Romulan War. Why so much?

[dispatcher812]

I was just about to pre orde The Romulan War from simonsays.com, when I notice the price: $16.
My question is why? Its 464 pages but I notices it says "Trade Paperback" while the others at $8 says "Mass Paper back. Whats the difference? Here is the link.

http://books.simonandschuster.com/S...l-A-Martin/Star-Trek-Enterprise/9781439107980

Thanks

 

[BrotherBenny]

A trade paperback is a larger size book so you're actually getting more for your money. The mass market paperback is what most books are, like Full circle, Unworthy, Over a Torrent sea, etc. The latest New Frontier book and the recent Mirror Universe books, and the anthologies, are all the trade paperback size.

If you don't want to pay $16, try Amazon (which delivers free of charge with Super Saver Delivery over a certain amount) or Play.com or The Book Depository (which both deliver free of charge).

 

[donners22]

$8 for new books? Most of the ones I see here are twice that...

I actually prefer the MM over TP - the latter makes a mess of my shelving...

 

[Nardpuncher]

$8 for new books? Most of the ones I see here are twice that...

I actually prefer the MM over TP - the latter makes a mess of my shelving...

Me too. Some people say that Trades last longer, but after I'm done reading a Trek book, I don't think it needs to last so I can bestow it upon my children. I just want it to fit in my backpack or back pocket easily.
I wish more books (especially non-fiction which are almost all trade sized!) were mass market paperback.

 

[dispatcher812]

So why would they make previous books one size and then this one larger? Not that this is a big deal but when placed next to the others on a shelf it will look like crap being a different size. I have all my previously read books on a shelf in order.

 

[Christopher]

So why would they make previous books one size and then this one larger?

Because it's a bigger story, both in terms of length and significance. In years past, it would've probably been a hardcover. These days, trade paperbacks are an increasingly popular format with book dealers because they get more profit per unit sold than mass-market paperbacks, but are still more affordable than hardcovers, so there's a strong incentive for publishers to put out more books in TPB form.

 

[Therin of Andor]

So why would they make previous books one size and then this one larger?

Why make hardcovers?

Because people like 'em, and they and trades are more popular for gift-giving. They seem more substantial.

Margaret originally mentioned she thought this story would be told in the more-than-one-MMPB serialized format. Making it a trade paperback means that - in this day and age of only one ST MMPB release per month - we get more story faster, rather than perhaps a year between MMPB installments.

If you don't want to buy the trade, read a public library version and wait for the inevitable(?) MMPB in a year's time - most Pocket ST hardcovers and trades end up with a MMPB reprint. Meanwhile, the trade format rewards the author with slightly higher royalties and two bites of the cherry, when it is re-promoted in MMPB.

 

[JD]

They reprint the TPBs as MMPBs? I know they did with Lives of Dax, but I've never seen any before or after that.

 

[Therin of Andor]

They reprint the TPBs as MMPBs? I know they did with Lives of Dax, but I've never seen any before or after that.

"Strange New Worlds" volumes I and II.

"New Frontier: Treason" in MMPB is due very soon. These days, trade has seemingly replaced the ST hardcover format.

 

[rahullak]

Question: Is the extra cost for hardcovers and TPBs over MMPBs due to the paper, printing and binding? (I know this could be a D'oh moment).
If that's the case, is there another reason why ebooks cost as much as the TPBs besides profit?

I checked: the ebook for The Romulan War costs $16 at S&S and discounted a little at other places.

So once the MMPB version is out, the same ebook would automatically cost $8?

I'm not against the practice. Just curious as to how it works.

 

[Thrawn]

^ No. Only a very small part of any book's cost goes to publishing. Books that are released in a more prestigious / higher-priced format are done so because the publisher feels they are worth more as stories. You can almost consider the greater size/sturdiness as a bonus.

Which does make it difficult to price eBooks. Because it's more-or-less true that from a $26 hardcover, something like $15-$20 might go straight to the publisher in profit on that sale. But when you're buying electronic information, it gets a bit harder to swallow paying twice as much for some stories as others, especially when online music sales have had prices so standardized.

 

[Therin of Andor]

So once the MMPB version is out, the same ebook would automatically cost $8?

Yes, IIRC.

I recall people celebrating that SCE/CoE prices went down because they could purchase whole omnibuses worth of stories at reduced total prices.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

If that's the case, is there another reason why ebooks cost as much as the TPBs besides profit?

Slate ran an article on that very question recently.

It's to prevent lower-priced eBook sales from cannibalizing higher-priced print book sales. eBook readers are paying a premium to inhibit the uptake of the medium.

 

[BrotherBenny]

If that's the case, is there another reason why ebooks cost as much as the TPBs besides profit?

Slate ran an article on that very question recently.

It's to prevent lower-priced eBook sales from cannibalizing higher-priced print book sales. eBook readers are paying a premium to inhibit the uptake of the medium.

"It's inhuman, Jim!"

eBooks may be the way to go but they'll never replace print books. Electronic equipment can be destroyed just as easily as books but they don't think of that, do they? I refuse to pay so much for eBooks and will still get the print book cheaper from Amazon or wherever. Publishers need to move with the times, not resist change. If they lowered the price of eBooks, they'd make more money.

 

[wew]

Not necessarily. It is possible that sales might increase for the e-books, but then decrease in the print format. In which case they might end up losing money. Generally, only a finite number of people will purchase any particular title, and unless they plan to double dip (paper and e-book), then total sales figures would remain the same, but profitibality would fall.

 

[Dayton Ward]

They reprint the TPBs as MMPBs? I know they did with Lives of Dax, but I've never seen any before or after that.

Not so much with Trek (at least, not yet), but reprinting TPBs in MMPB format is a fairly common practice, particularly if the books sell well and are part of an ongoing series, involve a central character written by a single author, or even just standalones written by a particular author.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Generally, only a finite number of people will purchase any particular title, and unless they plan to double dip (paper and e-book), then total sales figures would remain the same, but profitibality would fall.

And the bricks 'n' mortar bookshops would probably become extinct.

 

[wew]

That's also true and would be very sad

 

[BrotherBenny]

That will probably happen anyway as print on demand becomes more popular. Bookstores will be reduced to kiosks although one or two chains might survive for browsing purposes.

If the price of paper rises too high as we cut down more trees, we might not have any choice but to switch to eBooks.

 

[Christopher]

The correlation between tree cutting and books is greatly overstated. No tree is ever cut down specifically to print a book; rather, lumber is processed for multiple uses, and some of the material goes to various paper suppliers as one of the ingredients they use, along with fibers from other sources, including recycled paper products. So books don't really make any significant contribution to deforestation, and conversely, if wood did become scarce, there would still be plenty of sources for fiber to make paper from.