Paperback
238674
225411205
2008-07-13T15:20:29Z
Adolphus79
1274395
Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/Passandid|Passandid]] ([[User talk:Passandid|talk]]) to last version by Aitias
[[Image:Guy Gibson VC - Enemy Coast Ahead - 1957 Pan paperback book cover.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Cover of [[Pan Books|Pan]] imprint, ''[[Enemy Coast Ahead]]'' (1950's), by [[Guy Gibson]]]]
'''Paperback''', '''softback''', or '''softcover''' describe and refer to a [[book]] by the nature of its [[bookbinding|binding]]. The [[book cover|cover]]s of such books are usually made of [[paper]] or [[cardboard]], and are usually held together with [[adhesive|glue]] rather than [[stitch]]es or [[Staple (fastener)|staple]]s.
:''See [[bookbinding]] and [[book cover]]s; and compare [[cloth]], and [[hardback]], [[hardbound]], or [[hardcover]]''.
==Use==
Paperback editions of books are issued when a company decides to release a book in a low cost format. The lack of a hard cover, stitched bindings, and frequently the use of cheaper paper, contribute to the inherent low cost of paperbacks, especially when compared to the average cost of [[hardcover]]s.
Paperbacks can be the preferred medium when a book is not expected to be a major seller, or in other situations where the [[publisher]] wishes to release a book without putting forth a large investment. Examples include many novels, and new editions or reprintings of older books. Publishers must balance the larger profit to be made by selling a small number of [[hardcover]]s (including sales to libraries, which prefer [[hardcover]]s) with a large profit per unit -- against the potentially larger profit to be made by selling a large number of paperbacks with a small profit per unit. Many modern books, especially [[genre fiction]], are first editions in paperback. It is only the best-selling of books, such as 2003's [[The Da Vinci Code]], which can maintain its sales in hardcover sufficiently to delay a paperback edition for longer than a year.
== History ==
Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least the 19th century and exist in a number of formats that have specific names, such as [[pamphlet]]s, [[cheap edition]]s, [[yellowback]]s, [[dime novel]]s and [[railway novel]]s. Today most paperbacks are called either "mass-market paperback" or "trade paperback", the differences of which are described later.
The 20th century mass-market paperback format was pioneered by German publisher [[Albatross Books]] in 1931 but the experiment was cut short. In England [[Penguin Books]] adopted many of Albatross's innovations, for instance the conspicuous logo and the color-coded covers for different genres, beginning in 1935, and was an immediate financial success. British [[publisher]] [[Allen Lane]] launched the [[Penguin Books|Penguin]] imprint in 1935, with 10 reprint titles; this started the paperback revolution in the English-language book market. Number one on the Penguin list of 1935 editions was [[André Maurois]]'s ''Ariel''.
Allen Lane intended to produce cheap books. He bought paperback rights from publishers, ordered huge [[print runs]] (e.g., 20,000 copies) to keep [[unit price]]s low, and looked to non-traditional book selling retail locations. Booksellers were initially reluctant to buy his books. But [[Woolworths Group plc|Woolworths]], placed a large order on the books, and the books sold extremely well. After this initial success, booksellers were no longer reluctant to stock paperbacks. The word "Penguin" became closely associated with the word "paperback".
[[Robert de Graaf]], in 1939, issued a similar line in the USA, partnering with [[Simon & Schuster]] to found the [[Pocket Books]] imprint. The term "pocket book" became [[synonymous]] with paperback in English-speaking North America. In [[Québec]], the term "livre de poche" was used, and continues to be used today. De Graaf, like Lane, negotiated paperback rights from other publishers, and produced large print runs. His practices contrasted with those of Lane in his adoption of illustrated covers, aimed at the North American market. In order to reach an even larger market than Lane had, he went the mass market route, through distribution networks of newspapers and magazines, which had a lengthy history of being aimed (in format and distribution) at mass audiences. This was the beginning of mass market paperbacks.
Because of its position as Number One in what became a very long list of Pocket editions, [[James Hilton]]'s ''[[Lost Horizon (novel)|Lost Horizon]]'' is often cited as the first American paperback book, which is not correct. The first mass-market, pocket-sized, paperback book printed in America was an edition of [[Pearl Buck]]'s ''[[The Good Earth]]'', produced by Pocket Books as a proof-of-concept in late 1938, sold in [[New York City]], and now very collectible.
