Publishing Flim Flammery
Shockingly enough, I was in a bookstore yesterday (to pick up the latest offering from Hard Case Crime). I saw something "new," the latest creeping invasion of tomfoolery and, I think, illogic, perpetrated on us book buyers by the publishing industry. I don't even know what to call the things; they're neither hardcovers, trade paperbacks or mass market paperbacks. They're nothing more than mass market paperbacks with two key differences: they're a couple of inches taller, and for that we're asked to pay $9.99.
Huh?
I've written a lot about the publicized plans to replace mass market books, and eventually hard covers, with trade paperbacks. I've argued exhaustively against this fallacy; the form factor of a book is not an impediment to its sale. It's the quality per price ratio. My point is simple: to sell more books, publish better ones at more affordable prices.
I'm guessing the push toward trade paperbacks hasn't lived up to hopes. I'm guessing that the book buying public has affirmed my belief that fifteen bucks is too expensive for a paperback of any dimension and that the mass market edition wouldn't die simply because it is the most economical way to purchase a book. And I'll stop so I don't repeat earlier entries...
This latest attempt at repackaging will fail for precisely the same reasons, and will do so even more transparently. First I'm to believe that mass market books are slumping because I want to pay for something more substantial, i.e. a trade paperback. Now it's being made clear that what was really happening was that mass market books were really a good thing, just a bit short. A problem easily rectified, as long as the price can get bumped up a couple of bucks.
This is added value? You think people won't notice what you're trying to pull? And you continue to decry the market for used books? Seriously, you're unhappy with sales for mass market books at $7.99 so you'll make them a bit taller and charge me two bucks more? That's supposed to sell more books?
Geez louise, get a clue. Sheep though we well may be, the public has never been so dull minded to miss such an obvious shuck job. To recap, you want to sell more books, publish better ones. You want to get people to take a chance on books and authors they don't know, make it economically feasible to do so by lowering prices, or for god's sake keeping them the same. Again, I'm repeating my earlier entries, so I'll stop, but you can see it's hard. If they keep going, they're going to drive me back to the library.
Huh?
I've written a lot about the publicized plans to replace mass market books, and eventually hard covers, with trade paperbacks. I've argued exhaustively against this fallacy; the form factor of a book is not an impediment to its sale. It's the quality per price ratio. My point is simple: to sell more books, publish better ones at more affordable prices.
I'm guessing the push toward trade paperbacks hasn't lived up to hopes. I'm guessing that the book buying public has affirmed my belief that fifteen bucks is too expensive for a paperback of any dimension and that the mass market edition wouldn't die simply because it is the most economical way to purchase a book. And I'll stop so I don't repeat earlier entries...
This latest attempt at repackaging will fail for precisely the same reasons, and will do so even more transparently. First I'm to believe that mass market books are slumping because I want to pay for something more substantial, i.e. a trade paperback. Now it's being made clear that what was really happening was that mass market books were really a good thing, just a bit short. A problem easily rectified, as long as the price can get bumped up a couple of bucks.
This is added value? You think people won't notice what you're trying to pull? And you continue to decry the market for used books? Seriously, you're unhappy with sales for mass market books at $7.99 so you'll make them a bit taller and charge me two bucks more? That's supposed to sell more books?
Geez louise, get a clue. Sheep though we well may be, the public has never been so dull minded to miss such an obvious shuck job. To recap, you want to sell more books, publish better ones. You want to get people to take a chance on books and authors they don't know, make it economically feasible to do so by lowering prices, or for god's sake keeping them the same. Again, I'm repeating my earlier entries, so I'll stop, but you can see it's hard. If they keep going, they're going to drive me back to the library.
posted by Rick Ollerman at 7:08 PM
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