Book Size

[JSWolf]

In the US a MMPB is usually $7.99 (before any sort of discount). The other types of paperbacks are more expensive. It's not due to the size of the book. It's due to the greed of the publisher. Also, these taller/thinner PBs do not feel good to hold. They just are not nice to read.

[WillAdams]

The real reason is that Mass Market Paperbacks (the smaller size) are ``strippable'', and when published, have to be potentially profitable enough that a publisher can absorb the cost of bookstores ``returning'' the books unsold for credit by ``stripping'' the books' front covers and returning those and pulping the balance of the book.

This is a business model which needs to go away --- there are a few publishers which won't accept stripped books, wish they'd all make that change.

[Waylander]

JSWolf, I appreciate your point about the bigger books being less pleasant to hold and read. However, in the UK the bigger books that have been moved to, the price is still the same as the MMPB. My point is, why change at all if the price is the same? Surely the bigger B format books are more expensive to produce (or maybe not, as they are thinner). Also, I don't think our dislike of publishers should be taken to the extreme where "they are all greedy, money grabbing giants who on't add anything to the book industry". I will agree that various strategies, such as DRM, are downright stupid and should be stopped, also that ebook prices should be slightly lower. However, I think the book world would be a worse place if they all went. I feel that if what some on these boards was to happen, i.e. the fall of the publishers, then we would see a marked drop in quality, both in book/ebook production and author selection. They act as a gateway for authors who are better than average, or so it seems. I know there are good indie authors out there, as I have read some. However, the majority seem to write stuff that is either really bad, or because of unprofessional formatting/editing, unreadable. I know that formatting/editing from the major publishers can sometimes be patchy, but this has happened to me far less often than with indie authors. I know I will be torn limb from limb by some of you for saying all this, but I thought I would put it out there.

[Waylander]

I would just like to say this is my opinion, and I do not claim to have read all indie ebooks available, or know the ins and outs the publishing industry (if anyone can). There we go, disclaimer over.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by crich70

In other words same dance just a different song.

Different Dragon. Some publishers are starting to split up bigger books such as these, so they can actually charge twice.