A number of companies entered the paperback publishing field in the United States in the years after Pocket Books' inception, including [[Ace Books|Ace]], [[Dell Publishing|Dell]], [[Bantam Books|Bantam]], [[Avon (publishers)|Avon]] and dozens of other smaller publishers. At first, paperbacks consisted entirely of reprints, but publishers soon found it economic to publish original works. Genre categories began to emerge, and mass market book covers reflected those categories. Mass market paperbacks had an impact on slick [[magazines]] (slicks) and [[pulp magazines]]. The market for cheap magazines diminished when buyers went to cheap books instead — one factor in this was that the content included in both formats crossed over — authors also found themselves abandoning magazines, and writing for the paperback market. Many pulp magazine cover artists were hired by paperback publishers to entice readers with their exciting artwork. Many well-known authors were published in paperback, including [[Arthur Miller]] and [[John Steinbeck]], and some, like [[Dashiell Hammett]], were published as paperback originals.
[[World War II]] brought both new technology and a wide readership of men and women now in the military or employed as shift workers; paperbacks were cheap, readily available, and easily carried. Furthermore, people who found that restrictions on travel brought them more time to read more paperbacks. [[Four colour printing]] and [[lamination]] developed for military maps made the paperback cover eye catching and kept ink from running as people would examine the cover of the book. A revolving metal rack was designed to display a wide variety of paperbacks in a small space that found its way into [[drugstore]]s, [[dimestore]]s, and markets.
U.S. paperbacks quickly entered the Canadian market, because the newspaper and magazine distribution network was controlled by U.S. companies. Canadian mass-market paperback initiatives in the 1940s included White Circle Books, a subsidiary of Collins (UK); it was fairly successful but was soon outstripped by the success of [[Harlequin Enterprises|Harlequin]] which began in 1949 and, after a few years of publishing fragile editions of undistinguished novels, focused on the romance genre and became one of the world's largest publishers.
[[McClelland and Stewart]] entered the Canadian mass market book trade in the early 1960s, with its "Canadian best seller library" series (at a time when Canadian literary culture was beginning to be popularized, and a call for a Canadian author identity was discussed by the Canadian masses). See [[Egg Head or Quality Paperbacks]] for McClelland and Stewart's paperback line.
==Types==
Paperbacks include inexpensive "mass market paperbacks", in the standard "pocketbook" format generally printed on inexpensive paper, which will discolor and disintegrate over a period of decades, and more expensive "trade paperbacks" in larger formats printed on quality paper, sometimes [[acid-free paper]].
"A Format" paperbacks are 110 mm x 178mm (4.33" x 7.01")in size, "B Format" paperbacks are 130 mm x 198mm (5.12" x 7.8"), while "C Format" (trade paperbacks) are 135 mm x 216mm (5.32" x 8.51").<ref>{{Cite web
|last=Wilson-Fletcher
|first=Honor
|url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/insidepublishing/story/0,,534924,00.html
|accessdate=2006-11-16
|title=Why Size Matters
|date=2001-08-11
|publisher=The Guardian}}</ref>
<!--Image above the section title per MoS-->
[[Image:MassMarketPaperback-DA.JPG|thumb|left|150px|Mass-market paperback, ''[[Life, the Universe and Everything]]'', by [[Douglas Adams]] (1982).]]
===Mass market paperback===
A '''mass market paperback''' ('''MMP''' or '''MMPB''') is a small, usually non-illustrated, and inexpensive [[bookbinding]] format. They are commonly released after the [[Hardbound|hardback]] edition, and often sold in non-traditional bookselling locations such as [[airport novel|airport]]s, drug stores, and [[supermarket]]s, as well as in traditional [[bookstore]]s. Many titles, especially in the area of genre fiction, are [[first edition]]s in paperback and never receive a hardcover printing. This is particularly true of first novels by new authors.<ref name="JBU-2007-October">{{Cite web|last=Flint|first=Eric|note=Oct 2007 issue of JBU:
|url=http://www.baens-universe.com/articles/The_Economics_of_Writing
|accessdate=2007-10-17
|title=Column: Salvos Against Big Brother; article: 'The Economics of Writing'
|editor=Jim Baen's Universe (e-zine) [[Eric Flint]] (ed.)
|quote=Mother of Demons was published in September of 1997, and it was only published in a mass market paperback edition, as was the standard practice at the time for first novels. (Most science fiction novels, actually.)}}</ref>
[[Image:Kiosklitteratur.jpg|thumb|150px|Assorted pulp/mass market paperback novels]]
Mass market paperbacks are distinguished from hardbacks by the different business practices that publishers and booksellers apply to them. When booksellers note that books have been in stock a while and have not sold, they may return them to the publisher for a refund or credit on future orders. However, in the case of mass market paperbacks, this "return" usually means stripping the front cover, returning that for credit, and [[pulping]] the book itself. Changes in the costs of printing relative to the costs of shipping have led to the creation of trade paperbacks, which are similar in format to mass market paperbacks, but larger (near hardback size), usually printed on higher quality paper, and with different returns policies applied to them.
The mass market paperbacks sold in airport [[newsstand]]s have given rise to the vaguely defined literary genre of the "[[airport novel]]", bought by travellers to [[escapism|escape]] the hours of sitting and waiting.
===Trade paperback===<!--NOTE: [[New York Times Best Seller list]] links directly to this sub-section name-->
A '''trade paperback''' ('''TPB'''), sometimes referred to as a '''trade paper edition''', is a standard-sized or large-sized paperback book. If it is a softcover edition of a previous [[hardcover]] edition, and if published by the same publishing house as the hardcover, the text pages are normally identical to the text pages in the hardcover edition, and the book is usually the same size as the hardcover edition. The only difference is the soft binding; and the quality of the paper is usually higher than that of a [[Paperback#Mass market paperback|mass market paperback]].
Trade paperbacks are typically priced less than hardcover books and higher than mass market paperbacks. Virtually all "[[Advance copy|Advance Reader's Copies]]" are issued in trade paperback format.
====Trade paperback comics====
{{main|Trade paperback (comics)}}
[[Image:Penguin Classics.jpg|thumb|Penguin Classics paperback editions]]
In the medium of [[comic book]]s, [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback comics]] are used to reprint several issues of a comic series in one volume, usually an important storyline or the entire series itself. [[Graphic novel]]s are also sometimes found in trade paperback form. Publishers sometimes release popular collections first in a hardback form, followed by a trade paperback months later. Books that have done this include [[Marvel Comics]]' [[Secret War (comics)|Secret War]] and [[DC Comics]]' [[Identity Crisis (comics)|Identity Crisis]] amongst many others. Comic book trade paperbacks are listed at Millarworld's trade paperback list.[http://tplist.millarworld.net/index2.html]
==Major paperback publishers==
* [[Ace Books]]
* [[Avon (publishers)|Avon]]
* [[Bantam Books|Bantam]]
* [[Berkley Books]]
* [[DAW Books]]
* [[Dell Books]]
* [[Dover Publications]]
* [[Harper Collins]]
* [[Paperback Library]]
* [[Popular Library]]
* [[Penguin Books]]
* [[Scholastic Corporation]]
* [[Vintage (publisher)|Vintage Books]]
==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* Hancer, Kevin. (1990) ''Hancer's Price Guide to Paperback Books, Third Edition'', Radnor, Pennsylvania: Wallace-Homestead Book Company. ISBN 0-87069-536-3
* Canja, Jeff. (2002) ''Collectable Paperback Books, Second Edition'', East Lansing, MI: Glenmoor Publishing. ISBN 0-96736-395-0
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{Wiktionarypar|paperback|softcover|softback}}
* [http://paperbarn.www1.50megs.com/Paperbacks/index.htm A History of Paperback Books: Publishing Houses, Authors, and Artists]
* [http://paperbarn.www1.50megs.com/Paperbacks/paperbackpub2.html Paperback Publishers]
* [http://www.mothteeth.com/bookmaking/paperback.html How to make a paperback book by hand]
* [http://www.diybookbinding.com/do-it-yourself-book-binding/ Glue Bound Book tutorial]
[[Category:Books by type]]
[[Category:Book terminology]]
[[de:Taschenbuch]]
[[eo:Poŝlibro]]
[[fr:Livre de poche]]
[[it:Brossura]]
[[nl:Pocketboek]]
[[ja:ペーパーバック]]
[[no:Pocketbok]]
[[simple:Paperback]]
[[fi:Taskukirja]]
[[sv:Pocketbok]]