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What's the Deal with Paperback Publishing?

2023-03-07 · explainer · John · 3:42 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing · mode: Explainer · tags: self promotion

John explains why publishers put out hardcovers first (higher per-unit profit, testing which books can sustain a paperback), notes paperbacks only boomed with World War II's Armed Services Editions, recalls hoping Looking for Alaska would reach paperback, and argues readers should get their preferred format, as the Anthropocene Reviewed paperback launches in Miami.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Looking for Alaska's 2005 hardcover and how hardcover-first publishing worked

  • ★★ John's first novel, Looking for Alaska, was published in hardcover almost exactly 18 years ago. — 00:00:00 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
  • ★★ John says in 2005, at least for first-time authors, books came out in hardcover and, if they sold well enough, in paperback 12 to 24 months later. — 00:00:00

00:00:29 — Doubt about hardcover-first; Anthropocene Reviewed paperback launch plug; hardcover and paperback economics; paperback history

  • ★★★ John says many books are still published hardcover-first, but he is not sure that they should be. (hedged) — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John announces the paperback of The Anthropocene Reviewed is about to come out and he will launch it in person in Miami, Florida, on March 23; tickets in the description. — 00:00:29 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book), Florida, doobly-doo
  • ★★ Taking an average hardcover at $30 and paperback at $20, John says hardcovers cost somewhat more to print but not $10 more, so they are more profitable per unit. (hypothetical) — 00:00:44
  • ★★ John says that if he gets $3 or $4 per hardcover sale, he might get $2 per paperback sale. (hedged) — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John says publishers and bookstores make higher margins per hardcover, but cheaper paperbacks tend to sell more books overall. — 00:00:58
  • ★★★ John says hardcover-first makes sense for publishers and bookstores: more money in a book's first year, and a test of which books have enough audience for a profitable paperback. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John says paperback publishing barely existed until 1935 and became big only when Armed Services Editions were distributed by the million to World War II soldiers. — 00:01:27
  • ★★ John says publishing can change, it just tends to change slowly. — 00:01:27
  • ★★ In 2005 John's whole goal for Looking for Alaska was to sell enough copies to reach paperback, which would keep it in print a couple more years. — 00:01:27 · Looking for Alaska (novel)

00:01:56 — Looking for Alaska's sales and life in print; readers should read in their preferred format, which is good for authors too

  • ★★ John says that, working at Booklist at the time, he knew the vast majority of novels sold fewer than a thousand copies. — 00:01:56
  • ★★★ Looking for Alaska sold about 6,000 copies in its first year, made it to paperback, and 18 years later is still in print. — 00:01:56 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
  • ★★ John says people now expect to read Looking for Alaska however they want: a $20 hardcover, $13 paperback, $12 audiobook or $11 e-book. — 00:01:56 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
  • ★★★ John says people want to read how they want to read, and he wants people to read in their preferred format. — 00:01:56
  • ★★★ John says reading in one's preferred format makes readers likelier to enjoy and recommend a book, which is why Looking for Alaska is still in print: it is good for authors too. — 00:02:26 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
  • ★★★ John understands the immediate business reasons for hardcover-first, but in the long run publishing wants readers to love reading in any format. — 00:02:26
  • ★★ John says editions can be specialised by format: The Anthropocene Reviewed audiobook has a couple of reviews that need audio to work. — 00:02:26 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)

00:02:55 — Format-specific content in The Anthropocene Reviewed editions, the large print edition, thanks and sign-off

  • ★★ The Anthropocene Reviewed paperback will include John's reviews of ginkgo trees and of the first art made in space, because he wanted them there. — 00:02:55 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)
  • ★ The hardcover has a secret last-page review of the page recommending readers John's other books. — 00:02:55 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)
  • ★★ Part of John wishes the paperback had come out with the hardcover, but he is thrilled it is coming out at all. — 00:02:55 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)
  • ★ John notes the large print edition will no longer be mistaken for the paperback, so he will stop getting emails asking why the paperback's font is so big. (playful) — 00:02:55
  • ★★ John thanks readers, however they read his books, for keeping them around and letting them live lives he could not have imagined 18 years ago. — 00:03:24

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description invites viewers to come to the Miami launch of The Anthropocene Reviewed paperback. — video description · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)
  • ★★ In a channel comment John says that outside the US books often come out in paperback first, or only in paperback. — creator comment
  • ★★ In a channel comment John says this shows how weird and outdated the US system is: people should be able to read what they want when they want. — creator comment

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Hardcover · Looking for Alaska (novel) · Paperback

Also: Works: Armed Services Editions · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)

Organizations: Booklist

Terms: doobly-doo

Concepts: audiobook · e-book · Ginkgo biloba · Large-print

Places: Florida · Miami

Events: World War II

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