Dennis Wheatley writing on 3rd December 1934 to autograph collector and hotelier Eileen Cond about the serialisation of ‘The Devil Rides Out’ in the Daily Mail:

About “The Devil Rides Out” it is nice of you to be worried on my account, that its serialisation might spoil the sales of the book, but experienced people tell me that this is not so.

Very few people who buy books ever read a serial in a newspaper, and that applies also to the many thousands who belong to the libraries. They read the news and gossip in the papers, and occasionally a short story perhaps, but when it comes to fiction they are not content to take it in in small daily doses, but prefer to sit down to the full story in book form.

Moreover, the comparatively few readers who bother to follow a story in the newspaper, because it is by one of their favourite authors, and therefore do not either buy or borrow the book from their libraries is more than made up for by those who have never heard of the author at all, but read a few instalments of his story, become interested in it, and therefore make up their minds to read the book when it comes out.

Incidentally, although most people outside writing circles do not realise it, being serialised in the “Mail” is considered a definite achievement. They only do about two novels a year in that way and to be selected among all the thousands that appear is a considerable feather in one’s hat. Moreover they pay several hundred guineas, and after they have used it the entire rights revert to the author so it is a very sound commercial proposition.

I hope you are not reading the Daily Mail version as they are cutting the story to such an extent that at times they are even eliminating whole chapters. The book contains 130,000 words and they will not print more than 80,000 altogether. A great deal of interesting matter on the occult and all the plausibility has been pushed out in order that they can close the story up and try and give their readers a thrill every day. If you read it in book form when it comes out on January 4th, you will find it a far better story.