I was actually looking at their Amazon offerings and saw that. I have all their books on Kindle so I didn't know for sure. I'll put them up on the list!
Love this and I have actually been independently pushing down this path for some time now myself - pushing for like 60,0000 words plus or minus like 10k. I just even find that I personally look at the fatter books and the 40 issue, 700 page books and just... leave them on the shelf. I went 5" x 8" with mine currently but in the future I'm going to explore the slightly smaller 1970s MMPB sizing and will probably redo these too as I really wanted to get MMPB size but Amazon doesn't make that easy (Ingram is easier there)... I am also going to explore some sprayed edge options... nice to see someone else sharing the vibe!
So FYI (and I'm working so I don't have the time to track down the sources), two articles I recently read indicate that it is NOT publishers ceasing MMPB size so much as distributors (Ingram) who will no longer distribute them. Even if publishers were going to eventually do so, the fact they can no longer get that size distributed makes them stop using it. Seems only independents will now be using this size.
This is a good point but I am not certain what the likelihood that any bookstores would ever buy and stock my book so... but I understand that IngramSpark has a pocket size offering with lighter paper stock (have not verified it). Is that why you're mostly talking about is that bookstores will not order?
I'm certain both Ingram (Spark and LSI) as well as Amazon and any POD provider will still offer MMPB size options for sale for independent and small press use, they'll still make some money. They've just determined that they no longer,ake enough money distributing that size so they're not going to do that. Most self and independent authors don't have distribution so this won't effect them. You as an individual independent author can do whatever dimensions you deem best for your particular book.
Bookstores, from B&N to independents, don't like books that cannot be returned. That is the biggest reason stores won't carry a book. I have to personally promote a nonreturnable book to my boss to get it in the store. The second reason stores don't like carrying independent/small press titles is due to the miserable discount rates. I get it, I did it too when I was a beginner publisher, but 10/20/25/30/35% discount does not make store owners delighted. They have a business to run and hopefully make some money from too. So when a book is nonreturnable AND has a poor discount, especially that 20% or less, I have to beg to get that book into the store and on the shelves. Usually the only reason I succeed is because I have some relationship/connection to the publisher or author. And then I can handsell and personally promote them once I have a copy on the shelf. But I must admit, I am successful less than half the time, so my continuing to get such titles in is precarious.
Finally, and I also use Amazon almost exclusively now to print and distribute my titles, those books can only be gotten into bookstores by hand - by the author or small press setting up the connection and making the delivery BECAUSE - and too many self/independent publishers aren't grasping this - *there is no difference between me as a customer and my bookstore as a customer on Amazon.* There is no discount at all provided by Amazon to a bookstore, thus zero incentive for a bookstore to carry an Amazon produced book because they cannot price it any higher than the price they bought it - and the customer could have directly bought it - on Amazon.
It is dismaying how many don't understand this correlation. If a book is only produced and sold via Amazon, the only way to convince a bookstore to carry it is to make a personal connection to that store and deliver your books bought at your author rate to that store and make whatever amount you get after your discount to that store.
The final (well, mostly) reason a bookstore would be disinclined to carry a particular book is because the author/publisher did not do their part in understanding their market and competition. Just yesterday I had a self-published author drop a book off for our consideration. It is historical fiction, has a title on the spine (don't laugh, lots of folks don't so this doe some reason), has an ISBN and barcode, has a better than decent cover, and is actually competitively priced...except for one thing: the author chose to use magazine style dimensions, so now on a shelf of typical hard and soft back general fiction novels we have a thin, tall, floppy soft cover priced similar to neighboring normal sized, thick, regular looking novels. That size discrepancy will not excite buyers, not in my store, nor do I believe anywhere but maybe a book fair.
Authors/publishers need to know not only their audience but where they want their books to be found and then plan accordingly. Amazon only is one route, inside bookstores is another.
My man! I appreciate the shout-out! Thanks for the support. Nothing quite like a hook that fits in your back pocket, or the inside the suit jacket pocket. Perfect for adventure, travel, flights... Love it!
