Novelist Tess Collins entrusted me with the design of her new book, Helen of Troy. It’s a “quirky and lively retelling of the Greek legend” but set in small-town America.
Copies of the book recently arrived at my office, and looking at them I thought they provided the perfect way to illustrate something about how books are produced, and why publishers love hardcover books so much.
In the video, I talk about:
- “Book blocks” and what they are
- What hardcover and trade paper books have in common
- The financial incentives in favor of publishing hardcovers
- Why it is that publishers have delayed paperback publication for so long, and what might be driving the desire to hold e-book versions as well.
The video runs 6:47, so it’s a pretty quick look, but I think you’ll get something from it. Video instruction has some major benefits when compared to text, and here I get to show you directly parts of the book that might take a lot more explaining.
Here’s the video.
(If the video doesn’t appear below, please refresh your screen.)
Have you thought about doing a hardcover printing of your book? Why or why not? I’d love to hear about it.
