This hasn't been true for any genre except romance and possibly horror since at least the mid-nineties
You may be right -- that was about when my buying work shifted to academic presses, which definitely don't do mass anything ever, and since you're far more in touch with the genre market than I am, I'm willing to grant it. Because I'm odd that way, I'd like to see recent numbers on total numbers of titles in HC vs. original (any kind of) PB, though; also, my gut-level impression now that I'm out of the biz is that those trades are still pretty selectively chosen -- a certain kind of high courtly fantasy, anglophile mysteries, Butler, Dick reprints....
I think my comments on the perception of mass-markets in the highbrow review world, and the likelihood that the Salon reviewer was using it as a shorthand for genre fiction in general, still stand.
(And, yeah, it's been yonks since I've seen anything for 3 bucks. Le sigh.)
I think my comments on the perception of mass-markets in the highbrow review world, and the likelihood that the Salon reviewer was using it as a shorthand for genre fiction in general, still stand.
We all agree about this. He's just wrong.
And my impression is that tpb are a mixture of prestige (they're more likely to get reviewed than mm, and less than hc) and sales figures.
From Locus Magazin's list of forthcoming SF for the 8 major SF publishers in the US, for January and February 2004:
ACE
JAN 7 books - 1 hc, 1 tpb, 5 mm. Of the 5 mm, 2 were reprints from hardcover
FEB 7 books - 1 hc, 1 tpb, 5mm. Of the 5 mm, 3 were reprints from hardcover
BAEN
JAN 6 books - 3 hc, 3 mm. Of the hc, 1's a reprint of 2mm originals. Of the mm, 2 are reprints of older books and one's a mm original
FEB 6 books - 3 hc, 3 mm. Of the hc, 1's an omnibus of mm originals. All three of the mms are reprints (not sure if from hc or previous paperbakcs)
DEL REY
JAN 5 books - 2 hc, 1 tpb, 2 mm 1 mm is a reprint of prior books, old enough that I don't know if they had an hc printing; 1 is original The tpb is an original.
FEB 3 books - 1 tpb (orig), 1 mm (reprint from hardcover, 1 mm orig
BANTAM
JAN 1 book - 1 mm orig
FEB 2 books - 1 tpb orig, 1 hc orig.
DAW
JAN 4 books - 1 hc, 1 mm reprint from hc, 2 mm orig
FEB 4 books - 1 hc, 1 mm reprint from hc, 2 mm orig
HARPERCOLLINS EOS
JAN 5 books - 1 hc, 1 tpb, 2mm orig, 1 mm reprint from hc, 1 tpb from hc
FEB 4 books - 1 hc, 1 tpb reprint from hc, 1 mm reprint from hc, 1 mm orig
TOR
JAN 16 books - 5 hc, 3 tpb (2 from older books, 1 orig), 8 mm (all reprints from hc)
FEB 17 books - 7 hc, 2 tpb (1 orig, 1 from older mm), 8 mm (1 reprint from older, 7 from hc)
TOR/ORB
JAN 2 tpb from older HC
FEB - 0
WARNER ASPECT
JAN 3 books - 1 hc, 1 mm reprint from hc, 1 mm orig
FEB 3 books - 1 tpb orig, 1 mm reprint from hc, 1 mm reprint from older mm
Romance is slowly shifting to more and more hc first runs. Don't know about horror, which I don't read. (Don't have numbers, either, but hey.)
(plei, you home? If so, get on AIM)
Romance is shifting to hc for proven sellers, but hasn't gotten to the point of publishing midlist or first-time authors in hc.
It's a big deal within the romance-writing community when you move to hardcover. And angsty -- if your sales don't justify the move, you may be dropped entirely.
Yeah, the guy in Crazy for You is so creepy-real.
YES. I found it creepy because it was so realistic and gradual and justified. Usually in books, stalkers are weird freaks with no rhyme or reason, just scary threatening serial killers. This was too real. Kinda killed the rest of the book for me.
I read Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce last night, and found it to be eminently readable
Not sure which that is, Erin, but she's a cute YA writer. I loved the Alanna books when I was 11, though they're not quite as good now, I was even more impressed with her latest quartet about Keladry. Cute stuff. Definitely YA, but still.
And suddenly "There's a Bimbo on the cover of my book" (filk by Maya Kaathryn Bonhoff) is going through my head....
Beyond bimbo. Mave of Connacht in pink armour, having her back licked by a raven-haired studly guy who apparently is supposed to be Connal of Ulster. So much for the Cycles of Oisin - they gave it a bodice ripper cover. I have nothing against bodice rippers, even though I don't read them, but the point is, the book wasn't a bodice ripper.
Around the house, the Bantam cover is affectionately-derisively known as Pink Sonia.
And suddenly "There's a Bimbo on the cover of my book" (filk by Maya Kaathryn Bonhoff) is going through my head....
Ooh! Full lyrics, pretty please?
Pink Sonia. Hahahahaha. Must click over to Amazon and see this for myself.
