Why does it take about six months for a book to come out in paperback? It's so annoying!
Why can't paperbacks come out at the same time as hardbacks??
2007-05-27 09:09:07 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I have to explain how the book industry makes the profits.
First, they publish the book in hard cover, and watch how it sells, what kind of word-of-mouth recommendation it is getting. Most of the profit from a book will come from the soft cover edition. Publishers, by watching how the hardcover edition sold, can make a very good guess as to how the soft cover will sell. The profit is made by printing the proper amount of books. Too few or too many books may incur a loss for the publishing house.
As for your last question, why paperbacks and hardbacks cannot come out at the same time. For most books, people buy the content of the book, not the cover. They read it, they were entertained. Yes, there are books worth reading more than twice, but with most books once its enough. If both editions were published, the hardcover would not sell at all.
2007-05-27 10:05:14 · answer #1 · answered by epistemology 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Becuase if people want a book they will buy it. Hardback last longer and look nicer and are more expensive. Paperbacks are easily produced and cheap. Obviously the publisher and writer are looking to make money out of you and they know if you really want the book straight away you will buy it.
Why not go to the library? They will get a large stock of new books frequently and you can reserve anything that isn't on the shelves. You get to read it before the paperback comes out and it won't cost you a penny.
2007-05-27 17:56:02 · answer #2 · answered by Lovely Lady 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are always people who are willing to buy the hardcover edition. The publisher won't release a paperback edition until the hardcover isn't selling well. It took a really long time for the DaVinci Code to be released in paperback because it was on the bestseller list forever.
2007-05-27 16:22:16 · answer #3 · answered by MondoBlondo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not all books come in hard back. It bepends on the popularity of the author mostely. The hard backs are for people who like their books the last long and stay nice for a long time. And also for collectors. How long it takes for the paperback distribution likely depends on how well the hardcovers sell. The more that sell, the longer it will take. (They get more money from the big ones.)
2007-05-27 16:20:33 · answer #4 · answered by Crevan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because they're the more expensive to make and they're for the more serious reader. They also bring in more money. And they take longer to make and are better made.
The people who want to keep and read books over and over again for a long time, are usually the first ones to go out and by the new books that come out. They don't want some cheap thing that the glue will come apart from after a few reads.
Because they want to see how the serious readers like it first, that way the know how many cheap books they're going to sell of it. If the serious readers like it, then the people who only read 'good books' will by it more.
Just like all other companies, they want to make the most money as possible.
2007-05-27 16:16:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I wrote a novel that was released in 1989 called, On Blood Turf. It was released in paperback and hasn't seen a hardback edition, yet.
2007-05-27 16:15:05 · answer #6 · answered by Nevada Slim 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they sell hardback first for collectors. And they just prefer it. If the book sells well, they will make paperback copies that are cheaper so more ppl can buy them and they will be able to sell more and make more money. the hardback edition is like an experiment to see how well the book sells
2007-05-27 16:13:43 · answer #7 · answered by Mikala 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think the hardbacks, which cost more, are meant for libraries, schools and colleges who have to buy them on publication. Also a fan will buy a novel as soon as it's published - so 'make 'em pay' is probably the attitude.
2007-05-28 15:43:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They aren't always.
My new novel GAMEPLAYER: The Genesis Portal is only available in paperback, the exception being that it's just been released as an ebook on mobipocket.com
My non-fiction book Video Editing and Post-Production 4th edition was also only released in paperback.
2007-05-28 01:37:40 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
That is a very gool question . I wish I knew the answer to it. Hard cover books are so expensive, I only have paperbacks.. You are right, it can be very annoying!
2007-05-27 16:14:23 · answer #10 · answered by Lori F 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