D writes:
You mentioned a while ago that you wouldn’t mind some questions/ideas for blogs… I was just wondering why authors want their books published in hardcover? I personally wait to buy soft covers, but I am really curious about this… Love your books and your blogs are wonderful and informative – Keep on going! And no hurries on answering, I know you are busy 
Writers like hardcovers for several reasons, but the choice actually doesn’t belong to the writer in this case. This decision belongs to the publisher. The switch to hardcover or the choice to publish a book in hardcover from the start is made for marketing and financial reasons. Writers don’t have much say in it.
Some advantages and disadvantages of hardcovers are:
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- Hardcovers cost more, which means author gets more money per book, but lessens the audience
- Hardcovers don’t fall apart as fast, providing a lasting value, which means some libraries prefer them
- Hardcovers tend to be printed on higher quality paper
- Hardcovers are more “visible” in stores, while mass markets tend to fade into background if shelved spine out
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Here is one scenario, under which hard covers make sense. A typical hardcover format royalty is as follows:
Ten percent on the first 5,000 books sold
Twelve and one half percent on the next 5,000 books sold
Fifteen percent on all copies sold thereafter
A typical mass market royalty spread is:
Eight percent on the first 150,000 books sold
Ten percent on all copies sold thereafter
A highly simplified hypothetical example.
Let’s take author Bob. Author Bob writes hard SF. He has a small devoted following of readers who will buy his books no matter what. However, he has issues reaching a wider audience because the subject matter of his books is highly specific.
In both cases of hard cover and soft cover, the amount of man-hours that goes into the production of the book is roughly the same. Edit, copyedit, galleys, cover design, etc have to be done in both cases. Production wise hardcover is more mostly to produce but even there we get into funky territory. Printing mass market in volume is sometimes actually cheaper than printing only a few thousand of mass market books.
Bob’s book is published in hard cover with a print run of 6,000. Bob’s book is hailed as experimental and wins an award. Book collectors decide they want to own one. The book sells 5,000 copies. Libraries order some because he is an award winner and his fiction is cutting edge, his fans order some, and Bob gets:
$25 x 0.1 x 5,000 = $12,500
Not super money, but not too bad. Bob’s sell through rate is 83%. Bob is a viable author, because the house makes a modest profit and doesn’t take a huge hit.
Let’s say Bob’s book is published in mass market with a print run of $15,000. Printing above that is too much of a risk – Bob’s track record says he only moves a small number of copies. The house is unable to take advantage of printer’s volume discounts. However, with this tiny print run, Bob has trouble penetrating the market. Half of the libraries skip the mass market purchase – what’s the point, it’s too flimsy – but another 500 people decide to take the chance on the mass market. Bob sells 5,000 copies.
$7.99 x .08 x 5,000 = $3, 196.
The house is stuck with 10,000 useless paperbacks. Bob’s sell through rate is 30%. Bob is a giant fail.
Mass market
When mass market books came on the scene, they were a cheaper alternative to hardbacks designed to appeal to a wider audience. They were light and small, which made them portable (see why ebooks are winning this war? Kindle is easier to carry than a paperback), and permitted places like grocery store to carry them. More of them fit on one shelf. They were cheaper.
Because they were cheaper and flimsier, some people viewed them as almost disposable. When Gordon was in Japan, he used to see people leave manga in random places, like the subway. Manga volumes were cheap and once you were done with them, why not let someone else read them?
There was a point when paperbacks were viewed almost in the same light. Category romances still often are. I can sometimes find a category for $5. But over time, the price of mass market steadily climbed up $7.99 and higher. At this price point mass markets no longer seem disposable.
In the mind of most readers, there is a distinction between mass market book and hard cover book. Hard cover book is to keep. Mass market is often light entertainment. That’s why sometimes you will hear publishing industry professionals say, “This type of book just doesn’t do well in hard cover.” That said, the success of any given book is pretty much a craps shoot. Seriously. If anyone could predict bestseller status, everyone in publishing would be a lot richer.
If the mass market author is very successful, there comes a point where they develop a loyal following of reader who will buy their books no matter what, and the author makes a jump to hard cover. Still, that decision isn’t made by the author. It’s usually made by the publisher.
