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HARPER & ROW, PUBLISHERS INCORPORATED
1817 49 EAST 33D ST., NEW YORK, N.Y. 10016
September 20th, 1968
Dear Mr. Bond,
I know a little about your book-writing troubles from Marshall Frady. (As a matter of fact, I myself owe a publisher a book, and that publisher wants his money too.)
So, don't sweat this letter. I'm not trying to rush you into another contract.
It's principally that the editors of the House of Harper - the publishers of John and Robert Keneddy and Martin Luther Kind and Kenneth Clark -- were very much impressed by you in Chicago. They feel that you are now, and will be even more so, the kind of person this House wants to support by publishing him well, and the kind of person who would distinguish our list.
I hope you won't be turned off by your recent book experience. Don't let it obscure the fact that you can -- with the proper help -- and must write books. The right book will move you into another category of regard, will facilitate your endeavors. I would add that it's very important to be published by the right house. The one thing I can say about Harper is that it is the firm when it comes to public-affairs publishing. When this firm publishes a political figure, his book is not ignored.
I am in my job because I am a specialist at helping bright but busy people produce their books. A person with a schedule like yours cannot be expected to just zip off a book; you need special assistance, sensitive assistance. The very first thing to do is to make sure you're writing the right book. If the subject isn't right, writing a book is impossible.
We can talk about this in due course. Let me say -- confidentially -- that it's a possibility that this company could buy your contract from the other publisher, thereby taking you off the hook. In any case, I want to meet you and get to know you a little, the better to follow you closely, the better to serve you when the time comes.
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Mr. Julian Bond - 2 - September 20th, 1968
Maybe you would have your Mrs. Baldwin phone me just before your next trip to New York, so that we could meet and perhaps have lunch.
I'm thinking about attending the convention of the New Democratic Coalition in Menneapolis -- I could see you there. Would you have Mrs. Baldwin phone me collect and tell me whom I should see about getting myself accredited, or whatever? Who's handling the arrangements?
I'm sending you two things. The first, enclosed, is a piece I wrote about RFK when I was National Affairs Editor of the Saturday Evening Post. (I edited Marshall Frady's piece about you.) The second, coming by separate cover, is a copy of Gilbert Osofsky's THE BURDEN OF RACE; if you haven't read it, you should; Harper is very proud of it.
We'd like to be proud of you, too, and I hope you'll help me work toward that end.
Best, [signature] Thomas B. Congdon, Jr. Editor
The Honorable julian Bond 405 State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia 30334
TBC/m
P.S. Marshall said you needed quick cash, and so I took the liberty of mentioning you to Tom Hyman, editor of the Saturday Evening Post's "Speaking Out" section. They pay $2,000 for 2,000 words, which is very good money, and Speaking Outs are usually very easy to write, once you find the right topic. You should be hearing from Hyman shortly.