How to write Little Blue Books
Date: 2026-02-27T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Books and reading; Authorship -- Handbooks; manuals; etc.; Publishers and publishing -- United States; Little blue book

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Title: How to write Little Blue Books

Author: Lloyd E. Smith

Editor: E. Haldeman-Julius

Release date: February 28, 2026 [eBook #78066]

Language: English

Original publication: Girard: Haldeman-Julius Publications, 1929

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78066

Credits: Tim Miller, chenzw, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO WRITE LITTLE BLUE BOOKS ***

LITTLE BLUE BOOK NO.
Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius 1366

How to Write Little
Blue Books

Lloyd E. Smith

(Assistant Editor, Haldeman-Julius
Publications)

HALDEMAN-JULIUS PUBLICATIONS
GIRARD, KANSAS

Copyright, 1929,
Haldeman-Julius Company

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

HOW TO WRITE LITTLE BLUE BOOKS

A WORD OF EXPLANATION

Telling would-be contributors to the five-cent pocket series How to Write Little Blue Books, is, by rights, the editor’s—E. Haldeman-Julius’s—job. For he is the man who ultimately accepts the manuscript, if it is acceptable, and he signs the check which each author awaits with eager anticipation. But he says that going into the details of how manuscripts should be written for this ever growing series does not appeal to him. So far he has preferred to find and buy the product of those writers who are able, without more than a preliminary word or two, to turn out exactly what he wants. So he has delegated me to do the job for him, and he has charged me to be explicit, exhaustive, and extremely understandable.

For editorial problems of the Little Blue Books are peculiar. There is no other series to be compared with The Little Blue Books. Certainly not in the English language, and similar series in foreign languages are not quite the same, and are, of course, not of interest to writers in English. E. Haldeman-Julius has told the complete story of ten years of publishing the Little Blue Books, from editing some two thousand manuscripts to the complete list of more than fourteen hundred titles in print as I write, in his book, The First Hundred Million.[1] The 100,000,000 refers to the total number of Little Blue Books printed and sold at the time the book was written. I urge every would-be Little Blue Book writer to get a copy of this book, if possible, and read it from cover to cover. Entirely aside from its technical interest, the book is thoroughly readable as a unique contribution to the psychology of the American reading public.

[1] The First Hundred Million, by E. Haldeman-Julius, cloth bound, $3 postpaid, Haldeman-Julius Co., Girard, Kansas.

As for my own qualifications to tell how Little Blue Books must be written, to be acceptable for publication in this world famous series, they are two. For more than three years I have been the Assistant Editor of the Haldeman-Julius Publications, and I have encountered at first hand the editorial and publishing problems peculiar to them. I have corresponded with many Little Blue Book writers; I have whipped many a manuscript into shape for the typesetters; I have scheduled thousands of Little Blue Books, in hundreds of large editions, for publication. My second qualification is that I am a Little Blue Book writer myself, and have been for some six years. Up to the moment of writing, more Little Blue Books bear my name (laying aside my cloak of modesty for the moment) than any other single contributor’s name, not excepting Joseph McCabe, who is a far more redoubtable writer than I, having to his credit the colossal enterprise of The Key to Culture,[2] in forty 30,000-word volumes, in addition to his fifty-five or so Little Blue Books. Ergo, I ought to know something about the subject.

[2] The Key to Culture, by Joseph McCabe, an outline of all knowledge, 40 5½ × 8½ volumes, bound in stiff card covers, 64 pages each, $7.50 postpaid, Haldeman-Julius Co., Girard, Kansas.

Justification for the present Little Blue Book will appear, if at all, in the sales record of this particular number a year or two from now. Judging from the inquiries that pour into Girard on every mail, it should not be hard to dispose of an edition of 10,000 copies every year. Not that all the buyers of the book will become Little Blue Book contributors—for many will want to read this book out of a natural curiosity; others will find that the work of writing for the series is not suited to their capabilities; others will simply be unable to meet the high standard required—but the interest in the subject is, I am sure, large enough to make the book worth writing.

Certainly it is a clear sign of the unique character of the Little Blue Book series that it becomes advisable to include within the series, as a unit of the whole, a book telling how more books should be written! What other publisher has ever added to his list a book telling, in substance, How to Write Books For Me?

