14 April 1884 • Hartford, Conn. (MS, in pencil: NPV, UCCL 02951)
Keep it diligently in mind that we don’t issue till we have made a big sale. Bliss never issued with less than 43,000 orders on hand, except in one instance—& it usually took him 5 or 6 months’ canvassing to get them.
Get at your canvassing early, & drive it with all your might, with the intent & purpose of issuing on the 10th 15th 10th (or 15th) of next December (the best time in the year to tumble a big pile into the trade)—but if we haven’t 40,000 order[s] then, we simply postpone publication till we’ve got them. It is a plain, simple policy, & would have saved both of my last books if it had been followed. There is not going to be any reason whatever, why this book should not succeed—& it shall & must.
If we make any change, it must be simply a change from 40,000 to 50,000 before issuing. The Tramp issued with 48,000.
Be particular & don’t get any of that old matter into your canvassing book—(the raft episode.)
Susie has invented a musical game which we may perhaps publish, anonymously.
I think we’ll publish ◊ “1002,” anonymously, in a 15 or 20 cent form, right after Huck.
MS, in pencil, Jean Webster McKinney Family Papers, Special Collections, NPV.
MTBus, 248–49; MTLP, 173–74.
see McKinney Family Papers in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.