why are books brought out in hard back first then later in paper backs?

Answer 1

A hardcover edition of a book is typically released first, followed by a "trade" paperback edition (same format as hardcover) the next year. This method of sale is used for a higher initial profit on the books, as hardcovers are, due to their apparently higher cost in materials, able to be understandably marked up more than paperback editions in the eyes of most consumers.

After the attention to the book has subsided, a lower cost version, the paperback, is released to entice further sales.

This makes hardcover books a good example of price discrimination whereby the hardback version of a book is sold to those consumers with low elasticity of demand and the paperbacks sold to those with far greater elasticities whilst marginal costs to the publisher remain very similar.

Answer 2

Two reasons spring to mind.

Firstly, hardback books are a premium product, sold at a higher profit margin - yes, costs to prduce them are higher but the actual profit markup that gets put on them is greater still. The publishers hope to capture the 'early adopter' market - people who place a high value on having the latest thing as soon as possible and are willing to pay through the nose for it. You see this happen in the I.T. marketplace as well, though the dynamics are slightly different because it's about technological advance rather than content. Now the publishers could simply produce a 'limited run' of paperbacks and sell those at a higher price, but even the early adopters like to see some kind of tangible difference for their extra money they've paid - hence the hardback format.

Secondly, the hardback issue tests the market. If the hardback issue sells well, this can be used to measure the likely success of the paperback run - and indicates how big the initial print run should be.

I would guess that it's important to get the first print run the right size as most books never sell as well after the first print run - because they get relegated from the best shelves by the retailers to make room for newer books.

Answer 3

You may not be aware of this but you are asking a very timely question. There was an article in the New York Times about 6 or so months ago that reported on a fundamental shift in the publishing of books. For the first time major publishing houses have decided to publish books in paperback first and not even bother with hardcovers. Now I know I have not answered your question yet but I will now.
In the past...yes boys and girls...before the web...before cell phones...before...oh a while ago...people bought hardcover books because they wanted the books they loved to last a long long time and they were very willing to pay the extra $15-30 for this value.
Times have changed. For one...and there are many books and articles that discuss this...we have really lost a great deal of the literary culture that used to be assumed in this society. People do not value literature nearly as much as they once did and so the market for hardcover books is rapidly declining. Second, publishing houses are now able to publish paperbacks that are very well bound and that will last for a good stretch...not forever...but for a long time.
So I guess the simple answer to your question is that hard backs come out first because 1) the publisher and the author will make more money by hardcovers because they cost more and 2) the people who are really eager to buy the book..who adore the author or the subject...will pay the extra money. When that part of the readership has been taken care of...then the paperback comes out for all the rest.
If you were publishing Stephen King why put out a paperback for $10-13 when you know there are fans who will spend $20 or more for a good old, rock solid, can take a lickin and keep on ticking hard cover. Oh...the feeling of a leather bound book.
But as I said...the times they are a changing and sure as we are communicating using bites and chips the culture and economy of books is changing profoundly.

Answer 4

Because hard backs are sold for more, and really paperback books were only started to give the great unwashed a chance to read books that the more well off had already read some years before, it's only in recent times that some books have been issued paperback only through firms that only publish pbs. Hard Back books are for keeping, as they usually cost much more, and will last to become collectors items, paperbacks are for throwing away once you have read them, of just give them away. Nowadays it just seems to be a sop to those who collect first editions in hard back, with only books like the Harry Potter series getting real high sales volume in hardback. It's possible for a hardback to sell less than 1,000 copies a week and still be on the best sellers list, while you would need sales of 10,000+ paperbacks.

Answer 5

It is the first time the book is out for general purchase to public and looks better on the stand so we can see it and buy it at the high price. Once enough money has been made and sales drop it is then put out in paper back to generate a whole new flood of sales. In other words MONEY.
However I do prefer to buy the hardback edition of a good book and will always buy a present in hard back. I save my paper back for the beach as i do not care if it gets a bit wet.

Answer 6

Not just hardbacks but sometimes the oversize 'trade paperbacks' before the standard paperback comes out. I think hardbacks are mainly sold to libraries now, a guaranteed market for the more popular authors.

However looking back over nearly 50 years of buying books I think the price of paperbacks has risen far faster than the price of hardbacks so there is less of a price difference than there used to be.

I buy a lot of SF & Fantasy7 books imported from the US and the prices for these are much lower than books published in the UK for the simple reason that with a much bigger market in the states the average print run is much larger and therefore more cost effective. This applies to a lot of goods in the US which are very much lower priced than the UK.

This makes me think that the price for bestsellers like Harry Potter is hiked up beyond a just profit although the authors must get a much bigger cut too which I don't begrudge them.

Answer 7

Hard backs are brought out first so the publishers can make more money selling a quality hardback version than a flimsy paperback version which does not cost much.

Hardbacks are also bad for the environment, as a majority of publishers do not use paper from trees that came from sustainable forests!!

Answer 8

Technically, hardbacks don't make much more money for either the publisher or the bookseller. Hardbacks are more expensive to print, more expensive to ship, far more difficult to sell, and produced in small quantities. As someone else here has pointed out, hardbacks are produced as quality items, designed to show the prestige of a publisher and to create publicity about the book. If sales of the hardback justify it, a mass-market paperback edition will be printed, which is actually far more profitable for the publishers and booksellers, since paperbacks are cheaper to print and easier to sell!

I personally love hardback books. From a collector's point of view, a first edition of any book will usually be hardback, so these are the ones to buy. Also, aesthetically, hardback books are far more pleasing than paperbacks, and last much longer too!

One final word, as a former bookseller, it really does annoy me that people think the entire publishing and bookselling industries are simply out to screw people over for money. The profit margins in bookselling are tiny (on average, 30%) compared to other sectors such as food, music or film (where profit margins can reach 2-300%!) Books are quality products, yet their worth is being continually eroded by customer demand for discounts on the scale of Tesco (who cheerfully make a loss on every copy of Harry Potter sold, as they make the money back on the groceries that customer will buy while they are in the store!)

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest!

Answer 9

I agree with the general balance of opinion so far, but would add that a hardback book, when you pick it up and look at it, has a quality feel that a paperback never has. Our instinct is to think that the quality of the contents will match the quality of the presentation. Presenting a book in hardback can be seen then also as a way to assert the quality of the contents. Like putting something in high quality packaging to assert the quality of the thing that is packaged.

Answer 10

Because hardbacks are more durable; collectors will buy first editions in hardback and try to get them signed. They last and will be worth money in future. They are also more expensive!
Paperbacks are cheap editions for the masses that sell better than the "luxury" hardbacks; kind of like the difference between a Town Car and a hatchback; one has more prestige, the other more practicality.
The words are the same, so it's a question of budget for most of us.