But there is another reason for writing this book. As the Little Blue Books have progressed, undergoing many changes in editorial policy, widening their scope with the growth of their audience, problems have arisen which merit different treatment from problems which have confronted other editors and other publishers. As a series, the Little Blue Books have reached the point where definite rules must be laid down and strictly adhered to in the preparation of further titles for publication. Particular avenues of expansion are opening up, for which special writers must be found, or for which present writers may perhaps qualify if they are informed of the need. Hundreds of people would like to write at least one Little Blue Book, dealing perhaps with a subject very familiar to them; but it is impossible to tell each writer individually how to go about it. Many such contributors may not be professional writers, but because of their familiarity with a subject they may be able, if properly instructed, to deliver a satisfactory manuscript.

Even those writers who have already one or more published Little Blue Books to their credit may learn something from what the Assistant Editor has to say. The less editing we have to do in Girard, the better. It would be ideal if Little Blue Book writers could grasp the mechanical requirements of a Little Blue Book, and see it, to some extent, from an editorial viewpoint. They should understand something of the typography. They should familiarize themselves with the established style (spelling, punctuation, and the like) and follow it in their manuscript. Points such as these I will mention in due course.

SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES

A prospective Little Blue Book title undergoes a severe scrutiny, and a careful, critical consideration of its possible popularity. The initial investment necessary to add a new title to the list is not justified until the first edition is sold out, and this first edition must be sold within a year of first publication. Such a requirement is beyond a doubt not always easy to meet.

Writers should understand one or two things very clearly when contemplating offering manuscript to the Little Blue Books. It is not the aim or function of the Little Blue Book series to promulgate original ideas. If you have written an essay on your own philosophy of life, it is not a suitable manuscript for the Little Blue Books—unless you are as famous as Thomas A. Edison or Luther Burbank, and perhaps not even then. Theses which deal exhaustively with the epithets of Percy Bysshe Shelley, or a critical analysis of the odd conjunctival constructions to be found in Emerson (if there are any!), or any similar work of scholarly scope but limited popular appeal, are strictly taboo. Such a work merits publication—if it deserves perpetuation in print—by publishers who can give the book suitable blurbs and feature it in their lists for a few months, and then, if necessary, forget it.

A Little Blue Book, when added to the list, is added in the hope that it will remain there for the life of the series. Mistakes are made, and titles are from time to time dropped. But these mistakes are fewer than they used to be, and every effort is made to avoid making such mistakes.

Don’t, therefore, dig out a pet manuscript that has been yellowing among your papers for years, in the hope that it will make a Little Blue Book! Don’t rush through your life story, or reminiscences of your childhood, or your solution of the social chaos, or your key to the universe, in any hastily conceived hope that E. Haldeman-Julius will grab it for a Little Blue Book—because he won’t do any such thing.

It is not the purpose of the Little Blue Books to provide a cheap means of giving the work of obscure authors to a supposedly breathlessly awaiting public. Little Blue Books are never published at the author’s expense, so please don’t take the trouble to suggest it. If it is unlikely that a title will sell sufficient copies to make it worth while to keep it in print, the title will not be added to the list at all. This is final. No amount of argument or financial persuasion can change this policy.

Nor is it possible for the Haldeman-Julius Company to set up and print booklets in Little Blue Book form for any individual. This comes under the general head of job printing, and the Haldeman-Julius Company does no job printing of any kind. It is impossible, due to the fact that all the available machinery is constantly running to keep pace with the world-wide demand for Little Blue Books and other Haldeman-Julius publications.

To come back to the general principles governing the selection and approval of future Little Blue Books, this series continually endeavors to live up to its other more high-sounding name: The University in Print. The present tendency of editorial selection is toward more books of self-education and self-improvement. Too many books on one subject are not wanted. Subjects that are not at present represented are likely to be in demand—more about this, and how to find out about it, anon. Treatment of specialized aspects of any subject is usually not desired.

Keep, so far as possible, to subjects of wide appeal. Anyone who has read The First Hundred Million, by E. Haldeman-Julius, will have a fairly clear idea of what this means. Further reprints, no matter how well edited, of the classics are not desired at present. Anthologies of poetry are not wanted, even though the poet is not already represented in the series; original poetry is out of the question! Original fiction is not desired, nor are collections of stories already published wanted—except in a few instances, perhaps, when the work of a Fannie Hurst or a Wilbur Daniel Steele may be added to round out the section devoted to present-day well-known writers.

Literary criticism is at present in disfavor in the editorial sanctum of the Little Blue Books. Critical surveys or literary outlines of any kind are hardly likely to meet with approval. There are several titles of this nature already in print, and they are apparently adequate to the present demands of the reading public.

