Is the Hardcover Novel Dead
Has time been called on the hardcover novel ?
Notable British publishing house Picador has issued a press statement declaring that all their newly released novels next year will be Paperback Originals !
First Editions in paperback !
Bad news for collectors and an indicator of the state of the market.
Collectors always want first editions and, with a few notable exceptions, they are hardbacks.
Clearly this is a business based decision and the publishers feel there is no longer sufficient call for hard covers.
They have authors such as Helen Fielding, Don DeLillo and Cormac McCarthy all of whom have books which are regarded as collectable in their canon - it looks as though this will be a thing of the past.
New releases will be softcover and priced at £7.99. Picador claims that for most authors hardcover sales are derisory. I also suspect that public library allocations may have something to do with it as well.
For many years now it has been the buying power of public lending libraries that have carried lesser known and newer authors when it came to first edition print runs.
This is the reason why some books, even relatively new ones, are so scarce, nearly all went to the library service. Nowadays libraries have cut back hugely on the number of books they buy, they also buy paperbacks which they rarely did before.
Either way, it’s further evidence of out throwaway culture which I believe contributes to the lack of sales experienced by many secondhand booksellers.
With many publishers expected to follow suit we may well be seeing the end of a new supply of collectable books to feed the future first edition market.
Personally I only read hardback first editions, I find the experience somehow more enjoyable than reading a paperback or reprint.
Does anybody else ?
Indeed does anybody really care ?
I suspect the public may approve - they get to read the latest books at half the cost or no need to wait for the paperback release !
Jordan said,
November 21, 2007 @ 10:40 am
RC
Yes i care! What is the world coming to?
Cheap nasty paperbacks, dogeared, bent spines. Trash
Grrrr Picador :-~
Jordan
Rod said,
November 21, 2007 @ 11:48 am
Jordan
it could be getting even worse
Jeff bezos, founder of Amazon, claims the book to be dead this week as he lauched his portable book reader !
You can download books onto it and read them where ever you want, an iPod for books if you will !
Best
RC
A Retired Bookdealer said,
November 23, 2007 @ 5:26 pm
The Hardcover Novel
Yes - I think it is soon to become a thing of the past, as you rightly say libraries have been holding this one up for years, also what you say about the throw away society is right, people do prefer to buy a paperback and then dispose of it when they have finished reading it, from their point of view the paperback is good value and serves its purpose well.
I know someone who works in a hotel and they regularly remove from rooms to the lost property cupboard bought brand new, unwanted paperback books, which proves a point, it has been read by a guest and once read is no longer wanted.
Also are there enough serious readers and collectors out there to support the hardback book market, do people still collect things ?, do people have room in their houses to store a collection of books ?, possibly not, new houses are certainly not built with the collector in mind, there are no alcoves to put shelves and no spare cupboard space for the collector to store his or her prize possessions.
We may see a rise in readers in this country but my hunch is they will want their reading matter on the cheap, this is where sadly the paperback will win.
Rod said,
November 23, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
ARB
wise words !
I heard of someone who voraciously reads paperback books, every time they finish a page they tear it out and discard it, a novel (pun not intended originally but kept in so as to make me appear witty) form of book marking.
As to modern houses, look at modern design, look at these’show houses’ if, and that’s a big if, you see a book it will be on design, art or cookery and laid on a coffee table for decoration as a statment of the homeowners interests
Rod