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L writes:
What does SOP mean? I have come accross this several times and do not know what it stands for?
In culinary terms, to sop means to soak up liquid with a piece of bread. I suspect that you want SOP – this stands for Standard Operating Procedure.
Would you guys ever want to do a collectors hardcover edition? Does your publisher think that it would be a smart move? I for one would buy every hardcover you guys released, I already buy every book you release anyway. But I am a huge “Collector” of books, and I love sets.
As of now, there are no plans for it.
Like Heidi I would buy any and all of your books in hardcover. I have seen far less talented authors in hardcover
Do you guys think that you will ever do a cover with a ‘human’ version of Curran? I would really love to see your vision of the Beast Lord.
Kelli, we don;t control our covers, so it would never be our vision. It would be the vision of the art department, and if we had an issue with it, they wouldn’t change it, so no.
Thanks for the reply. I know it’s silly but it feels so awesome to know that you wrote to me… even if it is only a couple of lines. I just think that you guys are my absolute favorite authors.
I would buy any hardcovers as well. I also like the idea of a collector’s edition. What fun you could have deciding on any extras to include! You thought your hands were tired at the Portland signing? If this came to pass, I would suggest lining up a hand masseuse to be on stand by.
My daughter & i buy any and all of the books you release, paperback/ebook.. we have them all. Actually we need to buy a second copy of Magic Bites because she has read it soooo many times shes wearing it out!!!!!!!
btw… your blogs make my day!!!!!
*face palm* ugh… MOTHER!!!!!
LOL!
The idea of a book being disposable makes my soul cringe. I simply do not get rid of books unless the book was unreadable. I still have books from when I was 12 years old. If it’s a book I couldn’t stand, I find a new home for it.
Hard Cover VS Paperbacks- Ugh. I really don’t buy hard covers of unknown authors. When I do buy hard covers, it’s a book I know I want to collect. I’ll also buy the paperback of the same book just so my poor hard cover doesn’t get over-used.
Thanks for the explanation though. It was a good question and an interesting read.
I am a grandmother and I have been reading books for entertainment a long time. I am one of those that Kindle’s polling put in a group that read at least 4++ books per month.
Some of my authors: Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, Laurell K. Hamilton, charlene Harris, Wen Spencer, Anne Bishop and others, started in paperback and now only release in hardback. Of course, later they release in paperback, six months or a year later.
Some of them pissed me off when they went to hardback that I stop buying and reading their books.
Others I like them so much that I still purchase everything they release: hardback or paperback.
Now with ebooks I can get new hardbacks releases at about half price. Which is very good because most hardbacks are about $25, at lease for my authors.
You guys are so good that I am surprised that you are still in paperback!!!
You brought up something I was curious about. Ebooks. After reading this blog, I was wondering if Ebooks are beginning to kill the hard cover. “Digital Books Killed the Hard Cover Star”?
Ebooks are diminishing print sales, period. It’s just really convenient.
I don’t think print books will vanish, but I think we’ll see the sales grow on the e-side and shrink on the print side.
Thank you.
Hopefully we’ll always have book junkies around like myself. I love my e-reader and enjoy that I can quickly download a book I’ve been waiting for instead of haunting the bookstore’s door waiting for them to open.
But, there’s the collector side of me too. I want my books on my shelves. So, yes, I’m guilty of buying Ebooks then the real thing.
It’s easier to cart an ereader to the dr’s office …fits better in the purse overall
I like the idea of the e-reader, I just can’t afford one. I love my paperbacks though. It’s kind of a dream of mine to own my own library/bookstore. I love relaxing with a good book. I can easily read 3-4 in a week.
I buy both the paperback and the ebook for nook, and if they go to harback then I will buy them as well. I love the stories you tell.
Thanks for the lesson. Where do E-Book downloads fall in this economic lesson? I’m running out of shelf space and have given thought to an E-Reader. I think I’d miss the feel and texture of holding a paper book. I’d love to hear your opinion on this.
