I was wondering how long it was going to take a major publisher to come to their senses and release the hardback and paperback at the same time.
Joel Rickett at the Guardian is reporting that beginning in the Spring of 2008 Picador will “release all new novels in paperback editions, alongside a small run of hardbacks, breaking with the trade convention of staggered publication dates.”
Andrew Kidd, publisher of the prestigious Macmillan imprint says:
“When are we going to accept that we live in a [paperback] country; that only a tiny handful of authors command enough reader loyalty to achieve viable hardback sales; that by concentrating promotional energy on a moribund format we are doing no favours to the format people actually want to buy?”
Our hats off to the folks at Picador for breaking the ice. Everyone is sure to follow.