We recommend that all of our authors publish their books in paperback format in order to maximize the reach of their book to potential customers. While it’s true that hardcovers are more durable and can be a popular option for kids book customers, the paperback option is a great alternative for customers seeking less expensive options — this is especially true when it comes to online sales, where the customer is most likely to simply choose the least expensive option available to them. Indeed, we see paperbacks dramatically outsell hardcovers for most of our authors.
Furthermore, due to paperbacks outselling hardcovers in today’s general market, the options available to our authors publishing their book in the hardcover format are limited in comparison. For example, when we publish books with suggested retail pricing, we’ve found that retailers are less willing to list the book at the suggested hardcover retail price.
This is common with the Amazon.ca marketplace in particular, where hardcover books are unlikely to be sold and fulfilled by Amazon.ca itself, but third party retailers who use the Amazon marketplace in order to sell books (this is why you often see multiple buying options available on Amazon listings). With hardcover books, we tend to see less third party retailers willing to sell the book through Amazon than those selling the paperback, that’s why it’s important that authors ensure they have as many options as possible.
Lastly, it bears mentioning that the traditional rationale for releasing a hardcover in advance of the paperback edition is to capitalize on a higher profit margin that results from the higher list price. This is an effective strategy for authors with an existing reader base hungry to purchase their next release as soon as possible. However, for an independent author trying to build their following, it's usually most important reduce the price barrier for potential purchasers, which means offering the book in paperback and eBook formats.
It is for the above reasons that we strongly encourage all of our authors publish in paperback, with the option to also publish in hardcover (and eBook) formats. We can of course swap the paperback option for the hardcover, it’s just not recommended. The hardcover edition is included in the Professional, All-Inclusive, and Traditional publishing packages. Adding the hardcover option to a standard publishing package costs $250 + tax.