July 4. Statistics show that we lose more fools on this day than in all
the other days of the year put together. This proves, by the number left
in stock, that one fourth of July per year is now inadequate, the
country has grown so.
-- Mark Twain, from Pudd'nhead Wilson
The following was taken from a guide for aspiring writers.
"New writers usually cannot convince large, prestigious publishers that their work is marketable, so they must first publish with smaller, less well-known presses to establish a sales record....