51.   One publisher said it was too depressing.

52.   One publisher said that everyone was afraid of Hannibal Lecter, a genre unto himself, who is loose again atop the best-seller lists.

53.   Other publishers said only upfront payments up to half the total were discussed.

54.   On-line distribution, the CD-ROM publishers say, is fine as an experiment but not yet as a stand-alone business.

55.   Publishers said the mechanism, known as the Net Book Agreement, was effectively dead.

56.   Publishers say that agents often take books to Hollywood when the manuscript itself is not as strong as the story idea.

57.   Publishers say that owning hundreds of journals enables them to serve scholars better because the publishers have the financial resources to invest in digital technology.

58.   Publishers said that in an open bidding process Clinton might have secured an even larger sum.

59.   Publishers say that book prices have risen only about as fast as inflation over the last decade, and that their profit margins have not improved.

60.   Publishers say that paying authors each time their work is retrieved via computer is a bureaucratic nightmare.