History is a classification that is rather sparse in the Little Blue Book series. The right approach to the various phases of history has perhaps not yet been hit upon. However, it is safe to say that histories of various countries are not desired just now—the histories of Mexico and Japan already in the list are not doing so well as was hoped. The histories of the American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the World War, are doing better than any of the other historical titles. But with an Outline of United States History and Lives of United States Presidents already in the list, United States history is pretty well taken care of for the present.

Biography is well represented. Except for a few outstanding names here and there—a biography of Charles Lindbergh has just been added—further biographical titles are not desired. Of course, these negative suggestions that I am setting down here may change at any time, but it will be helpful, I think, for future Little Blue Book writers to have some notion of what is not wanted immediately. They will do much better to direct their efforts along the lines of expansion that are at present strong. Obviously, much more chance of acceptance lies in these desired directions. (For particulars of how to find out whether a title is likely to be acceptable, see the section following.)

Most of the aspects of modern science have been treated already. Evolution is certainly adequately covered. Astronomy and physics are pretty well represented. Maynard Shipley has been filling in some gaps recently, so it is unlikely that further material of this nature will be acceptable. On science, however, Mr. Haldeman-Julius has an open editorial mind. If you think you have a good suggestion, it might be well to submit it (read the following section to learn how to do this).

Psychology and psycho-analysis have been thoroughly covered by James Oppenheim, Clement Wood, and Leo Markun. It is extremely unlikely that further titles will be added dealing with these subjects, though it may be that some important phase has been overlooked.

Various phases of the English language—spelling, grammar, vocabulary and the like—are also thoroughly covered. What few remaining gaps there may be have probably already been arranged for; even short-story writing now has three or four different volumes devoted to it, which is certainly sufficient for the present scope of the series.

Philosophy was done up brown, if I may put it that way, by Dr. Will Durant some years ago. The philosophy classification is large enough for all present demands of the reading public.

It is hardly necessary to say that religion, both for and against, is comprehensively treated. Joseph McCabe has some fifty books on this subject alone. Nothing further of this nature is desired.

It can thus be seen that certain very definite classifications have been closed, at least for a while. Though an occasional title may be added to these groups I have just mentioned, the chances are not so good here as in some group which is poorly represented or not represented at all. Subjects which are in demand, if suitable material can be secured, are discussed at some length in a later section of this book.

HOW TO RECEIVE AN ASSIGNMENT

Little Blue Books are written on assignment. That is to say, all prospective titles are tentatively approved before the manuscript is actually prepared. Seldom indeed has a chance manuscript, submitted without previous correspondence, fitted into the series. The freelance writer can hardly hope to guess what may be suitable, unless he is familiar with the fourteen hundred or so different titles now in print, and unless he knows, too, the nearly thousand titles which have been discontinued and obviously must not be repeated.

If you want to write a Little Blue Book the first thing to do is for you to get an idea. Do not write us some such letter as the following:

Editor, Haldeman-Julius Publications,
Girard, Kansas
Dear Sirs:

I am a good writer and have lots of time. I would like to write some Little Blue Books for you. Please write me immediately what I should write and how much you will pay me to do it for you.
Signed, A. M. Ateur.

Such a letter tells nothing. Such a letter is the height of futility in seeking to write for Little Blue Book publication. First of all, you must have in mind a subject which you would like to prepare especially for the Little Blue Book series. Possibly it is a subject which you are particularly equipped to handle, due to your education, or your experience, or your inclinations. If so, be sure to give a brief outline of such qualifications when you write your suggestion to Mr. Haldeman-Julius. If you have published other work, it is a good idea to mention it, giving titles and dates of publication.

In other words, do your best to convince the editor that you can do the work well. Next to wasting his own time, E. Haldeman-Julius is opposed to wasting the time of any writer. If you are unable to write up to the standard he demands, he prefers to know it before he allows you to begin work. For whenever an unsatisfactory manuscript is delivered, the time of both author and editor is thrown away.

When you have an idea which seems to you a good idea for a Little Blue Book, and if, so far as you know, this title or a very similar one is not already in the series, write a letter about it, addressed to E. Haldeman-Julius, Editor, Haldeman-Julius Publications, Girard, Kansas. You will receive a prompt reply. If the idea appeals to Mr. Haldeman-Julius, he will write you a letter giving you the assignment to do that title for the Little Blue Books.

Let there be no misunderstanding about such an assignment. If the editor accepts your idea, and feels that you are qualified to handle the subject, he says you may go ahead with it—that is, he would like to see the completed manuscript. However, he does not bind the Haldeman-Julius Company to pay for that manuscript unless it is up to the usual standard and satisfactory in every way.

