentice-Hall, Langley moved away from the commercial publishing center and into scholarly publishing as assistant director of the Duke University Press and then in 1970 directed for the Regents Press of Kansas.
"I WOULD LOVE to think that I'm a rogue, a pirate or a bandit," Langley said, but actually I have very little opportunity to pursue this because there isn't enough money involved."
Langley said that the change from commercial publishing to scholarly research is not only desirable.
"In commercial publishing the end product is to make a profit," Langley said. "You publish the books you think are going to sell."
In scholarly publishing the product is a scholarly book that is well done, complete, accurate and properly annotated—sales on the book are a secondary consideration. Langeley said. "Sul was forced to switch my academic profit motive to the scholarly motive."
According to Langley, his most rewarding years were spent in sales and distribution.
"Fifty per cent of selling is gossip," Langley said. "Everyone wants the latest news of their colleagues and their competition. You get a large order from him and he gets some conversation and a free steak dinner."
Book publisher
DURING HIS 20 YEARS at Prentice-Hall, Langley collected many memories, some of which he shares with students in his book Course offered in the School of Journalism.
Since 1970, John Langley has been director of the Regents Press of Kansas, which publishes scholarly works. Langley says his most rewarding years were spent with the Princeton-Lake Publishing Company, where he worked 20 years.
One story deals with a very tired and discouraged young woman who came into the Prentice-Hall office one Friday afternoon with a manuscript that had been turned down by nearly every publishing company in New York City. No one, it seemed, wanted to publish it by a Brooklyn school teacher because there were several on the market already.
"We didn't think we particularly wanted another book by a Brooklyn school teacher, either." Langley said. "But Mr. Eastman, he read it with me and read it take home and read it over the weekend. Well, he read it and wasn't too interested, but he gave it to Mrs. Eastman to read. She stayed up half the night reading it and told me that she had a wonderful book and must be published."
According to Langley, the manuscript was then passed on to the editor of the trade book department with the same results—he wasn't interested but his wife was.
"With all this enthusiasm on the part of the ladies," Langley said, "we decided to go ahead and publish it. It was very fortunate that we did because the book, which was written by Belle Kaufman, was Up the Down Staircase, and turned out to be a very interesting book." The book, 750,000 copies of the book, plus we received a very fine fee for the movie rights."
ALTHOUGH THE PROCUREMENT and selection of books are usually done by an acquisition editor, it is the publisher who takes the risk, Langley said.
"It is very important that both the editor and the publisher have highly developed instincts about what the public wants and not what they think the public should read." Langley said. "You never know until a book hits the streets whether you have a hit."
much less speculative but more specialized, Langley said.
By contrast, scholarly publication is
"Scholarly publishing is very specialized and has a very definite printing order and market. Our markets range from 1,500 to 2,000 copies for each book, and our markets between 800 and 1,500 copies to books. It's pretty cut and dry," Langley said.
WHEN A MANUSCRIPT has been chosen by Langley and his staff at the Regents Press, it is read by specialists for scholarly review. If the manuscript receives a favorable review it is presented to the editorial board for the Regents Press of Kansas, which represents the six state supported colleges and universities.
The editorial board meets three times a year and consists of Langley and two
After a manuscript has been accepted by the board, it is printed by the University of Kansas Printing Service. The number of books accepted and printed is determined by the complexity of their make-up. Langley said. Usually, the Regents Press accepts and prints 10 to 12 manuscripts a year.
members from each of the six state schools. Publication rights are decided upon by the board after each scholarly review of the book has been read and discussed by the board.
The major speculative interest in scholarly publishing deals with the sales for these books.
"WE CAN MAKE only very calculated guesses in each discipline," Langley said. "We know that American literature sells better than Russian history and we know that history sells better than Russian literature. We rely on patterns of experience."
Unlike commercial publishers whose speculative interests are far more complex and spend more on the selling price of a book, scholarly publishing doesn't rely on price.
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promotional techniques. Lists are made of all potential buyers, including those public libraries and schools that may benefit. This is especially effective if the material deals with Kansas or mid-America, Langley said. Langley enjoys his job at the Regents Permanent Library, where he pressures resulting from the difficult decisions in selecting manuscripts.
"I enjoy the small town, the people, my job. When someone asks me if I would go back to the big time, I say, 'Not for any amount of money.'"
Because of limited funds, the Regents Press of Kansas relies only on scholarly journal reviews and mail promotion. Most university presses rely on promoting their target markets, but some pick their targets, Langley said, and it is the most efficient and least expensive of all
LEASING NOW
Although the most crucial part of publishing is editorial selection, Langley said his most rewarding years were spent in sales and distribution with Prentice-Hall, a position that required sales ability and a desire to travel.
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