A: Richard
Hull, TAA Executive Director:
"Softcover
editions generally sell for less than hardcover. Whether price of
your book is an obstacle to sales and adoption is not something I
can answer. But a softcover edition 'might' sell more copies.
Another consideration
is whether your royalties are affected by the hard or soft cover edition.
Sometimes publishers give a lower royalty rate for softcover editions,
so that you not only make less because of the reduced per copy price,
you make less because of the reduced royalty rate. Take a close look
at your contract. If, say, your contract gives 5% on paperback and
10% on hardbound, your publisher would have to sell twice as many
copies of the paperback at the same price as the hardback for you
to come out even, and even more if the price were lower.
One solution
is to have editions in both hardback and paper, giving instructors
and students the option of a cheaper edition or one that will last
longer.
Paperback editions
also can be poorly put together, or well put together. You might want
to look at a paperback recently issued by your publisher to see how
well the binding holds up. I think paperbacks are better now than
in earlier days, but I have had them literally fall apart when they
were opened. A hardback will tend to lay flat when opened because
it is sewn in signatures. A paperback may or may not, depending on
how it is assembled: if in signatures, with a strong and flexible
glue that holds the spine and cover on, it should be equivalent (although
will tend to show wear and tear more quickly)."
A: Don
Collins, the author or co-author of seven school mathematics textbooks,
and former Managing Editor of Mathematics at Merrill Publishing:
"The answer
to this lies in the royalty agreement. If the agreement is so
much for each text sold, then by all means go the paperback route. However,
most publishers base their royalty agreements on dollar volume.
In this case certainly since paperbacks are cheaper and do not
last as long, then more of them will be sold. So one has to consider
which is greater: Cheaper price X more volume or Higher price
X less volume. The author sort of has to roll the dice. In most
case there isn't a great deal of difference. I don't think you
can go too far wrong either way, but if it were me I would go
the paperback route."
A: Michael
Lennie, Authoring Attorney and Literary Agent, Lennie Literary & Authors
Attorneys:
"I would
add, it is important to take into account what the book's primary
competitors are doing re soft/hard cover, and again it cuts both ways.
The hardcover might be more attractive, but a soft cover might be a
boon to sales. Students are certainly price sensitive.
Other interesting
questions that might give insight into your publisher's plan:
Does your publisher plan to come out with a competing hard cover?
Do they intend to market differently or less aggressively with
a soft cover. Are they going to B & W also? Have sales been increasing,
decreasing or holding even over the last four editions?
Nothing beats
getting it "from the horse's mouth", so have informal talks with
the art director, your editor, production manager, etc. to see what
they think of the plan - a marketing innovation, or just cutting
costs? If the latter, schedule a meeting with someone higher up to
see what they have to say. Maybe the decision is preliminary only
to see what everyone says."