When you receive an assignment you should set to work at once. Read over the manuscript specifications (given in the section following this) to be sure you have them clearly in mind, and go to work. The assignment of a title to any writer carries with it an understanding, usually not put in the letter, that the completed manuscript will be delivered within sixty days. If sixty days or more elapse without further word from the author, it is understood by all concerned that he has either not been able to do the work or has not chosen to do it, and that assignment may, if it is found desirable to do so, be given to someone else. If for any reason you cannot deliver a manuscript within sixty days after a subject is assigned to you, you should write to the editor explaining the delay, and giving a probable date of delivery on the manuscript.

This may seem a somewhat lax system. But you must consider that several hundred Little Blue Book manuscripts are accepted for publication every year, and that this is in addition to the other editorial duties of Mr. Haldeman-Julius. It is essential that the system be both simple and practical. Ten years’ experience has shown the present method to be both, and to work out satisfactorily for everyone.

When your manuscript is finished, go over it carefully for typographical errors. You should endeavor, so far as you can, to deliver your manuscript ready—not only for the editor—but for the typesetters (see section following for further details). If suitable, your manuscript will be formally accepted within three days after its receipt in Girard, and a check in full payment will be mailed to you. Acceptances and checks often go out on the same day a manuscript is received. Then your manuscript goes to the typesetters at once. If you wish to read proof on it yourself, you should so request after you have received notice of acceptance.

Always send manuscripts by first class mail (two cents an ounce), sealed. If you are submitting your first manuscript, always enclose postage for its return to you in case it is not satisfactory.

Your next question may well be: “How am I to get ideas for Little Blue Books?” That is your problem, however, and you will have to solve it. In a later section I have listed some of the subjects or groups of subjects which might be acceptable during the next year or two. But to be assigned any of these subjects a writer must thoroughly qualify and convince the editor that he has the necessary knowledge and experience to handle them well.

Of course, ideas for new Little Blue Books continually mature in Girard. But these ideas are given, as a matter of course, to experienced Little Blue Book writers. There are ten writers, at least, who are always ready to prepare a needed manuscript, and these ten writers have proved that, in their fields, they can do satisfactory work of a high standard. For this reason, assignments are not given to new writers unless the new writers have good ideas of their own.

Some would-be writers may feel doubtful about submitting their ideas, lest they be “stolen” and given to someone else. The only guarantee against this is the established integrity of the Haldeman-Julius Publications in dealing with scores of authors during the past decade. Every writer must run this risk, even if he submits a completed manuscript. Possibly someone else may have the same idea—that sometimes happens. The earlier bird, naturally, gets the assignment. It is apparent that conflicts of this kind do happen occasionally, and they simply have to be forgotten.

If you have no ideas, no matter how good a writer you are, you may as well sell your typewriter and become a soda clerk or elevator boy. The writer without ideas does not remain a writer long, no matter what sort of work he is supposed to be doing.

MANUSCRIPT SPECIFICATIONS

Little Blue Books have certain very definite mechanical requirements. It is extremely important that Little Blue Book writers conform absolutely to these requirements. If you wish to deliver satisfactory Little Blue Book manuscripts, it will be a good idea for you to read this section carefully and memorize the specifications that apply to you.

Little Blue Books are now added to the series in two lengths only—32 pages or 64 pages (that is, in the completed book). This is counting every page from title page to last page (covers excepted). Little Blue Books are set in eight-point type, solid (which is to say, eight-point type cast on an eight-point slug), in lines 16 ems wide, 35 lines to the page. (Notice the manner in which this Little Blue Book is set.) Quotations (excerpts from other books, quoted letters, etc.) are set off from the main text by a slight space (leads) top and bottom, and set in seven-point type. Such quoted matter should be either single-spaced or indented about 1½ inches in manuscript. It should not be enclosed in quotation marks. (Note the quoted matter on page 12 of this book).

A 32-page Little Blue Book contains—when set as above—about 7,500 words; a 64-page book contains twice as many, or 15,000 words. You should indicate which length your idea is likely to require when you submit suggestions.

How to judge the length of your manuscript: It is unnecessary to count the actual number of words in your manuscript. If your typewriter has pica type (look up your bill of sale, or ask your typewriter salesman, if you do not know), 23 to 25 pages of manuscript, 8½ × 11-inch sheets, typed on one side of the paper only, double-spaced, with not over ½-inch margin at left and right, or ¾-inch space top and bottom, will make a 32-page Little Blue Book. From 50 to 55 pages of such manuscript are required for a 64-page Little Blue Book. If your typewriter has elite type, a 32-page book will require about 17 pages typed as above; a 64-page book will require about 36 pages.

