Here Come the Paperbacks!

Unboxing Day

Unboxing "The Little Brown Spider in The Giant Caterpillar" paperbacks!

Thirty copies of the paperback version of The Little Brown Spider in The Giant Caterpillar arrived today. The hardcovers arrived a couple of weeks ago, which brings up an interesting question:

Do you prefer hardcover or paperback picture books?

For most of us of a certain age, hardcover picture books are probably the only ones we remember. Those are the only ones I remember, though maybe it has more to due with the fact hardcover picture books made great building material. Many a fort/castle/cave took shape in the middle of my living room floor growing up. (Right after playing a game of lava, of course.)

Here at Stone Hollow Press, we offer hardcover and paperback versions, and soon, ePub. For The Little Brown Spider books, I really don't have a strong preference between hardcover or paperback. I do like the look and feel of hardcover picture books, but from a strictly business perspective, it's not an ideal format. Hardcovers cost more to produce, offer lower margins and cost more for the reader to purchase then their paperback counterparts.

Paperbacks also remind me of comic books. I've been a fan of comics and the comic book format, as well as a comic book collector, for many years now. And since The Little Brown Spider was always meant as a series with multiple books a year, like your typical comic book title, the paperback format seems ideal.

So which do you prefer, hardcover or paperback?

- DennisD.

SpiderWriter