From experience, e-readers kind of vanish after a while and only the words remain. I like them. After using an e-reader for a while, I did find myself wanting to squeeze the sides of the paperback when I needed to turn the page.
I love my ereader. I have switched most of my personal library over to e-format. It is a great way to easily carry around 100′s of books. (And after moving them 3 or 4 times lighter is much better.) The biggest problem with an ereader, for me personally, is that I love to go back and reread specific sections of a book; sections where I particularly loved the dialogue, or a major turning point in the plot, or even just a page where a descriptive phrase draws me back time and again. In a hardback or paperback, you can feel where these spots are located due to handling them time and again. This can’t be done with an ereader, the bookmark feature just doesn’t work the same; they just aren’t made for skimming through a book, while looking for your favorite scenes.
So agree w/ Judy. I LOVE my e-reader–and it’s a virtual necessity for keeping my book collection from totally over-running my living space–but it’s not good for re-reading those favorite passages or flipping back and forth to check things. There’s still a place for “real” copies in addition to the “e” copies.
I actually like ebooks for that reason. I usually cant re-find the specific bit unless I almost read most of the book in pieces (flipping back and forth) but with ebooks i just type in a particular word or phrase from that bit… and it finds it for me XP
Just a quick question: Do trade paperbacks fall in with mass market? The publisher decides on a larger size to draw attention but not go all the way to hardback?
You know what, I don’t know. I’ve never had one released, so I have no idea how trade paperback decisions are made.
When it comes to hardbacks, I will buy only some. If it’s Robert B. Parker or David Gemmell or maybe Robert E. Howard, I will buy it cause I know I will read and re-read, so I want it to last. Paperbacks are cheap but sadly not durable. When we were very young and poor, we would buy paperbacks and Ilona would cover them with this plastic shelf-paper to make them last longer.
I’ve used that trick myself on a lot of paperback books.
If you guys ever go hardback I’ll be picking them up. As it is now, for authors that I know I will always keep in my collection I buy both the e-book and a physical copy.
the e-book for portability, and the physical copy ( be it hard or paper back) for longevity.
I have friends who laugh, but who’s to say closed format e-books will always be accessible as technology evolves.
Not a bad idea to cover it with somekind of see thru thing to help the cover last longer…I’ll admit I buy a few authors in hardcover …but I also bitch moan and groan about it…just too many books out there to read…but I’ll buy yours if they switch you to hardcover …though I’ll probably cry about it too..lol
Actually that sounds like a pretty good idea. I think it come in clear too.
For me it is really weird reading that hardbacks are more durable. All my harbacks are in tatters way earlier than my soft covers. Maybe that is because I travel a lot by train and take them with me wherever i go, but for some reason I have soft covers that I had for years, read them 30 times or more, and they are still in a more or less good shape, no pages missing or something. Whereas my hardcovers usually start getting torn after reading them about 10 times. And I treat them absolutely the same.
I do not “collect” them though, as in putting them in a shelf and then never touching them again. Still, if I did that I still think a soft cover would last as long as a hard cover.
On your blog in “What are you currently reading”, there is a discussion from four or five days ago about e-books and dead-tree versions and how the cover on the later is easier to remember the author, if new, and the title of the book because of the cover being an actual physical and handleable entity.
What is your view on this?
Everybody remembers Curran POV lion cover. Just saying.
Thank you for responding!
Yes, it is a distinctive cover and an exception. It is also a great idea of you all to place it on the side panel on the blog next to the questions, as you do with your friends books.
I think that even thought the ebook is more convenient, the experience of a book is still the best. I don’t know about anybody else, but I LOVE trips to the book store! It smells nice, you get to browse tons of books, and sometimes I get coffee
Not to mention, the people you usually meet in book stores are pretty nice. On the other hand, I can put ebooks on my phone which is super convenient for waiting rooms and travel. Most the time I end up reading ebooks while I’m waiting for my coffee at the bookstore.
Anyway, I suppose my question is whether the lower price of the ebooks affects the author’s royalties, or does it all come out of the actual publishing cost?
Honestly, even with Walmart, Costco, Target…. hardbacks are just way too expensive. They last longer yes, but they take up more room as well.. so if you collect books.. they have their drawbacks too.
