Edward Stratemeyer was a publishing genius. Born in Elizabeth, NJ, he began writing juvenile fiction shortly after he graduated from high school. He wrote using many pseudonyms. He began The Stratemeyer Literary Syndicate in 1905. His greatest desire was to be a 'paperback writer' not unlike Horatio Alger.
Stratemeyer's acumen for business helped him find a niche market, children's books. But, not like any children's books before. He began a series of books called The Rover Boys He produced several books in this series at once (called breeders). These books would be written under a pseudonym. Why' Stratemeyer knew that he would die one day, but other writers using the same pseudonym could continue the series and live on. So we have names like Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon.
Another genius move was that he made the books look like books that adults read. He bound the books and used the same typeface as books for adult readers. These books would not be long and tedious and chapters would end with a kinda cliff hanger (not unlike each segment of the TV drama Alias does today). With these innovations The Rover Boys was an overwhelming success.
What next' Of course, other series came along like The Bobbsey Twins which appeared in 1904 and Tom Swift in 1910; The Hardy Boys in 1927 and Nancy Drew in 1930. The latter two series survive till this day. Stratemeyer died in 1930. He left his publishing business to his two daughters of which one took up the business and began more series after the model of her father.
