Possible "noob" question.

[Orion]

When I bought the first 4 ASoIaF books I bought them in paperback. I pre-ordered ADwD the other day on amazon because if you pre-ordered it you got a discounted price and also free shipping for buying over a certain total price of stuff. I noticed you could only buy a hardback.

I guess i'm just wondering if it will come out in both hardback and paperback or am I just new to books and they all originally come out hardback and eventually go to paperback? I was hoping for paperback tho because my others are and it would look better on my bookshelf. =P

[Quokka]

It will come out in paperback, I think about 6 months after hardcover although I'm not sure if this varies much from country to country. In Australia I've noticed that in the alst few years very few fantasy books come out in hard cover, the first release is 'large format' they charge you the same as a hard cover but it's just an oversized paperback .

But yeah I think with most books and certainly with Fanstasy and SF, if there's a hard cover it'll be followed by a paperback version a little later.

[TK-421]

Without infringing on copyright rights, I give you a response to a similar question in another thread from our resident know-it-all, Werthead ( )

The US market sometimes keeps books in hardcover or trade for years before going mass-market. For example, Scott Bakker, whose first novel came out in hardcover in the USA in 2003, is getting his first US paperback release only this year. GRRM's books tend to take 18 months to go to mmpb in the USA (as opposed to 12 in the UK). The other major difference is that if an author is big-selling enough, the hardcover will remain in print indefinitely, whilst in the UK the hardcover will be allowed to go out of print. Only the really massive giga-sellers, like Rowling, keep their hardcover editions in print indefinitely in the UK.

[KiwiBird]

Really, i think i could buy the paperback version edition of Bakker for quite some time now, in belgium.

I am guessing we get the UK versions though

[j. d. worthington]

As others have noted, they do generally go to paperback format; especially if it's a popular series such as these by GRRM. In some cases, the hardbound is kept in print even while the mass market pb is released, as there remains a market for both. As I recall from my stint with a bookstore, with something like this it's generally a year to 18 months (average) before the paperback edition is issued.

[Culhwch]

Originally Posted by Quokka

In Australia I've noticed that in the alst few years very few fantasy books come out in hard cover, the first release is 'large format' they charge you the same as a hard cover but it's just an oversized paperback .

I'm not sure if you're getting ripped off on the price of trades, or I'm getting ripped off on the price of hardbacks, Quok. In these parts a trade paperback will set you back twenty to twenty-five bucks, whereas a hardback will be more in the forty to fifty dollar range...

[Boaz]

I hope those are Aussie dollars, mate.

[Quokka]

Originally Posted by Culhwch

I'm not sure if you're getting ripped off on the price of trades, or I'm getting ripped off on the price of hardbacks, Quok. In these parts a trade paperback will set you back twenty to twenty-five bucks, whereas a hardback will be more in the forty to fifty dollar range...

It's been awhile since I've been in one of the chain book stores, I'm pretty sure paperbacks are about $20-25 and large format $30-35. I didn't think hard covers were quite $40-50 but to be honest it's been so long since I bought one you're probably right. I'll have a look the next time I'm going past one.

[TK-421]

Not sure the price Down Under, but in Canada it's about $12 for a GRRM paperback. About $2 less in the US (EVEN THOUGH OUR DOLLARS ARE AT PAR!!!!!!!!!!!!)

[Zee]

Originally Posted by TK-421

Without infringing on copyright rights, I give you a response to a similar question in another thread from our resident know-it-all, Werthead ( )

The US market sometimes keeps books in hardcover or trade for years before going mass-market. For example, Scott Bakker, whose first novel came out in hardcover in the USA in 2003, is getting his first US paperback release only this year. GRRM's books tend to take 18 months to go to mmpb in the USA (as opposed to 12 in the UK). The other major difference is that if an author is big-selling enough, the hardcover will remain in print indefinitely, whilst in the UK the hardcover will be allowed to go out of print. Only the really massive giga-sellers, like Rowling, keep their hardcover editions in print indefinitely in the UK.

AFFC only took 10 months to go to mmpb.

[TK-421]

Well, there you go. 18-months the average but AFFC was 10 months. Hurray for us!

[Werthead]

Originally Posted by Zee

AFFC only took 10 months to go to mmpb.

In the UK and Commonwealth territories (who get the UK editions). In the USA it was more like 18 months.

[Zee]

Originally Posted by Werthead

In the UK and Commonwealth territories (who get the UK editions). In the USA it was more like 18 months.

Amazon.com listed AFFC being released as mmpb Sept 26, 2006. If you can order from Amazon it doesn't matter where the book is released, you can get it in the U.S.

[Qhorin Halfhand]

Originally Posted by Boaz

I hope those are Aussie dollars, mate.

Lately AUD are equivalent to USD but we're still getting charged twice or even three times the amount in some cases for things like books, DVDs, videogames and so on. We're being gouged hard lately.

[Boaz]

Ouch!!!