I buy *maybe* 4 authors hardback total. Often times, when it gets to the point that the publisher decides the author would do well in hardback, to me , the quality of their work declines. Not necessarily right away, but it does happen.. and then it’s easy enough not to purchase the hardbacks or even the mass market pb. I’m well aware I’m probably not in line with the majority of folks.. but hardcovers don’t do much for me.
I do not buy hardcover books no matter how much I love an author…if I can’t wait to read a new book that is out in hardcover then I reserve it from my library…then if it is a series I’m collecting or simply a book I know I’ll re-read I buy it once it is out in paperback. I prefer paperbacks for their size and weight as well as the lower price…I do not consider them disposable…maybe publishers need to re-evaluate their thinking…
I wish I had the words to express how absolutely amazed I am that you get paid so very little for your wonderful stories. I understand the need for all the support staff, but it just seems wrong that you(or any author) is not paid 25% of sales MINMUM!
Love, love, love your work! Thank you
I’ve noticed a new size of paperback at Wal-Mart. It’s slightly wider, maybe a bit taller, and it’s priced at $7.99 at our local store, with a suggested retail price of $9.99. I wouldn’t call it quite a Trade Paperback, because it doesn’t seem quite big enough, and I find it really strange that it is released at the same time a normal sized mass market paperback is released – in fact I bought a new MMP instead of this new size and saved myself 2 bucks and some heartache trying to figure out where to store it. So we have… hard backs/library bindings at the top of the cost list, then trade paperbacks, then this new size, then mass market paperbacks, and electronic copies all throughout the list, depending on format and place of purchase?
I don’t even know what to call this in between trade and mass market size.
As for manga… I like to reread some of mine, and I take as good care of them as my other books.
Oh I *hate* those tall paperbacks! They make my hands hurt to hold them open for long periods of time. I refuse to buy them, even from authors that I love.
They don’t fit on a shelf w/ the other PBs and they’re hard to handle–really don’t see the point of them. I hate them.
I honestly would probable not buy you in hardcover, and you guys are one of my favorite authors. Currently the only hardcover I have bought every year is the new Mercy series book by Patricia Briggs (because I started buying them in hardcover due to a gift card, and now can’t stop). I would buy it right when it came out in ebook though. Its a money thing (something in which I am lacking) and I simple can’t buy every book I want just because its out only in hardcover. I either go for the cheaper ebook or wait for it from the library.
My paperbacks honestly last really well, except for some that I lend a specific friend, who bends the spine which drives me crazy
OK, I also bought Shadowfever this year, but you have to admit that is an amazing book to have in hardcover.
“Dear Ilona and Gordon, I buy these other books in hardcover, but yours aren’t that amazing so I wouldn’t buy yours. Just wanted to tell you that.”
Lol. Come on, Ev, you can think things like that but don’t say them on the authors’ blog. You’ll hurt our feelings.
I’d by your books in hardcover in heartbeat!
“buy”
I’d be interested in a hardback version also. I read and reread my favorites so often that I basically destroy the paperbacks.
As for e-readers, I think I’ll keep my books as long as I can. I don’t relish waking up one morning to find that I’ve just killed a $100+ e-reader because i fell asleep while reading and rolled over and kicked it out of bed. Or of falling asleep and having an e-reader hit me in the face… x_x
if you guys ever went hardcover i would totaly buy your books but I would be a little less enthusiastic. I’m sure the stories would still rock but as a highschooler I don’t have a lot of money.
I use to buy hardcover books if i really liked the author. Now i just stick with kindle download. the down side of ebooks is when the Ebook version costs more then the paperback because of the Slick move Steve Jobs pulled with the publishing houses. I still do go out and pick up paperbacks because of the price difference sometimes. Am i willing to shell out 8 bucks for a ebook? Sure. Am i willing to pay 9.99 for an ebook when the paperback is selling for 8 bucks? no.
Yep, that’s the reason why I haven’t bought Steig Larsson’s trilogy in e-book format. The 1st 2 books are out in mass market paperback and I don’t wanna pay 2 bucks more for the e-books.
