Pondering this question for a while now but never had the courage to ask a bookseller -
would anyone know why books are released first as 'hardcovers,' then a year or so later on 'paperback?' And then remain on paperback? Because I have noticed after the paperback is released, the hardcover then goes obsolete.
I personally prefer hardcover and only buy paperback when I don't have a choice. I'm curious as to why the two versions. Anyone know?
Think of it like movies- they go into the movie theaters first to maximize profits, then gets a boost when the dvd comes out.
It's dual purpose really. Hardcovers are much more profitable ($25 dollars vs $9.99 for paperback). It’s to a publisher’s advantage to sell as many as possible. So the hardcover is released, and everyone willing to spend that much money to read the book will do so, because it allows them to read the book sooner than everyone else.
That first group of readers then serves as marketing buzz. People review the book, they talk about it, they get a lot of people really excited about reading it. By the time the paperback comes out there is a readership waiting for it, which not only makes for good sales, but concentrates initial paperback sales into a short period of time, which maximizes the odds of getting onto bestseller lists.
Hardcovers are more expensive to produce, so the profit margin is lowered somewhat from what you may think. They also cost more to ship, and take up much storage space (both on the publisher's end as well as for the retailers), hence them being phased out for most titles once the paperback is released.
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joined:4/12/18
joined:
4/12/18
Posted: 6/23/18 at 8:04pm