Hmmm. I both agree and disagree with your thesis. Absolutely agree that you can tell a banging tale in 6000 words. What I would also argue is that sometimes it’s also good to go long. If we take our mutual affection for the western genre, Louis Lamour novels usually sit in at that 40-60k wordcount band… or at least they did at the beginning. If you look at the novels he released in the 80’s i.e. The Lonesome Gods, The Haunted Mesa and Last of the Breed, they all sit in the 100k plus category. His publisher did release them as a mass market trim size but the page count was over the 500-page mark for roughly a 4’x7’ trim size. These books did not wear well because of the strain on the spines. Sadly, they weren’t released in a trade 5’x8’ trim size as far as I could tell.
I’m digressing a little… no one would accuse L’Amour of a lack of word economy. So, his longer books are suitably long even though they sit in the same genre he always wrote in. If you look at some of my favourite western novels outside of L’Amour, such as Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” or Robert B Parker’s “Appaloosa” they both sit north of 80k words and there’s not a word wasted in either.
What is my guess at the evolution of the longer wordcount… I think reader expectation since the 1980’s. I believe outside of the L’Amour example, those books were released in a roughly 5’ x 8’ trade trim size in the main. And those books still remain great back catalogue sellers and I think they look good on a shelf. People since the 80’s have had more leisure time and more discretionary means to purchase longer books. Does this mean that the pulp writers became redundant?
Of course not, L’Amour is a god to me in the western genre, as is the likes of Howard, Hammett, Chandler, Lamb and so many more. I just think the audience that read them now are the polar opposite of who they were originally intended for. Generally speaking now the average reader of pulp is not a generalist reader; a blue-collar person of young to middling years, getting his weekly or monthly entertainment fix. Now I guess the average reader is a particular specialist reader, with money that reads this literature for more nostalgic reasons. They are generally better educated, and they want a very specific style that for the most part doesn’t exist today.
So where did the more blue-collar or “just entertain me” reader go… and this plays into the part where I really do agree with you. I think a lot of the male readers turned to gaming in the past 40 years, and those that remained now have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. This gap is largely filled by indie writers whose income is derived by page reads over page quality. They have to learn to game the system by learning slick marketing skills and most importantly rapid release fast and release longer tomes. I believe word economy doesn’t factor into any editing decisions because more words equals more pages equals more money.
From a reader perspective, people with Kindle Unlimited sub are usually whale readers, who pay $10 a month to consume books in their chosen reading genre. For them they are generally less worried about the literary merits of a book (although it is a factor) and are more concerned that the next book is being released in the next month. It’s pulp publishing without the medium of a slush pile. As a writer, it’s not for me because I couldn’t keep up with the frenetic pace. However, neither am I a hater and to those authors the best of luck.
So back to your article. I think the mass market trim sized shorter novel or anthology is a good publishing choice for a writer catering to a specialised audience. I myself, like the middle of the road and choose a trade paperback 5’x8’ trim size because I want to appeal to a more general audience. One is not “better” than the other… it’s just a determiner of reader expectation. As to length of novel… a story is as long as it needs to be.
Silliness aside, none of what you said is wrong. I maintain that much of what you described is still influenced by corpo-overlords and finance bros, as well as a number of other factors out of the average person's control. While I do believe a portion of the "entertain me" readers are now using Kindle Unlimited, wholesale social systems failed great swaths of young people in the realms of reading and writing, which ultimately leads to large portions of the citizenry, especially males, not reading at all. As the number of male readers declines, the genres historically marketed to them begin to vanish or shift focus, eventually eliminating them from the equation (potentially). Or something like that. As much as I wish money spent made the big decisions, it leans more toward money made.
Ultimately, I don't really care what people read as long as they are reading.
But that is a much less humorous stance and way less fun to write about.
Veritas also publishes small paperbacks.
I was actually looking at their Amazon offerings and saw that. I have all their books on Kindle so I didn't know for sure. I'll put them up on the list!
One Dan Brown brick can probably stop a .38 cal bullet at 25 yards. Slim is definitely in.