Linda
I’m also mostly an ereader now. I didnt’ think that I’d succumb, but I travel quite a lot and am a voracious reader (one book every couple of days — due to my commute) and would carry 10-15 paperbacks on my travels. I very rarely buy the hardcover books anymore. I wait for the paperback to come out or buy the less expensive ebook. I have paperback keepers from the 70′s to the present that are in terrific condition. I don’t consider any book as disposable, but during my travels when I would finish a book I would more than likely “donate” it to the hotel’s library (I don’t travel with books I think might become one of my keepers). I know (especially in Greece) they are grateful for English books. Now that all being said, I would definitely buy your books if they came out in hardback.
Very interesting insight into the world of publishing.
My question: Have you ever thought of just self-publishing your novels? Or starting a new series that you self-publish? You have a big, super devoted audience and it seems like you could make a lot more money going that route. Ebooks are taking off, you could still offer you books in print through a service like Createspace, and you would keep all your rights.
I’m a new writer trying to decide which route I should take and I’m thinking I should just self-publish. It seems better in the long run.
http://www.ilona-andrews.com/2011/04/24/on-ebooks-realistic-expectations/
Thanks for replying! I found your books and started reading your blog about a month after you made that self-publishing post. Sorry to make you go dig it up, lol. I’m glad you did, though, because it was really in-depth and informative.
I think even in the short time since you made that post a lot of things you were concerned about have changed for the benefit of the author. I’m not expecting big riches immediately, but it could build to a pretty good income over time. Also, in some ways it would be easier for a newbie (nobody) like me to just start out self-publishing than for you to switch gears, leave all your connections, and in some ways start over almost. In the end, I’m just glad I get to read your books, period.
PS – I know someone else already said this, but I think it is SO COOL that I can communicate with you!
I love hardbacks for their durability. Haven’t tried an e-reader yet, so don’t know about those. However, I belong to the Science Fiction Book Club and you can get hardbacks for around $15 – the only downside, you have to wait about a week after they’re released for them to get shipped to you. (And I guess that’s only for a specific genre – but it’s the one I read the most of).
I don’t buy hardcovers. They’re too expensive and too heavy. I usually read kicked back on the sofa and have dropped a hardcover on my face once or twice, it hurt. So, the hardcover I’ll read from the library and then buy the paperback when it comes out if I really liked it.
I know what you mean, Sylvia. Usually when a book hits me in the face, I’m lying in bed tired, but it’s so good I don’t want to go to sleep. Then my body gives out and THWACK! Of course this wakes me up and I repeat the process all over again. Well worth it. *grin* I’ve done this with my laptop too.
LOL! You guys crack me up.
I have to admit that I don’t buy hardcovers often. I find the paperbacks easy to read, don’t weigh to much and last really well. Plus in NZ to buy a hardback is around $30 when paperback is $18. Makes a difference. I did buy the collected Narnia stories in hardback though, and nearly went through the roof when the friend I lent it to returned it with bent wrinkled pages and a wonky spine saying “you’ll be pleased we enjoyed it so much!” Considering I paid $70 – no, not so much!
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LIke D, I always waited for paperbacks because of the price, but now, looking at my bookshelves, I see so many books that I wish I had bought in hardcover. Some of my paperbacks are forty years old and the paper is like something you might find in a Pharaoh’s tomb – yellowed and crumbling. I have other books older than that, including all my uni stuff, and the hardcover ones are as good as when I bought them.
My bias against hardcovers islargely about perception: it seems to me that I never ENJOY hardcover books as much as I did the paperbacks. (Like, if an author switches to HC mid-series, often that switch marks the beginning of the end of my interest in the series.)
I’m not entirely sure why this is, but I think resentment plays a role:
1) I don’t mind spending $8 on a MMPB, but I often resent spending $18-$25 on the same story in HC format. I think that resentment negatively impacts my reception of the STORY, and that begins the end for me with that author. (Or at least with that series. If I’m lucky, the author is publishing in both formats, and I can still read her paperback series.) After all, I read because I love the stories. If I no longer love them, I no longer want to read them.