Always type on one side of the paper only. Always double space any typewritten manuscript. Always submit the original (not the carbon copy) to the editor. Keep the carbon copy for your own files—and, by the way, it is wise always to keep a carbon copy. No editorial office assumes responsibility for any unaccepted manuscript beyond the usual reasonable care. Manuscripts also may be lost in the mails, and the slight labor of keeping carbon copies even over a period of years may some day repay your effort if a valuable manuscript is somehow lost. Number the pages of your manuscript.

You may, if you like, divide your manuscript into chapters or sections, or both. Such divisions are advisable in any technical manuscript. If such chapters are titled (and it is a good idea to give them titles), be sure to include with your manuscript a Table of Contents, leaving space for the printer to write in the page numbers when the type is divided into pages.

Be sure you distinguish the Table of Contents from the Index. The Table of Contents is arranged in the order of the pages—that is, the chapters, stories, or whatever the book contains, are listed in the order they appear in the book, with the number of the page on which each such chapter or section begins. An Index is an alphabetical guide to the contents of the book. In the Index subjects are listed alphabetically, as in a dictionary, and the page numbers (added after the book is set in type and paged) are put in to correspond. An Index is necessary only in a book dealing with various phases of some subject where frequent reference, for ready information, is likely to be made by the reader. (See Little Blue Books Nos. 815 and 816 for examples of indices).

In typing your manuscript indent the first line of every new paragraph three spaces on the typewriter. No other marking is necessary. Words you wish italicized should be underlined once. Words to be printed in small capitals (seldom used), should be underlined twice and marked “s. c.” Words to be printed in bold-face (seldom used), should be underlined (sometimes a wavy line is used) and marked “b. f.”

A minor point in typing manuscript—but nevertheless an important one—is to make clear the difference between a hyphen and a dash. The hyphen on the typewriter is adequate to signify a hyphen in manuscript, and the printer will set it accordingly. But a dash, which is much longer than a hyphen in type, is not provided for on the typewriter keyboard. The best way is to use two or perhaps three hyphens together, thus ‑‑‑. When so typed, these three hyphens will be set as one long line or dash. (As a matter of fact, special instruction to the printer is necessary in this manuscript to be sure he sets those three hyphens as hyphens instead of a dash!)

Inexperienced writers make oftentimes funny mistakes in preparing manuscripts. I remember one writer who persisted in dividing words at the end of the line and placing the hyphen (indicating division, or a broken word) at the beginning of the remaining part of the word on the line below! Of course, the printer set the manuscript all right, but the habit was annoying.

Please use 8½ × 11-inch manuscript paper, white, not too thin or too thick. White bond paper between 16 and 24 pound stock—as the stationer would say—is ideal. Do not use manila paper, or any color other than white. The color of your typewriter ribbon does not matter, but in typing manuscript use one color only—it is confusing to mix red and black, or red and blue, in a manuscript.

Again the inexperienced author, trying to attract attention by being “different,” errs in preparing his manuscript. One Little Blue Book author succeeded in delivering every one of several books typed on heavy foolscap, with deckled edges! Fortunately, it was not perfumed. Another writer—this time an unsuccessful one—sent in a manuscript on sepia brown paper, beautifully typed in dark brown ribbon to match. Such idiosyncrasies are inexpressibly annoying to both editors and printers. Avoid them.

A Word About Special Sizes of Type: Any necessary type or character can be used in setting up a Little Blue Book if it is essential. The books are standardized, as I have already said, being set throughout in 8-point type, with quoted matter (when it exceeds more than a sentence or two in length) set off from the rest of the text by being set in 7-point. Larger type is used for the headings (10-point caps—capital letters—as a rule). Boldface type, italics, small capitals, etc., can all be used in technical books if desired. Too many kinds of type in one book are in rather bad taste, so it is well to keep the typography simple and neat.

The Little Blue Book dictionaries are usually set in 5½-point type, two columns to the page. (Examine Little Blue Books Nos. 192, 696, 697, 637, 1011, 1105, etc.). The lines are therefore set 7½ ems wide; with one-em space between the columns; this makes the page the usual 16 ems in width. An em, by the way, is a printer’s unit of measure. There are six ems—sometimes called pica ems for greater precision, since, strictly speaking, an em may refer to any size type—to the inch. A pica em is the width of a capital letter M (square) in 12-point type. Incidentally, there are 72 points to the inch.

