Quote:
Originally Posted by speakingtohe
I am probably wrong but I can't see the MMPB format being phased out soon. A lot of people buy their books places like supermarkets and drugstores etc. Libraries seem to buy either hard cover or MMPB with the exception in Canada being books by Canadian authors or classics where they will buy the Trade edition.
I think that most paper book readers want their light reading packaged like light reading and buy trade editions only when they are dirt cheap. Lot of exceptions there I know as many people will buy a trade edition of a YA book like Twilight (first book they actually finished they tell me  ).
Helen |
I got the idea years ago, from being on various author/publishers forums/lists. What was talked about them by people in the industry (although I can't remember when/where/who) was that with the aging of the Baby Boomers that the big plan of the Publishers was to phase out the MMPB and go to tradesize because they could use the same innerds on Hardback and tradeback, and raise their prices on the tradeback. Thus making more money and getting rid of the MMPB size they didn't like anyway.
The one book that helped me decide to invest in ebooks and not mess with pbooks anymore was the jump in the Dresden file series form the regular MMPB size to the next size up. It was 1inch taller, $2 more expensive and I couldn't fit it on the shelf with the others I bought. If I couldn't fit it on the shelf with the rest of the series, I didn't feel any need to stay with the pbook format anymore.
Now, I don't notice so much because I don't browse BM stores as often, but my daughter has complained more about the tradebook sizes, (she doesn't care for them either, especially since they're more expensive) and I've seen more complaints on pbook forums about the move up to tradebook. (And the fact that publishers can't seem to decide on a regular tradebook size between them.
So, yeah, I've seen enough here and there to lead me to believe those past conversations/discussion were in earnest. Although the ebook explosion may have held them back for a while, I do think tradebook will eventually be the smallest pbook size available.