Being too poor for HC, and too wary of MM (ever since I was 19, and To Green Angel Tower came out in two volumes at MM size), trades are really my best option. I'm sort of surprised more doorstops don't come out in trade size; I suppose it's related to the perception of the trade PB as being more small press/obscure/arty? Also I'm sure it would set big booksellers on their ears, having to redesign their shelving areas to accomodate more tall books.
There's a difference between "trade paperback" and "large-size paperback." "Trade" technically means "non-strippable," namely, a bookstore returning a trade paperback has to ship the entire book back, rather than just ripping off the cover and shipping that back. These are usually but not always the larger size paperbacks-- I think it was White Wolf who used to print books in the "mass-market" size that weren't strippable.
Anyway, I think this difference is probably at the heart of the size issue, at least on the seller's end: the extra cost and hassle of having to ship the whole large-size paperback back to the publisher make them less attractive, whatever the benefits to the reader may be.
But then, all I know about this issue comes from seeing Patrick Nielsen Hayden explain the trade/ mass-market thing about a dozen times on Usenet, back in the day...
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-09-10 11:31 am (UTC)There's a difference between "trade paperback" and "large-size paperback." "Trade" technically means "non-strippable," namely, a bookstore returning a trade paperback has to ship the entire book back, rather than just ripping off the cover and shipping that back. These are usually but not always the larger size paperbacks-- I think it was White Wolf who used to print books in the "mass-market" size that weren't strippable.
Anyway, I think this difference is probably at the heart of the size issue, at least on the seller's end: the extra cost and hassle of having to ship the whole large-size paperback back to the publisher make them less attractive, whatever the benefits to the reader may be.
But then, all I know about this issue comes from seeing Patrick Nielsen Hayden explain the trade/ mass-market thing about a dozen times on Usenet, back in the day...