Preparation of Illustrations: In technical books illustrations are sometimes necessary. We expect an author to prepare and submit his own illustrations with his manuscript. If a technical title is assigned, it is given to someone who can send illustrations if they are necessary. Halftones (reproductions of photographs) should be avoided. In fact, it is so difficult to print halftones on the paper used for Little Blue Books, so they will show up well, that we are not using them at present.

Illustrations should be outline drawings or diagrams in black ink. These illustrations may be much larger than they are to appear in the book, if it is any easier to prepare them that way. They will be reduced to the proper size when they are made into line cuts (zinc etchings).

If illustrations are sent with a manuscript, be sure to indicate in the manuscript where, in the text, each illustration should appear, so that in making up the book the printers can place the cuts properly. Also, be sure to allow for the space the cuts will occupy in the finished book, and reduce the word-count of your manuscript accordingly. It is impossible for any Little Blue Book to be other than 32 or 64 pages in length. You must make your work fit into one or the other of these—whichever is specified at the time you receive the assignment. Also, you must not let your work fall much short of these lengths, for it is just as bad to have a manuscript fill 50 pages of a 64-page book as it is for it to run over to 40 pages of a 32-page book. It just can’t be done.

Do not hope to have an extra long manuscript converted into a two-volume Little Blue Book edition. This experiment has been tried and it is not feasible. Each title must be complete in itself, and run to either 32 or 64 pages.

RULES FOR STYLE

Consistency is a highly desirable virtue in setting anything in type. So far as possible we try to have all the Little Blue Books conform to one typographical style—but the colossal number of 1,400—soon, 1,500—different titles has made for a certain inconsistency that could not be avoided.

By consistency here, I mean spelling the same word the same way throughout the manuscript; if possible, throughout the entire series of Little Blue Books. I mean a consistent policy of capitalization, hyphenating, punctuation, and so on.

Use care in preparing your manuscript. Spell your words correctly. Do not blunder ahead in the notion that the editor or the proofreaders will be glad to correct your misspelled words, dress up your awkward sentences, and put in your missing commas. Train yourself to spell correctly, to write clearly and smoothly, to punctuate for the easy reading of your work. Such training can do nothing except speed your success as a writer. To ignore these matters may handicap your manuscript; better craftsmen than you will get work to do that might have been yours had you been more conscientious.

The standard of spelling and hyphenating in the Little Blue Books is Webster’s New International Dictionary. In general, words like theater, center, reconnoiter, and the like, are spelled with a final -er (instead of -re). Words like honor, color, valor, etc., are spelled with a final -or (instead of -our). Wherever two spellings are permissible (as recorded in the dictionary), the spelling given first (as preferable) by Webster’s New International is the one to be used. Words like traveler, traveling, and traveled are spelled with a single l, etc.; the rule here is that if a word (like travel) ends in a single consonant following a vowel, derivative forms do not double the consonant unless the syllable containing that consonant is accented. Thus, when traveling is formed from travel, the consonant l is not doubled because that syllable is not accented (the accent falls on trav-). But when occurring is formed from occur, the consonant r is doubled because the accent falls on -cur. So also in the other derivatives: occurred, occurrence, etc.

As to capitalization, aside from the usual rules for the first word in every sentence, etc., all proper names are of course capitalized. The names of the seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) are spelled with a small letter. In place names such as Grand Avenue, Brown Street, Mississippi River, etc., the common noun is capitalized as an integral part of the place name (not Grand avenue, Brown street, Mississippi river, etc.). The word Negro is always capitalized in all Haldeman-Julius Publications. As a rule, atheist, agnostic, freethought, and similar words, are not capitalized.

In hyphenating words (compound words) follow Webster’s New International Dictionary with this exception: divisions of time such as today, tomorrow, and tonight are spelled without a hyphen.

In punctuation considerable latitude is allowed. The general rule is one of common sense—punctuate according to the sense of your writing, to make it easy for the reader to grasp your meaning, and to avoid any possible ambiguity. Never use more than one exclamation mark or interrogation point after a single sentence. Put periods and commas always inside of quotation marks; colons and semicolons always outside of quotation marks. Put exclamation or interrogation marks inside of the quotation marks if they belong with the quotation, but outside if they do not belong with the quotation. For example, “Shoot him!” The exclamation is inside the quotation marks because it belong with the quoted words. But, “The word he used was ‘ain’t’!” Here the exclamation belongs with the entire sentence (not with the word ain’t alone), so it is placed outside.