2) I love cover art — especially fantasy and UF cover art — but I hate dust-jackets. When I buy a hardcover book, the first thing I do is strip off the dust-jacket so that I don’t have to maintain it. So I lose the cover art. (I do like it when the cover art is printed onto the paperboard cover of the book, but this usually applies to coffee-table books and not fiction.)
3) The change to HC is often made mid-series. This, to me, is the ultimate manipulation. I understand the business reasoning of it: capitalize on the built-in readership that’s already invested in the series and likely won’t be able to resist buying the next book, even if it costs 2 or 3 times as much in HC format. But that’s also what makes me resent it: I feel taken advantage of. I’d be more tolerant of an author’s switch to HC if it happened at the BEGINNING of a new series.
The number of authors I USED to read but no longer do because they made the switch to hardcover is legion. I guess there are only 6 authors I’ve remained loyal to through the transition. I just stop reading those authors and wait around a while until a new MMPB author piques my interest.
I have heard that in the UK, the MMPB and HC versions are published simultaneously. It would be awesome if that were the case here in the US.
I will buy your books in any format (have the set in paperback and e-format) and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the audio book version! Renee Raudman’s voice completely fits the picture of Kate in my head–dry humor and all.
That said, it’s soooo much easier to haul my e-reader on the plane when on vacation. I used to start out with 1-3 books to read at the start of vacation and would end up with 8-10 to haul home ’cause I read them so quickly! Much lighter suitcase! (and perhaps less impulse buying. . .) :0)
Most of the books I own are paperback, since I can carry them easily, and I’m not exactly comfortable with ebooks yet. I’m kind of old-fashioned. Many of the books I have, I’ve owned for over a decade now, and they’re still in good shape. Comes from taking care while I’m reading them. I’ve only had one book that I’ve read only once, and that was a fairly recent thing. Bought the book, then could never get into the mindset where I could read it.
I kind of have to agree with Nifty, in that I despise dust jackets. I have 3 hardcover books. 2 are Anne McCaffery (Rowan and Damia), and the other is the Hitchhiker’s Guide series. The dust jackets are lost in the singularity that is my home. I just get sick of them sliding around and making a general nuisance of themselves.
Thanks for the explanation, Ilona! I’ve always wondered whether my favourite authors are fairly remunerated for the hours of reading pleasure they provide. (From your breakdown of royalties, the answer is clearly “No”.) Out of curiosity, are the royalties different for international sales? I live in the Far East, and the cost of a mass market paperback is about US$13-$14 (hardback is US$38-$42). I’m still happy to pay that for your books, but it seems a shame if that premium is just going towards the shipping company…
wait. i’m confused. so what you are saying is that hard-cover author earn more? well in that case, hope you guys go “hard”! haha
I will buy hardcover if I either know that I loved what the author wrote so far and therefore am sure that the book is ‘worth it’ or if a storyline intrigues me enough to make me buy it.
what kind of bugs me is, when an author’s series gets changed from paperback to hardcover after a few books… that means I wont have a matching set. it’s not a huge issue, but something I can rant about
all in all, these days I prefer buying e-books because this way I can have lots of books with me all the time. only all time favourites will find their way on my shelves as dead-tree-books. of course IA-books are there
Biggest thing against hardcovers (other than price) – so much more difficult to read and hold up in the bath! Or is that just me?
Also, disposable books? What! No way! Only if I hated the book! Next you will be talking about disposable friends!
My husband (an IT geek) has just decideed to use a barcode scanner to build an electronic database of all our books, so we know what we have – bit of a labour of love because we have well over 1000 books (it’s not unknown for me to read a book a day, even when working a normal 9-5 job etc). Only thing is, now he is finding all those books I have duplicates of, and he wants me to get rid of the extra copies… Often they are “loaners” though of my favourite books, so I can get friends hooked without depriving myself. He is having trouble with that concept though!
Completely unrelated question:
I buy a lot of my ebooks from fictionwise as it allows you to download the ebook in the format of my choice. Curretly you only have Silent Blade listed on Fictionwise. When you publish Silver Fish, will it be available on Fictionwise?
