In this blog post, we will be considering whether to publish your book in hardback or paperback. There are advantages and disadvantages of both, so ultimately it will come down to what suits your book and self-publishing style best. This blog post will look at the advantages of paperback books, with another to follow in two weeks about the advantages of hardbacks.
Of course, you could do both, but bear in mind that this will be more expensive and require extra effort on your part to get everything coordinated with who wants which type. You may find it is more cost-effective, not to mention simpler, to just pick one format and stick to that. This series of blog posts aims to help you decide whether paperback or hardback is the best option for you.
What are the Benefits?
Cheaper
Paperbacks are by far and away the most economical option for an indie author. Hardbacks involve a lot more materials; for example, the board used for the covers, and the dust jacket. Of course, you can publish a book without a dust jacket, but then you have to consider whether the audience you are marketing to with a hardback book will expect a dust jacket. Hardbacks need a different sort of binding, often with a piece of woven fabric down the spine.
Hardbacks also require more in the way of cover design and the overall look. You will need to decide what will go on the slips of the dust jacket that fold around the inside cover of the books – many books fill these with reviews or an author bio. You will also need to think about whether you will have anything under the dust jacket, on the board covers of the book. This could be the same as what is on the dust jacket or just the title and author – check what options are available with your printer.
When it comes to distribution and storage, bear in mind that hardbacks are both bigger and heavier, so they may well cost more to store and ship. This also makes them a bit less practical than paperbacks, which are much easier to transport.
Lighter
In addition, paperbacks are a lot lighter and less bulky than hardbacks, which makes them easier to carry around. For example, if your readers want to take their book with them to read while they are on a train, or in a coffee shop, they will likely prefer a paperback version over an unwieldy hardback tome for the portability.
Paperbacks are just more convenient in general – if you’re taking books on holiday, you would probably prefer paperbacks to pack as they are lighter and take up less space in your case. Smaller paperbacks can also be more comfortable to read for some people, so they will only buy paperbacks.
Cheaper for Readers
Paperbacks being cheaper for you to publish also means that you can pass on some of this saving to your readers. As you don’t have to spend quite as much on design and printing, it will cost you less per copy, meaning that you can make the cover price lower and still make a profit. In fact, profit margins actually tend to be higher on paperbacks than hardbacks, so you should actually get more money from your book, as well as having a lower upfront cost.
Being able to sell your books for less makes it more likely that people will buy them, as you would expect. Although the cover price will be lower (and it is possible that your profit margin will be lower), you may well find that you sell more copies of your book in a paperback format, so this can even out, giving you similar profits overall.
The price being lower can also help you to attract new readers. A lower price makes it less of a risk for them and means that they are more likely to buy it on impulse. They may then tell their friends about your book and buy other ones that you have written.
Higher Chance of Success
Your book being cheaper for readers also leads to another advantage of paperbacks. As your book will probably sell more copies as a cheaper, more convenient paperback, you will have higher sales figures. This makes your book seem more of a success to bookshops.
Having your book for sale in hardback first can also lead to a flop due to the higher prices, meaning that it would likely never be published in paperback. Therefore, publishing in paperback can be a safer option.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you to decide how to publish your book. In my next blog post, we will be looking at the advantages of publishing in hardback, so come back in two weeks for that!
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