How long does it take for a book to go from hard to soft cover?
About how long does it take for a book to go from hard to soft cover? I like soft cover better but they always come out in hard first, why is that?
It takes about a year, generally, to give the hardcover time to sell out.
Publishers crunch the numbers to decide if the expected sales in the target market are favorable for a hardback. If not, the book debutes in paperback. If yes, then they have a few marketing choices – delay the paperback release if hardback sales are still doing well, release the paperback when hardback sales level off but interest is still there, release paperback early if the demand of the target market will allow both to sell well, or drop the paperback altogether if the hardback sales have declined too much (interrest is falling). Such decisions are based on knowledge and previous experience with the market.
A market that appeals largely to teens may see paperbacks sooner than a market that appeals mainly to adults, but only in certain genres, for example. Even though teens have a greater portion of disposable income (fewer bills to pay so their money can be spent of “goodies”), they are generally not hardback buyers because of the expense (some are, most are not).
The demographics of a target market can be a big factor in the decision, including where they buy their books. Are the readers less likely to be able to afford a hardback? Young mothers or the elderly who are on a tight budget, for example. Children whose families might not be able to afford new hardbacks for their children ever month. Romance books like Harlequins that are offered at grocery store checkout lines are often bought on “money left over”, so will not be released in hardback at bookstores unless the individual title sold really well.
Is the most likely reader a member of an ethnic group that is largely poor (I know, that sounds bad, but it is applicable)? Similarly, a hardback that is still selling well might do pretty good at the same time in a paperback translation to spanish in many areas of the country.
Some authors were originally published only in paperback, but the fanbase that has developed over they years is now willing to buy their work in hardback (even reprints of the original paperbacks in hardcover will sell). Other authors are expected to form a fanbase rather quickly, and are released first in hardback (sometimes this just doesn’t work out as well as was expected). Some publishers only debute work in either hardback or in paperback (especially in some genres).
In years past, some genres only debuted an new author in hardback if the work was really good (it was quite a thrill to be offered hardback). Readers figured this out, and now some publishers debute even average work in hardback to capitalize on this.
While hardbacks have better profit from actual sales, paperbacks are less expensive overall in both printing and returns (because a paperback can be stripped and pulped much cheaper, and distribution costs are less,too). Many publishers will limit the print run of hardbacks but be willing to over print paperbacks because of this. You see remainders of hardbacks sold at deep discounts often, but rarely remainders of paperbacks.
Tradebacks are a whole new problem. Cheaper because of the softcover, but not necessarily pulpable because of the glossy paper inside. Distribution costs are still higher than paperbacks, because of their size even though they weigh less than hardbacks. The still have to be shelved like hardbacks because the paperback market does not include racks of that size. Some publishers will print tradebacks after the initial sale of hardbacks. A few publishers are printing first in tradeback rather than hardback based on the demographics of the target market (like textbooks, where students can use a break in coverprice, but resale is poor). I find it interesting that some book stores will not carry tradebacks (I’m guessing either the wholesale discount is not as good as hardback or the customer base prefers hardback).
Yeah, way more information than you asked for 
The Bookmaking Show | How to create a soft cover | Part 2.
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