I don’t know whether you should advise Doubleday or not. I like [Walter] Bradbury but I do not like the screwy “Science
Fiction Book Club” aspect of their contract; they sold a lot of copies of my books with them and I got very little out of it — I do not regard two and a half cents per copy as a good royalty on a hardcover edition put close on the heels of the trade book. Since Bradbury turned down the travel book, we are no longer under option to Doubleday; perhaps this would be a good time to look into the Ballantine deal if it is still being offered.
In any case, I have an adult novel available for book and serial.
April 21, 1955: Lurton Blassingame to Robert A. Heinlein
Congratulations on a good novel. Enjoyed all of Double Star; wished it longer. No slow spots.
June 3, 1955: Lurton Blassingame to Robert A. Heinlein
The Post thought your novel was excellent and the only reason they did not buy it as a serial was that they do not want to devote that much space to science fiction. Campbell is buying it, to run in February, March, and April issues. Doubleday to bring it out in March.
GLORY ROAD
May 9, 1962: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
I have not written for some time because I have been writing that new novel, now completed: Glory Road, 409 ms. pages, about 105,000 words. I am now revising it for my typist and will cut it a little but not much. You will have it not sooner than two months from now as my typist does my work as “moonlighting,” as she has a daytime job. This is an adult market story with enough sex in it to give heart failure to those who complained about Stranger. It is fantasy verging on SF.
June 6, 1962: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
…We intend to stay quietly at home all summer and I expect to spend the time hauling rocks and weeding and such. I do not expect to write until fall-after all, two novels in one year by the 1st of May is considerable copy, and I find I am tired and uninspired after finishing Glory Road.
August 6, 1962: Lurton Blassingame to Robert A. Heinlein
Glory Road is a departure, even for you. It is more fantasy than science fiction. It is an excellent adventure story, seasoned with sage thoughts, spiced with interesting sex. There were a number of spots where I wanted to stop reading and find an audience to share your ideas with. I do hope this will have a real success. I find it delightful.
September 30, 1962: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
…I am not interested in his offer. Not the amount of the fee-a ms. is worth what you can get for it…sometimes zero. Nor do I object too much to the labor of cutting. What I do object to is that he wants me simply to chop off the last hundred pages.
If I do this, what is left is merely a sexed up fairy story, with no meaning and no explanations. I do not want this story published in such an amputated form. About thirty pages of that last hundred is indeed rather preachy, rather slow, and (if I were to cut) I would sweat that stretch down as much as possible-i.e., from the hero’s arrival on the planet Center until his decision to leave-but I am quite unwilling simply to chop the story off at the point where they capture the Egg of the Phoenix. It leaves the story without meaning.
December 7, 1962: Lurton Blassingame to Robert A. Heinlein
Putnam likes Glory Road. There should be a little tightening in it, and “a few not very serious” suggestions for changes. Will mark ms. and send with detailed letter.
FARNHAM’S FREEHOLD
March 9, 1963: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
The new novel ([Farnham’s Freehold] working title: Grand Slam) I did in 25 intense days, 503 pages. Ginny seems to like it better than Glory Road, says it moves fast and can’t be cut much. However, I intend to cut it a lot and get it to my typist about the end of this month. I haven’t read it yet, but enjoyed it as I wrote.