Reviewing the Formats in Which Your Book Will Be Published
When you write your book, the binding is likely not at the front of your mind. You have been so invested in the writing process that it is surreal to see it in print. You will hold the fruits of your labor in your hand.
There are several formats your book will be available in. The primary modern-day book formats are hardcover, paperback, digital, and audio. Each format has its unique benefits, and publishing across formats will maximize your book’s potential.
Paperback vs. Hardcover
The two general formats for print books are hardcover and paperback. These are just the two broad categories, and each has subsets for different types of books. Cloverly Children’s will work with you to navigate and perfect these formats when you publish your book.
Hardcover Books
Hardcover books are those that are bound with rigid covers, front and back, with dust jackets. The dust jackets protect the cover from damage to keep them usable in the long term. As such, these are the most durable books and are perfect to stock in libraries and used book stores. Children’s books are also great for hardcover binding to withstand use and rereading.
With durability comes a higher production cost, which in turn leads to a higher retail price. That means that both the publisher and reader will pay more for a hardcover book than a paperback. People will pay for higher quality, especially for high-profile authors and books looking to boost profits. Discounts on hardcover books only come in the resale market or once demand has waned.
Cloverly can publish your book in hardcover upon request. Your book is more likely to sell more paperback copies, but hardcover can be an option to distribute your book.
Paperback Books
Trade paperback is the first type of paperback book, with a soft flexible cover; mass market is the second. The flexibility of paperbacks make them transportable and easy to bring anywhere you go. They are also less resilient to wear and tear, but that is by design.
Paperback books are cheaper to produce than hardcovers, which is translated to the retail price. Readers of all economic statuses can buy these books more than hardcover, increasing overall accessibility.
Trade Paperback
Trade paperbacks are the more common type of paperback, accounting for most book sales. Any bookseller will likely be well-stocked with trade paperbacks for most books on their shelves. While some books are published exclusively in hardcover at first, they almost always are published in a paperback edition later. Just about any genre of book can be published as a trade paperback.
When you publish with Cloverly, your book will automatically be available in trade paperback. Most of your sales will likely be in this format.
Mass Market Paperback
Mass market paperbacks are the alternative to trade paperbacks. They are similar to trade paperbacks, but are often smaller than trade. Therefore, these are even cheaper to produce than trade and are the least expensive books on the market. The typeset in mass market paperbacks is smaller and tighter to accommodate the limited page sizes. This can be seen as less prestigious than larger paperbacks, but they are easier to transport.
However, mass market paperbacks are typically limited to specific genres. Where trade paperbacks can cover nearly any genre, mass market paperbacks are not as open. The most common mass market genres are romance, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. These often overlap with “pulp” fiction genres.
Digital eBooks
Your book will also likely be available in non-print formats. The primary format is a digital eBook. This is simply the text of your book published through digital markets for use on eReaders. There is little to no additional production cost of an eBook, just posting the digital file for sale. This yields the greatest profit for authors, as more of the sale price is profit.
Some readers are more fond of eBooks because it saves space on the bookshelf. For people who read a lot, this is a huge plus. It also allows people to carry their entire library wherever they go, it just has to be downloaded.
Cloverly will release your book as an eBook to be as accessible as possible.
Audiobooks
The final potential format your book can be released in is as an audiobook. These are full recordings of your book that consumers can listen to instead of physically reading the words. Audiobooks have been around for a long time, but they have become even more popular in recent years.
Audiobooks are the most accessible format because they can be listened to anywhere. Whether in the car, on public transportation, or at home, people can listen to audiobooks as they please. This introduces your book to the largest possible audience.
Professionally-produced audiobooks do require some significant costs. These costs cover a voice actor to narrate the book and audio engineers to produce the finished product. Unless you are a professional, you should never produce an audiobook on your own. You want it to sound as good as possible before it is distributed to online retailers. These costs often result in a higher retail price, but audiobook listeners are devoted.
Cloverly Children’s offers you the opportunity to produce a professional audiobook. If you make your book an audiobook, you can reach the fullest potential audience for your book.