Accent marks are kept over letters in words from foreign languages—as the acute, grave, and circumflex accents in French words. These should be indicated in your manuscript. You can write them in with ink, since the characters are not on most typewriters.

In general, the principles set forth in Little Blue Books of grammar, punctuation, and spelling (Little Blue Books Nos. 681, 682, 683), are fairly safe guides for Little Blue Book manuscript style. If the prospective Little Blue Book writer follows these books rather closely, he will never go far astray.

It is seen that the matter of style in Haldeman-Julius Publications is not at all extreme or individual. The standard is fairly universal, and though it may differ in minor points, the writer cannot make any great mistake in accustoming himself to these fundamental rules for spelling, punctuation, and so on.

One Last Important Word: Always be sure that your name and address are clearly typed in the upper left-hand corner of the first page of your manuscript. Do not forget your name and address. This is vitally important.

ABRIDGING AND EDITING

Abridgments of the classics, or of any work which has appeared in print somewhere or other, are at present not much desired for the Little Blue Books. Realizing, however, that the editorial policy may again find it expedient to include material of this kind, I am putting in here a brief chapter on this phase of writing or editing for the Little Blue Book series.

To cut down a work from 100,000 words to 15,000 words is an art. It takes a certain knack, if I may put it that way. You must have an instinct (as it were, though the word is hardly apt in its strict sense) for what is essential in the work you are reducing. If it is a story, you must have a sense of the dramatic; you must know also what it is in the original that makes it worthwhile—if it is a classic, you must have some notion of why it is that generations of readers have kept the story alive.

Editions of the classics for the Little Blue Books have been of two kinds. The more ordinary form is an abridgment, where the original work is too long to fit into a 64-page Little Blue Book, (Plays of Shakespeare, Ibsen, and some other works are exceptions; these are published complete, though they may run to as many as 128 pages.) An abridgment means a cutting down by omitting certain parts. Only the more famous passages may be retained; or possibly only the more interesting portions. If the original is a connected whole, then connecting paragraphs must be inserted in the abridgment to carry on the thread of the work. For example, see Sir Walter Scott’s Lady of the Lake (Little Blue Book No. 616) or Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (Little Blue Book No. 559). In these books much of the original is kept verbatim, the omitted portions being replaced by short summarizing sentences.

The other way in which a classic may be edited for a Little Blue Book is to write a wholly new and condensed version, in your own words, so to speak, making it conform to the required length of 15,000 words. This was done with Balzac’s Splendors and Miseries of a Courtezan (Little Blue Book No. 1067) and also with the fairy tales of Charles Perrault (Little Blue Book No. 836). Occasionally, when a philosopher is treated in this way, the gist or substance of the man’s work is edited for a Little Blue Book.

Footnotes.—In any edition of a classic, explanatory notes are certain to be desirable. It is part of the work of editing a classic, or any reprinted work, to insert explanatory notes if they are necessary. Every Little Blue Book must be prepared with the idea in mind that it may be read by people who have not had the advantages of either a high school or a university education. These people are eager to read classics, but they expect the works to be made intelligible to them, for they have no teacher or professor whom they can ask whenever anything puzzles them.

Footnotes may also be useful in originally written works, especially books which deal with technical subjects. Wherever they may be found advisable, the general remarks set down here about how to insert them in manuscript will always apply.

Do not use the asterisk, dagger, and other typographical marks sometimes employed to refer to footnotes. These are inconvenient to insert in a typewritten manuscript, and their use makes for greater complexity in paging the books. Little Blue Book typography must be kept simple—after all, you must constantly remember that the book is to be sold for five cents.

Use what are called superior numbers[3] to refer to footnotes (unless you have perhaps only two or three footnotes throughout your entire work, when simply an asterisk is sufficient). Note the manner in which the superior (raised above the line) number is used to refer to the footnote at the bottom of this page (the superior number, 3, is placed after the words superior number, a few lines above, thus indicating that an explanatory note may be found at the bottom of the page).

[3] Start with No. 1, and number your notes consecutively through your manuscript. Examine the footnotes in the Lady of the Lake (Little Blue Book No. 616).

