Hardcovers vs Paperbacks: Changing market economics in publishing
+ Exclusive Preorder Gift: Handmade Bookmarks by Me!
Hello, Protagonists!
Welcome to another entry in Author Diaries—where we take you behind the scenes of publishing—querying, book auctions, cover design, how authors make money, book publicity, and more.
In this post you’ll find:
📚 What’s Filling My Creative Well—books or articles that are lighting up my brain
🕵🏻♀️ Deep Dive: a Closer Look at Hardcovers vs. Paperbacks
🎁 Exclusive Preorder Gift: Handmade Bookmarks by Me!
As always, thank you for being here, not just as readers, but as fellow story-lovers and co-dreamers of this beautiful, bookish life.
xo,
Evelyn
📚 What’s Filling My Creative Well
Currently reading:
These Summer Storms by Sarah McLean — This story is about estranged siblings who must go through a series of challenges in order to access their inheritance, only to discover that perhaps the greatest gift their father could have left them was forcing them together again.
This was one of my favorites last year, and I’m re-reading it because it’s our upcoming book club pick!
We just had Sarah McLean on our podcast!
Reminder: Our Book Club meeting is on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Discussion Qs and more info HERE.
🕵🏻♀️ Deep Dive: Hardcovers vs. Paperbacks
The Incredible Kindness of Paper is out in paperback! It was published first as a hardcover last year, and now, 9 months later, it’s in paperback just in time for summer travel bags.
At the same time, my newest novel, Ideal Life, will skip the hardcover edition and come out straight to paperback in August.
Why the different publishing strategies? Why did The Incredible Kindness of Paper “get” a hardcover edition, but Ideal Life won’t?
The Changing Economics of Publishing
The list price is the price that is physically printed on the back of books.
The Incredible Kindness of Paper hardcover list price: $27.99
The Incredible Kindness of Paper paperback list price: $18.00
Ideal Life paperback list price: $17.99
The list prices are before discounts. Big online retailers (like Amazon) and box stores (e.g. Target, Costco) rarely sell at list price, which means readers can buy the books for cheaper.
Author Royalties
Most readers (and even many aspiring writers) don’t realize that an author’s royalty rate is different for hardcovers and paperbacks.
Royalties are calculated based on the list price, so even if Amazon or Target discounts the book, that does not affect the author’s royalties.
For traditionally published authors, hardcover royalties typically start at 10% of the list price and can escalate to 15% after a certain number of copies sold (e.g., 10% for the first 999,999 copies sold, then 15% after 1 million copies are sold).
Paperback royalties are usually around 7.5% of the list price.
(For an even deeper dive on how authors make money—advances, royalty rates, agent commission, etc.—check out this Author Diary.)
You can see why publishers (and authors) love hardcovers. The margins are better for everyone. A hardcover sale is worth two to three paperback sales in terms of what ends up in the author’s pocket.
But a hardcover only works financially if people actually buy it.
Reader Price Sensitivity
We are living through a time when readers are more price-conscious than ever. The economy has made people more careful about discretionary spending, and as much as it pains me to say it, books are discretionary. When someone is choosing between groceries and a $28 hardcover, the hardcover loses, as it should.
So publishers are increasingly asking themselves: Will this book sell enough hardcovers to justify the hardcover print run? Because printing hardcovers is more expensive. If those copies sit in a warehouse or get returned by bookstores unsold, the publisher loses money.
Why Is Ideal Life Going Straight to Paperback?
I know some authors might panic if their publisher decides to go straight to paperback. The author might think, Oh no, does this mean my publisher doesn’t believe in my book?
No. Paperback originals are a strategic choice, and they’re becoming more and more common across the industry. For Ideal Life, my publisher and I looked at the landscape—the economy, the genre, my readership, the price sensitivity of the target audience—and decided that Ideal Life would reach more readers at a $17.99 entry point than at $27.99.
More readers finding the book at a price they’re comfortable with:
—> more sales overall
—> more word of mouth
—> more momentum.
And momentum is a huge part of what drives book sales.
The Takeaway for Writers
If you’re on the path to traditional publishing, know that the hardcover vs. paperback decision is a business decision. It’s not a reflection of your worth as a writer or the quality of your book. It’s your publisher’s best guess at how to position your book for success in the current market. (And of course, things change year by year).
And remember: the format your book comes in matters far less than the fact that it exists in the world at all. Hardcover, paperback, ebook, or audiobook—every format is a door, and every door lets a new reader in. 💛
Buy now for your summer vacation bag:
The Incredible Kindness of Paper ebook is $2.99 for a limited time. Hardcover edition is also on summer sale, and the paperback is out now, too!
🎁 Exclusive Preorder Gift: Handmade Bookmarks by Me!
Last year, I made beaded bookmarks to send out to influencers as part of my publisher’s marketing campaign, and many of you asked if you could get one. But I ran out!
I’m not making that mistake twice. This year, I am making plenty of book-themed bookmarks, and you can get your hands on one by preordering from Fireside Books, my beloved local indie bookstore. (Preorder instructions at the bottom of this post.)
I had so much fun browsing jewelry-making materials to choose just the right pieces for these bookmarks:
pink book charms to match the cover of Ideal Life
purple star charms, because purple stars are the logo of the “Ideal Life” company in the book
pink beaded chain to complement the charms + a slender gold metal bookmark because I like the slim ones that fit between the pages of my books without bending them.
Plus, my husband Tom is super crafty so he had every kind of pliers and cutting tool I could ever need.
I am so excited to make these bookmarks for you!
Preorder soon because my little hands can only make so many of these, and when they’re gone, they’re gone…
Autographed Books with Exclusive Preorder Gift available only from Fireside Books!
I will personalize the book if you like, just include (in your order) the name I should write in the book. (i.e., “To Andrew”)
Fireside Books will ship to you or you can pick up from the store if you’re local!
Please pre-order via email at orders@firesiderwc.com.
Fireside Books is a small husband-wife run store, so they’re taking orders by email (they don’t have a website that takes orders).
(Important note: ordering from their Bookshop.org page will not ship an autographed copy or gift, since those orders go through Bookshop.org’s centralized distribution, not Fireside’s actual store.)
» This post is part of our Author Diary series. You can find past entries HERE.
I noticed recently that Annabel Monaghan's new book seems to have been published simultaneously in hardcover and paperback. Presumably the hardcover is mostly going to libraries, who appreciate the sturdiness.
Hi, Evelyn, I love your bookmark and want to preorder one. The link in your post connects to their email. Should I send them an email?