I personally like Hardcovers best. I usually will purchase a hardback and not purchase paperbacks. The hardcovers are more attractive to me. Often, I will go back and re-purchase the hardcovers for authors I love who suddenly get popular enough to have hardcovers.
And, being a librarian, yes, we prefer the hard covers simply because the pbc’s get the hell beat out of them and they fall apart. You would not believe what people do to pbc’s… and then thrown back in the book drop without a care. Actually, that is true of hard covers too. It’s rather nasty sometimes.
There are some books I WANT in hardcover because of that wear and tear factor. What kills me is when the series switches midway. Jim Butcher (who is on my auto-buy list) swapped halfway through and even switched cover art. So half my collection of his is paperback and half is hardback. IT IS MADDENING!!!! OMFG!!!! The OCD it burns and stings!
If you switched to hardback I would still buy the series but I’d be frustrated because my shelves would look like a bucket of hell. Eventually, I would claim the whole series in hardback. Eventually.
I get all your books on release day. Currently I have two authors I buy on release day no matter price on Kindle; the rest I wait until the price goes down when the paperback version is released. Even when (NOT IF) you publish in HC, I will pay full price for your books on release day. Your writing is too good to wait for months to enjoy – that way I can re-read for months.
I read in english mostly ebook and in my language paperback or hardcover. In my country you are not publish so I buy your paperback books from other country, mostly UK, but I prefer ebook because I dont have to wait 3 or 4 weeks until they arrive. I love your book but for me the price for hardcover is very high and another reason, they are to big and weight to much for my purse:)
I’ve been to a few writer’s conventions where SOP meant Seat of (the) Pants – for writers who prefer to sit down and let the ideas flow, as opposed to those who prefer to have a detailed plan for the book before they start writing chapters.
I’m often amused to find that people can be really, REALLY emotional about the issue.
I love paperbacks don’t buy hardcover’s cause I’m broke hehe, but paperbacks are good they fit in your bag there not heavy and I don’t leave the house without one hehe and they totally last really well if you look after them, okay maybe all my Kate and Curran and Bones and Cats books could look a little better haha but it just proves how much I love them hehe
My wife and I had to make some hard decisions when we realized that we had over 5,000 books between us and questions were asked about the bookcases in the kitchen. Ebooks appear to be the answer for us. It is quite nice to carry 300 books in your pocket.
However, I knew e-books were the future when I overheard a couple talking and one said ” I love my Kindle, I can read all the trashy novels I want at work and no one knows.”
I had a similar experience at a former job! Once the sometimes overheated covers are no longer an issue people are much more likely to read anything they want on that bus ride to work.
I must admit that I prefer paperback books. Also, I agree with previous posters that the larger (trade) paperbacks are a PIB. I try not to purchase them, but have a couple of fave authors that I only seem to find in that size. I had to adjust a bookshelf or two just for that size books. This really throws off my alphabetical organization.
I have ebook readers on my smart phone, which I love. One of my favorite purchases though are in audio format. I listen on my long driving commute back and forth to work. Sometimes I listen to them when cleaning house instead of music.
I have your books in pb, ebook and audio.
Karen in East Texas recently posted..Stressin’
Harcovers are, for me, a thing of the past. I just don’t have the space for them any longer. In fact, I am trying to switch to only purchasing books for my Nook so I do not add any more volume (or volumes, I suppose!) to my already-straining bookcases. It only sort-of works, though, as I am unable to resist the lure of the pretty pages. *sigh*
That said, you guys are on my “auto-buy” list and if hardcover was the only way I could get them I would totally pony up the cash.
TK
ps – Ev, you’re kind of a doorknob…lol
Very interesting post! And I also enjoyed reading about self publishing. So many many details, I had no idea. Anyway I wanted to say thanks for the ebook formats! I love those, as a sight challenged person they enable me to still read anything I love.
Hi,
I know this discussion was ages ago but I just found it and wanted you to know that I would so love to buy your books in hardcover to be able to show them off in nice bookcase….and I really do not buy lot of books but yours are really unique
Love them and love your style