In typing your manuscript, when you come to a place where a footnote-reference must be inserted, turn your platen slightly downward so that you can strike the proper number a little above the line right after the word or words to which the footnote refers. Then, when next you double space, insert your footnote. Place the corresponding number at the beginning of the footnote. It is not necessary to place footnotes in manuscript at the bottom of the typewritten page. Insert the footnote while you have it in mind (otherwise you might omit it), and also while you have plenty of room in which to type it. Then draw a line (in pencil, or on the typewriter, as you prefer) clear across the page both above and below the footnote, separating it from the rest of the text. This will enable both typesetter and printer to recognize the inserted matter as a footnote, and it will be handled accordingly.

Forewords and Introductions.—If you ever edit or abridge any work for the Little Blue Books, it will be useful to future readers if you add an explanatory foreword or introduction to the work. In this introduction you should give a brief biography of the author, if the work is a classic; you should also explain why the work is a classic, why it is perpetuated in the world’s literature. You might quote some critical opinions from outstanding commentators on literature.

In the larger clothbound books it is customary to place the foreword or introduction before the Table of Contents. The order of precedence in large books is usually thus: Title Page, Foreword or Introduction, Table of Contents, List of Illustrations, Body of the Work, Appendix or Appendices (if any), Bibliography (if any), Index.

However, the Little Blue Books are of such a size that this order makes for a certain strangeness. We have therefore always made the order in Little Blue Books thus: Title Page, Table of Contents, Body of Work preceded by Foreword or Introduction (if any), Bibliography (if any), Index. An appendix is rather out of place in a work so short as a Little Blue Book. If inserted, it may be placed before the Index or before the Bibliography.

Incidentally, the Bibliography is a list of works used for reference (as sources of information) during the preparation of the manuscript. These credits are better given, in a Little Blue Book, within the text itself wherever credit is due, or possibly by suitable footnotes. There may also be a bibliography of books to read along the same lines or in the same field, as in Joseph McCabe’s volumes of The Key to Culture.

POSSIBLE SUBJECTS

I promised, earlier in this book, to insert some suggestions about possible subjects for future Little Blue Books. I add here a paragraph or two in which I shall state briefly some of the gaps existing in the series when I write this book (January, 1929). These gaps may, of course, be filled before you happen to secure and read my informal instructions and advice. The proper procedure is for you to write for an assignment, outlining your ability and experience; if you get the assignment, good luck to you!

The sports titles in the Little Blue Books are sparse. At the moment, baseball, golf, swimming, and hiking or camping are the only “sports” covered. Tennis, I believe, will be taken care of shortly. But there is room for someone who knows sports to handle football, basketball, winter sports, outdoor games, gymnasium stunts, calisthenics, boxing, racing (of various kinds), track, angling, etc. Mind you—write to the Editor first, before you begin work! Even then, you must deliver a satisfactory manuscript after a subject is assigned to you, or it will not be accepted.

Many commercial subjects are possibilities. There are stenography, bookkeeping, accountancy, office management, and so on. Possibly a book explaining taxes, or telling how to figure your own income tax, might be acceptable. If you are an accountant and know how to write, there are some chances here for you!

All sorts of how to do books are in demand. Plumbing, electricity, repairing automobiles or radios, engineering, aviation, carpentry, metallurgy, and so on—the field is vast. But you must both know your subject and know how to write understandably—slipshod methods are not tolerated in Girard.

We have How to Play the Piano. Simple lesson books for other musical instruments: the drums, the saxophone, the cornet, the trombone, etc., might all prove acceptable.

Travel books are a new field, just now being tried. If the first experimental titles go well, there might be more in demand.

Topics of the hour are often pretty good bets. For example, such topics as the following have already been covered: Companionate marriage, prohibition, capital punishment, petting parties, the younger generation, etc. A new topic may leap into prominence any day.

Hobbies are an untouched field as yet. Some riders of hobbies who can pound out well-phrased sentences on a typewriter should write to E. Haldeman-Julius. I think something might come of it one of these days.

You may have other ideas. Perhaps they are good ideas. Write to the Editor about them. If he takes a fancy to one of your suggestions, you will be sure to hear from him!

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

Page 11: typo in “vocabulary” corrected.

Page 18: originally incomplete word “leaving” in “leaving space for the printer ...” has been restored.

Page 24: one occurrence of “Brown Street” has been corrected to “Brown street” in line with the context.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO WRITE LITTLE BLUE BOOKS ***

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Table of Contents

- How to Write Little Blue Books
- SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES
- HOW TO RECEIVE AN ASSIGNMENT
- MANUSCRIPT SPECIFICATIONS
- RULES FOR STYLE
- ABRIDGING AND EDITING
- POSSIBLE SUBJECTS
- TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE