CONFIRMATION OF RELEASE DATE...
Just a quick note. There has been an ongoing discussion during the last month or so as to whether to hold to the publicised release date of 'The Anniversary Man' of September 3rd, 2009, or if my publisher would hold off and release it in the spring of 2010. I received confirmation today that they are holding to the September release date. The book is finished, of course, and I wanted it to come out in September, and thus I am very pleased about this. I hope you are too!
Best, as ever,
Roger.
Just a quick note. There has been an ongoing discussion during the last month or so as to whether to hold to the publicised release date of 'The Anniversary Man' of September 3rd, 2009, or if my publisher would hold off and release it in the spring of 2010. I received confirmation today that they are holding to the September release date. The book is finished, of course, and I wanted it to come out in September, and thus I am very pleased about this. I hope you are too!
Best, as ever,
Roger.
10 comments:
Roger,
If this is not rude to ask, why would a publisher seek to hold back the release date?
Thanks
DW
Dan,
Hi there. Well, it's kind of simple and it's kind of complicated. Any publisher is obviously very interested in assuring that the authors they publish actually sell as many books as they can. We really tried very hard to get the paperback of 'A Simple Act of Violence' into the Top Ten in the week of its release, and though we sold a huge amount of them we made number eleven! The idea behind waiting until February to release the new book in hardback was that we might manage to get that book into the Top Ten. However, I felt very strongly that it was more important to release the book in September 2009. To hell with the Top Ten. I wanted the book out there. And so it was agreed that consistency of publication was far more important than chart placing. Hence, we are holding to the original release date. I hope that answers the question. And as far as the reason why the new book wouldn't make it into the Top Ten in September is concerned, well that's because we would release it in trade paperback format (large paperback) and these are not considered 'hardbacks' and therefore cannot be placed in any chart.
Roger, Can you follow up on the bit about why a book is not a book if it is published in trade paperback form, it seems to me most novels are printed in this format so why dont they count, leading on to the question why print in that format if its not allowed on to the best sellers list ? Or am i just been dense !
No, you're not being dense at all. There are basically three possible publication formats in this country (as we are one of the few countries that still produce hardbacks). First is the hardback, second is what's known as a trade paperback (same size as a hardback but soft-covered - you usually see them in airports and suchlike). Lastly is the smaller paperback known as a 'mass market paperback', and the mmp is usually released six months after the hardback. The hardbacks and trade paperbacks are released simultaneously. The trade paperback was created to give people who wanted an author's book as soon as it was published, but who were unwilling to pay the prohibitive cost of the hardback. Also, hardbacks generally go to the libraries, and trade paperbacks go to the bookstores. A trade paperback is still a paperback, and therefore is not included in the Bestseller Chart as the Bestseller Chart is for hardbacks only. So you could, therefore, sell thousands and thousands of trade paperbacks, no hardbacks, and very few mmps, and never appear in a chart anywhere! Such is the way of the British publishing world, and I don't have any explanation as to why they do it this way. They just do. I think as the production of hardbacks becomes more and more costly, publishers will start to phase them out and trade paperbacks will then have to be featured in charts...either that, or we'll all buy Kindles and never read from paper again!
Sorry about that - my wife was logged in as 'Queen Vic' and she didn't log out! That was my answer to your question Brian, and I hope that makes some sort of sense (even though it doesn't, right?)
Hi Roger/Queen Vic (depending on who you're logged on as today!)
Didn't realise that trade paperbacks didn't feature in the charts and with new releases I very rarely buy the hardback version if a trade paperback is available, not because of the cost (to be honest there isn't always a lot of difference in price) but purely because I find a paperback more comfortable to curl up with or read in the bath - hardbacks weigh more and it takes more effort to hold them above the water!
Really glad that the release date for The Anniversary Man is not being put back as it seems to be ages since SAOV was released
Hi Roger,
On the subject on trade paperbacks, I have to say I would never buy one, as it is neither a hardback or a paperbook and costs almost as much as a hardback anyway. I admit I do mostly buy paperbacks, but when I buy a book i really want it would always be a hardback. There is nothing better than a hardbook, I own a hardback copy of ASAOV, and i know in ten years or more it will look as good as the day I bought it. I'm just reading sepulchre by Kate Mosse, also in hardback, and the superior quality in the paper, the printing, the cover etc means it can be read over and over again. You buy a paperbook, and read it only once sometimes, and it gets tatty and sometimes falls to bits. I'm surprised to hear we are one of the few countries to still publish hardbacks. Long may they continue. Obviously if the price was as it is quoted on the jacket, then I probably would be reluctant, but you can get them half price on sites like Amazon. For instance I've just pre-ordered TAM for about 13 quid, which I reckon is great value.
Cheers
M
And hopefully by the time it's actually released it'll be even less than that!
Trade paperbacks were created to fulfill a need in the market, and they do serve that purpose. Personally I do like hardbacks, but I do prefer the convenience of paperbacks.
Roger, Thanks for clearing that up, It sounds like the Industry is doing a red tape job the EU would be proud of.
My own Preference is for the tradeback as it tends not to hurt as much when they land on my head as I try to climb to the ever increasing mountain of books scattered throughout the house !!
I have a friend who likes hardbacks, and she reads them in bed, and every once in a while she drifts off and is woken abruptly as the hardback bounces off her forehead...
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