Eiichi Yaminishi, February 19, 1964

NORMAN MAILER’s Letters

142 Columbia Heights

Brooklyn 1, New York

February 19, 1964

Dear Eiichi,

Again just a note. I’ve just finished the fifth installment and now must go through all the mail of the last month, so there’s not time to write properly to anyone.

I made an arrangement for you to get tear sheets (that is to say, pages cut from the magazine before it appears each month) when they are ready. Thus in another three weeks you should get the fourth installment and in seven weeks, the fifth installment, which I’ve just finished. In other words you will be receiving each installment of the novel seven to eight weeks after I’ve finished it. If you think this is too slow and you would rather have galleys, we can shorten the time to about four weeks, or indeed if speed is altogether essential I can make arrangements to have a typewritten copy of each installment sent to you a week or ten days after I finish it. However, this last may be hard on your eyesight, for the first typewritten copies which are easier to read have to go of necessity to the hard-cover publisher and the paperback publisher here, and as you know, a third or fourth carbon is no joy to work with. At any rate, dear Eiichi, let me know what is most comfortable for you.

As for a copy of previous novel contracts of my novels, let Anne Barry know if you’ve not received them, and she will get in touch with Mr. Rembar and ask him to send it to you.

I was pleased you liked the first three installments so much. The fourth and fifth gave me great difficulty but I think that they have not, so to speak, “lost” the book. I still have the chance to make this a good novel and as I approach the last three installments the problem becomes exciting, almost as if one were in a race.

Outside of that, no news. Isn’t it true that when one is working hard there is never any news, just work. Please say hello to your children and to your dear wife, and ask Toshio and Michio to accept my best wishes for their entrance examinations.

Warmly,

Norman

P.S. Your letter of February 10 just arrived and I was wondering if it is worth the difficulty to have the book appear in serial especially if they plan to print it in five installments rather than in eight, because the novel is being constructed on the form of eight separate chapters. Again I leave it to you to do whatever you consider most wise, but I thought it would make it easier for you to play your hand if you know that I have no particular insistence it be printed as a serial in Japan.