Though some might find that a good reason to carry 😂
Love this and I have actually been independently pushing down this path for some time now myself - pushing for like 60,0000 words plus or minus like 10k. I just even find that I personally look at the fatter books and the 40 issue, 700 page books and just... leave them on the shelf. I went 5" x 8" with mine currently but in the future I'm going to explore the slightly smaller 1970s MMPB sizing and will probably redo these too as I really wanted to get MMPB size but Amazon doesn't make that easy (Ingram is easier there)... I am also going to explore some sprayed edge options... nice to see someone else sharing the vibe!
If you're interested (no pressure) - here's the one I wrote that was targeting this 1970s fantasy paperback vibe... https://danblakely.substack.com/p/the-story-continues
I love mass market paper back books! Wish they were more popular.
I want to buy your book just because this article was so freaking good and interesting!
So FYI (and I'm working so I don't have the time to track down the sources), two articles I recently read indicate that it is NOT publishers ceasing MMPB size so much as distributors (Ingram) who will no longer distribute them. Even if publishers were going to eventually do so, the fact they can no longer get that size distributed makes them stop using it. Seems only independents will now be using this size.
Fair assessment. But I am a man of ridiculous principles, and I will stand firmly atop them and the pile of ridiculous words I used to define them.
This is a good point but I am not certain what the likelihood that any bookstores would ever buy and stock my book so... but I understand that IngramSpark has a pocket size offering with lighter paper stock (have not verified it). Is that why you're mostly talking about is that bookstores will not order?
I'm certain both Ingram (Spark and LSI) as well as Amazon and any POD provider will still offer MMPB size options for sale for independent and small press use, they'll still make some money. They've just determined that they no longer,ake enough money distributing that size so they're not going to do that. Most self and independent authors don't have distribution so this won't effect them. You as an individual independent author can do whatever dimensions you deem best for your particular book.
Bookstores, from B&N to independents, don't like books that cannot be returned. That is the biggest reason stores won't carry a book. I have to personally promote a nonreturnable book to my boss to get it in the store. The second reason stores don't like carrying independent/small press titles is due to the miserable discount rates. I get it, I did it too when I was a beginner publisher, but 10/20/25/30/35% discount does not make store owners delighted. They have a business to run and hopefully make some money from too. So when a book is nonreturnable AND has a poor discount, especially that 20% or less, I have to beg to get that book into the store and on the shelves. Usually the only reason I succeed is because I have some relationship/connection to the publisher or author. And then I can handsell and personally promote them once I have a copy on the shelf. But I must admit, I am successful less than half the time, so my continuing to get such titles in is precarious.
Finally, and I also use Amazon almost exclusively now to print and distribute my titles, those books can only be gotten into bookstores by hand - by the author or small press setting up the connection and making the delivery BECAUSE - and too many self/independent publishers aren't grasping this - *there is no difference between me as a customer and my bookstore as a customer on Amazon.* There is no discount at all provided by Amazon to a bookstore, thus zero incentive for a bookstore to carry an Amazon produced book because they cannot price it any higher than the price they bought it - and the customer could have directly bought it - on Amazon.
It is dismaying how many don't understand this correlation. If a book is only produced and sold via Amazon, the only way to convince a bookstore to carry it is to make a personal connection to that store and deliver your books bought at your author rate to that store and make whatever amount you get after your discount to that store.
The final (well, mostly) reason a bookstore would be disinclined to carry a particular book is because the author/publisher did not do their part in understanding their market and competition. Just yesterday I had a self-published author drop a book off for our consideration. It is historical fiction, has a title on the spine (don't laugh, lots of folks don't so this doe some reason), has an ISBN and barcode, has a better than decent cover, and is actually competitively priced...except for one thing: the author chose to use magazine style dimensions, so now on a shelf of typical hard and soft back general fiction novels we have a thin, tall, floppy soft cover priced similar to neighboring normal sized, thick, regular looking novels. That size discrepancy will not excite buyers, not in my store, nor do I believe anywhere but maybe a book fair.
Authors/publishers need to know not only their audience but where they want their books to be found and then plan accordingly. Amazon only is one route, inside bookstores is another.
Yeah - that makes sense. Thanks!
My man! I appreciate the shout-out! Thanks for the support. Nothing quite like a hook that fits in your back pocket, or the inside the suit jacket pocket. Perfect for adventure, travel, flights... Love it!
