Larry Conners
asked
Tim Tigner:
I enjoy reading from a hardcover book...Why doesn't Amazon offer your novels in hardcover...?
Tim Tigner
Hi Larry,
Good question. It's all about economics. Hardbacks have to be produced in large quantities, and are traditionally sold through brick-and-mortar stores. Amazon's specialty is internet distribution and POD (Print On Demand) paperbacks. (Picture a big fancy Xerox machine.) That way they hold no inventory.
FYI with POD, for books sized like mine, Amazon gets the first $9 or so, half of which is production cost, half of which is their profit. Thus the author just gets $1 on a $10 paperback. This is why most POD paperbacks are priced in the teens, so the author can make at least a few bucks off the sale. With Mass-Market paperbacks, the ones you find in grocery stores and airports, per-unit production costs are much lower, but then you've got distribution costs, which are antithetical to Amazon's business model.
There is no Print-on-Demand machine for hardbacks.
Thank you for your question,
Tim
Good question. It's all about economics. Hardbacks have to be produced in large quantities, and are traditionally sold through brick-and-mortar stores. Amazon's specialty is internet distribution and POD (Print On Demand) paperbacks. (Picture a big fancy Xerox machine.) That way they hold no inventory.
FYI with POD, for books sized like mine, Amazon gets the first $9 or so, half of which is production cost, half of which is their profit. Thus the author just gets $1 on a $10 paperback. This is why most POD paperbacks are priced in the teens, so the author can make at least a few bucks off the sale. With Mass-Market paperbacks, the ones you find in grocery stores and airports, per-unit production costs are much lower, but then you've got distribution costs, which are antithetical to Amazon's business model.
There is no Print-on-Demand machine for hardbacks.
Thank you for your question,
Tim
More Answered Questions
Carol
asked
Tim Tigner:
In "Betrayal", when Cassi was trying to cut off her wrist ties, she tried something from the pencil holder. The comment was "They were dull as Des Moines". What's up with that? Des Moines isn't dull! Come hang out in my ER on a Saturday night - nothing dull about that. Des Moines has lots of sports activities, shows, & arts to take part in.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more