Read Online Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind by Ellen F. Brown, Jr. John Wiley - Free Book Online Page A

countries by having their books published simultaneously in their home nation and a Berne nation, such as Canada. Macmillan was fortunate to have the Canadian affiliate to facilitate the process, often referred to as “backdoor” Berne coverage.
    With the conference looming, time was of the essence for Latham. Assisting him in making the presentation about Mitchell’s book would be Alec Blanton, Macmillan’s sales manager. In contrast to Latham’s old-school demeanor, Blanton was a charismatic businessman full of big ideas. 47 The two were a dynamic duo of the New York publishing world, credited with many of Macmillan’s successes. As one industry executive put it, between Latham’s sense for picking winners and Blanton’s skill at selling, there was not a publishing house in the United States to compare with Macmillan. 48
    Making a successful pitch at a sales conference depends on many variables. If the staff has already read and approved a manuscript, or when the author is well known, it can be a simple process. Presenting a new writer demands more effort, especially in a case like Mitchell’s where none of the sales team had yet read the manuscript. Armed with little more than a title, a plot summary, and a few chapters, Latham and Blanton had their work cut out for them. Yet, according to Eayrs, they gave a masterful performance. The two men demonstrated wild enthusiasm for Mitchell, and their excitement spread through the assembled crowd. The Macmillan sales team was thoroughly impressed and convinced that Macmillan had never experienced such a book as Gone With the Wind . Everyone in the room sensed that the publisher was on to something special. On the spot, Eayrs requested the right to publish a Canadian edition. 49
    Evidence of the sales team’s approval can be found in Macmillan’s decision to order an initial print run of ten thousand copies, a generous number given that a typical book of the era sold only five thousand copies in its lifetime. Blanton’s enamored staff also decided to send five hundred autographed copies to major booksellers with hopes of grabbing their attention. 50 Equally impressive, Mitchell earned a spot on the inside front cover of Macmillan’s preliminary list of upcoming spring releases. A testament to how rushed things were, the book was listed as Come With the Wind ; a handwritten note on Mitchell’s copy assured her the title would be corrected in the final catalog. Inside, the novel was given a full-page description, with a small photograph of the author and this bold declaration: “The stirring drama of the Civil War and Reconstruction is brought vividly to life in this really magnificent novel.” Rhett and the newly christened Scarlett were off to a good start.

    The beleaguered team in Atlanta worked through the holidays, most evenings past midnight. 51 While Mitchell and Marsh continued revising the narrative and smoothing out the rough edges, the secretaries retyped the corrected pages. The work ground to a halt on Christmas Day, when Stephens Mitchell’s father-in-law died of a heart attack at the Mitchell home on Peachtree Street. The author tended to familial responsibilities while trying to keep work moving on the manuscript. Finally, on January 7, 1936, Baugh forwarded three-quarters of the completed pages to Macmillan. 52 Upon receiving them, Cole wrote to Atlanta and pushed for an expected arrival date for the rest of the sections. 53 In response, Baugh sent another batch of pages on January 16, promising that the rest would follow as soon as possible. 54
    Two days later, George Brett happened to be in Atlanta on business. Despite Gone With the Wind being Macmillan’s next big thing, Brett was not carried away quite yet. According to Baugh, when he dropped by the Macmillan office for a brief visit, he did not say a word about Mitchell’s book and “acted like he didn’t know anything about it