Bravo. Love me a thin, easy-to-tote paperback.
Hmmm. I both agree and disagree with your thesis. Absolutely agree that you can tell a banging tale in 6000 words. What I would also argue is that sometimes it’s also good to go long. If we take our mutual affection for the western genre, Louis Lamour novels usually sit in at that 40-60k wordcount band… or at least they did at the beginning. If you look at the novels he released in the 80’s i.e. The Lonesome Gods, The Haunted Mesa and Last of the Breed, they all sit in the 100k plus category. His publisher did release them as a mass market trim size but the page count was over the 500-page mark for roughly a 4’x7’ trim size. These books did not wear well because of the strain on the spines. Sadly, they weren’t released in a trade 5’x8’ trim size as far as I could tell.
I’m digressing a little… no one would accuse L’Amour of a lack of word economy. So, his longer books are suitably long even though they sit in the same genre he always wrote in. If you look at some of my favourite western novels outside of L’Amour, such as Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” or Robert B Parker’s “Appaloosa” they both sit north of 80k words and there’s not a word wasted in either.
What is my guess at the evolution of the longer wordcount… I think reader expectation since the 1980’s. I believe outside of the L’Amour example, those books were released in a roughly 5’ x 8’ trade trim size in the main. And those books still remain great back catalogue sellers and I think they look good on a shelf. People since the 80’s have had more leisure time and more discretionary means to purchase longer books. Does this mean that the pulp writers became redundant?
Of course not, L’Amour is a god to me in the western genre, as is the likes of Howard, Hammett, Chandler, Lamb and so many more. I just think the audience that read them now are the polar opposite of who they were originally intended for. Generally speaking now the average reader of pulp is not a generalist reader; a blue-collar person of young to middling years, getting his weekly or monthly entertainment fix. Now I guess the average reader is a particular specialist reader, with money that reads this literature for more nostalgic reasons. They are generally better educated, and they want a very specific style that for the most part doesn’t exist today.
So where did the more blue-collar or “just entertain me” reader go… and this plays into the part where I really do agree with you. I think a lot of the male readers turned to gaming in the past 40 years, and those that remained now have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. This gap is largely filled by indie writers whose income is derived by page reads over page quality. They have to learn to game the system by learning slick marketing skills and most importantly rapid release fast and release longer tomes. I believe word economy doesn’t factor into any editing decisions because more words equals more pages equals more money.
From a reader perspective, people with Kindle Unlimited sub are usually whale readers, who pay $10 a month to consume books in their chosen reading genre. For them they are generally less worried about the literary merits of a book (although it is a factor) and are more concerned that the next book is being released in the next month. It’s pulp publishing without the medium of a slush pile. As a writer, it’s not for me because I couldn’t keep up with the frenetic pace. However, neither am I a hater and to those authors the best of luck.
So back to your article. I think the mass market trim sized shorter novel or anthology is a good publishing choice for a writer catering to a specialised audience. I myself, like the middle of the road and choose a trade paperback 5’x8’ trim size because I want to appeal to a more general audience. One is not “better” than the other… it’s just a determiner of reader expectation. As to length of novel… a story is as long as it needs to be.
Silliness aside, none of what you said is wrong. I maintain that much of what you described is still influenced by corpo-overlords and finance bros, as well as a number of other factors out of the average person's control. While I do believe a portion of the "entertain me" readers are now using Kindle Unlimited, wholesale social systems failed great swaths of young people in the realms of reading and writing, which ultimately leads to large portions of the citizenry, especially males, not reading at all. As the number of male readers declines, the genres historically marketed to them begin to vanish or shift focus, eventually eliminating them from the equation (potentially). Or something like that. As much as I wish money spent made the big decisions, it leans more toward money made.
Ultimately, I don't really care what people read as long as they are reading.
But that is a much less humorous stance and way less fun to write about.
We're on the same page... just playing devil's advocate :)
As any good S&S fan knows, Devils don't need advocates; they need slaying. HUZZAH!
Because I refuse to not be ridiculous, I reject your ultimate conclusion and maintain mass market paperbacks are indeed better! Crom count the Dead!