Publisher Frank Munsey increased the circulation of his popular-taste magazines by selling them for less than their production costs, as little as five or ten cents a copy, making his profits from increased advertising rates. In so doing, he tapped an even larger market of readers that had largely

been ignored. 

Low-priced magazines changed the focus of publishers. Originally, their primary attention had been on editorial copy. With substantial advertising support coming in, the focus did not shift so much as it widened to include specific consumer groups. Profit in the face of rising production costs came

from high volume, especially among readers who fit a certain profile appealing to advertisers.

There were even instances in the twentieth century where a magazine purged its circulation list of older subscribers because it was assumed they spent less on what was advertised. The pleasure of reading some magazines was to be rationed. 

How curious it was that this medium that, of all media, best defined the meaning of communication choice, denied choice to anyone.

In the eighteenth century, a new literary form emerged in England and spread to Europe and the United States. The novel, a product of middle-class sensibilities and morality, put fictional characters through a complex of events within a recognizable social setting. The key element in an English novel was the gain or loss of social status, a topic that preyed on the minds of the middle class readers. From its beginnings until the twentieth century, the novel was typically dominated

by class consciousness. Themes that raised social problems or personal foibles resonated with readers. 

Popular fiction writers like Charles Dickens serialized their novels in weekly newspapers

and magazines before they appeared between hard covers. To keep the readers

buying magazines, writers ended chapters on a note of suspense. At home, families read

these serialized novels aloud as a form of entertainment.

Along the way came the discovery of a public appetite for novels that were easy to read, did not tax the brain, and were filled with action, adventure, and romance. Characters, absolutely evil or purely good, were similar from book to book. Outcomes were predictable. The very predictability of the

stories was one of their most desired features.

Purists may sniff at what they term trash, but it certainly sells.

Continuous web papermaking machines and large cylinder presses plus lower quality paper allowed weekly newspapers in the 1840s to print novels cheaply, first by serializing them and then by printing entire novels in newspaper format. The printing technology and new binding methods, with cloth

covers in place of leather, also reduced the prices of hard-cover books. These changes put

books into the hands of people who otherwise could not afford them.

In 1875, the dime novel was born in a Chicago publishing house, Donnelley, Lloyd & Co.

Other publishers quickly followed. Printed on rough paper with a brightly illustrated cover,

dime novels were soonbeing turned out at the rate of one a day, and obviously were snapped

up just as fast. Longer novels sold for 15 to 20 cents, but plenty were available for 10 cents.

The novels were issued with the imprint of a series or library just like the paperback westerns,

detective stories, and romance novels of today, which are direct descendants of the dime novel.

As usual, technologies changed. Tastes did not.